The 13th ranked Texas A&M mens golf team finished in a second place tie at the eighth annual Aggie Invitational at the Traditions Golf Club this past weekend.
A&M had won their previous two Aggie Invitationals and were just shy of claiming their third.
The Aggies shot a tournament total of 1120, 40 over par to finish 11 strokes behind tournament winner the No. 8 Oregon Ducks. The Aggies finished in a tie with top ranked Texas with Oklahoma (52 over par), and Oklahoma State (59 over par) rounding the top five teams in this ten team tournament.
We were really solid today,” head coach J.T. Higgins said. “We didn’t lose the tournament today, we lost it yesterday. All the big numbers yesterday hurt. It was a lot of ground to try and make up and we didn’t get off to a fast start. Oregon was just really patient, really disciplined-they were impressive. They did a great job today.
After the second round of play, the Aggies found themselves in sole possession of second place after a 759 total score for a 39 over par. At this point, the Aggies were seven shots behind Oregon and still two shots ahead of Oklahoma.
One of the story lines on Saturday was the gritty performance by A&M junior All-American Cameron Peck. Peck finished the first day in eighth place (5 over 149), this being after a back injury that occurred in the eighth hole of the second round.
“It was truly one of the gutsiest performances I’ve ever seen,” Higgins said. “He played the back nine at par and could barely walk. He hit some great shots. We will definitely rest him the rest of this week before Big 12s.”
On the final day, Peck finished in 15th place with a 226 shot total, 10-over par. The best finish came from Aggies senior Geoff Shaw who came in seventh place with a 221, five over par total.
With the weekend and regular season now in the books, the Aggies will turn their attention to the Big 12 Championship Tournament in Trinity, Texas. After the Big 12 tournament, the Aggies will then open the NCAA Regional Tournament which starts May 17th.
We have to be really stronger mentally for the postseason, Coach Higgins said. “We are a really solid team, but to try and win these next three tournaments we’ve got to be great. So we’re going to have to be a lot tougher.”