The Texas A&M women’s golf team has a date this weekend, but it will not be as part of Valentine’s Day festivities.
The Aggies will tee up for the first tournament of their spring season in Tallahassee, Florida at the Seminole Match-Up, hosted by Florida State University, running Friday through Sunday.
Eight of nine players on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores, with the lone upperclassman being senior Kirby Kramer. Texas A&M head coach Trelle McCombs acknowledges the difficulties of getting underclassmen acclimated to the college game, but feels this group has tremendous upside.
“The challenges are just, in terms of making everyone understand what team golf is all about, taking care of your individual game,” McCombs said. “And I always sort of describe it as, kind of like a neighborhood. And so you have the individual houses in those neighborhoods and you want everyone to take care of their own yard and their house and then pretty soon you have this beautiful neighborhood. So if we can all understand, just take care of yourself and your responsibilities and what you’re supposed to do on a daily basis, then it will all come together. The upswing of that is we’ve got players with worldly experience and so they know what it’s like to be in a situation of match play and of having to make birdies coming in.”
Texas A&M did not complete an event outside of fourth place in the fall. In fact, the team concluded its campaign with a victory at the Jim West Challenge at Tapatio Springs in early November. There, freshman Maddie Szeryk led the A&M charge, firing an even par 216 over three rounds, highlighted by her three-under 69 in second-round action, and finishing in sole possession of second place.
The Seminole Classic tees up Friday at the Southwood golf course, a par 72 track designed by former Masters champion Fred Couples and architect Gene Bates.