The No. 20 Texas A&M men’s golf team wrapped up the Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship by dropping a close match to No. 13 Texas Tech 3-2.
“We played hard today but have to tip your hat to Texas Tech,” said A&M Head Coach J.T. Higgins.
Led by senior Bronson Burgoon and junior Andrea Pavan the Aggies finished fourth in the qualifying round of the championship. Burgoon finished tied for second and Pavan tied for fourth individually during qualifying. The Aggies were the only team in the tournament who had two players finish in the top ten individually.
After finishing fourth place during the qualifying the Aggies were placed in the championship bracket along with Indiana, Stanford, UCLA, Florida State, Texas Tech, San Diego State, and Middle Tennessee. Texas A&M, who was seeded fourth, drew the fifth seed, UCLA for the first round.
The Bruins, who are the defending national champions, shut out the Aggies 4-0-1. After the losing the first round, the Aggies faced off against No. 4 Stanford and fell 3-2. The Aggies had a chance to upset Stanford, but missed two birdie putts on the final hole to give the match to Stanford.
“We played two great teams and came up a little short in the [second] match,” Higgins said. “UCLA showed why they are the defending national champions. We played better against Stanford, winning two matches and taking two others to the final hole.”
In the final match, Texas Tech, like Stanford, edged Texas A&M 3-2. Burgoon and Pavan both captured their matches, but Matt Van Zandt, John Hurley, and Conrad Shindler lost giving the Raiders the win.
“In the three matches we lost, their players all shot par or better,” Higgins said. “Burgoon and Pavan had great tournaments, playing well in medal play and winning a couple of matches.”
Texas A&M will continue their spring season in Austin on March 30 in the Morris Williams Intercollegiate tournament.
“This team has so much potential and we learned a lot about the things we need to work on,” Higgins said. “We are excited about how we’re playing and are looking forward to our next tournament.”