Aggie Golf Takes On the NCAA ABQ Regional

Monday, May 17

Albuquerque, N.M.

Texas A&M

NCAA Albuquerque Regional

The NCAA Albuquerque Regional will be contested May 17-19 at the Championship Course at UNM

May 16, 2021 | Men's Golf

First Round Tee Times

By: Brad Marquardt, Assistant AD / Athletics Communications

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The Texas A&M men's golf team takes its first step toward earning a spot in the 2021 NCAA Championship as the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, which begins Monday at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico.

Representing the Aggies in Albuquerque will be seniors Dan Erickson, Walker Lee and Brandon Smith, junior Sam Bennett, sophomore William Paysse and freshman Daniel Rodrigues.

The teams play 54 holes from May 17-19, and the low five teams at each of the NCAA's six regionals advance to the following week's NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. For the Aggies, ranked No. 14 by Golfstat.com, it will be the program's 25^th NCAA Regional appearance and the 17^th in the last 18 NCAA postseasons.

The Aggies have been victorious in their last two regional appearances, with victories at the Bryan (Texas) Regional in 2018 and the Pullman (Wash.) Regional in 2019. In both seasons, the Aggies advanced to match play at the NCAA final and posted fifth-place finishes. Texas A&M is one of four teams that have advanced to match play at the last two NCAA Championships.

Head Coach Brian Kortan said:
"We've got an experienced group and they know what's on the line. Most of them have been through a national championship, and they like that feeling of teeing it up there. I don't have to say much there, they'll get ready to go. Our group of guys know what's in front of us. We know we're playing against quality opponents and they like that challenge. We know we have to play well to get to the next step which is the national championship in Scottsdale. We'll focus on doing things that we do well and keep focus forward, and if we can do that we should be fine."

Texas A&M Starting Lineup

Player	Class-Exp	Hometown
#1 Sam Bennett	Jr.-2L	Madisonville, Texas
#2 Dan Erickson	Sr.-4L	Whittier, Calif.
#3 Walker Lee	Sr.-3L	Houston, Texas
#4 Daniel Rodrigues	Fr.-HS	Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
#5 William Paysse	So.-1L	Belton, Texas
Sub: Brandon Smith	Sr.-4L	Frisco, Texas

Albuquerque Regional Field (Golfstat.com Top 25 ranking)

Oklahoma (No. 1)
Arizona State (No. 12)
Texas A&M (No. 14)
Texas Tech (No. 22)
New Mexico
Stanford
Oregon State
Boise State
South Carolina
Nevada
San Diego
New Mexico State
Oakland
Prairie View A&M

2021 regional sites include:

The Sagamore Club in Noblesville, Ind., hosted by Ball State
Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., hosted by Florida State
Championship Course at UNM in Albuquerque, N.M., hosted by New Mexico
Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., hosted by Oklahoma State
Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tenn., hosted by Vanderbilt Tumble Creek
Golf & Country Club in Cle Elum, Wash., hosted by Washington

###

About Texas A&M Athletics | Home of the 12th Man:
One of the most successful Athletics Departments in the nation, Texas A&M ranked No. 15 in the most recent Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings and is one of eight Division I institutions nationally to finish in the top 20 of the prestigious ranking of athletics success for at least 13 consecutive years. For more information, go to www.12thMan.com.

About Texas A&M University:
Texas A&M University, the flagship university within the Texas A&M University System, is a tier-one research institution with nearly $1 billion in research grants and more than 69,000 students. The President of Texas A&M University has strategic oversight for campuses in College Station and Galveston, TX and Doha, Qatar. We include The Health Science Center with the College of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, as well as The Texas A&M School of Law and Mays Business School. For more information, go to www.tamu.edu.