Bulldogs Claim Roadrunner Intercollegiate Championship

SAN ANTONIO – The Mississippi State men's golf team claimed their first tournament championship since the 2006 fall season Tuesday, winning the Roadrunner Intercollegiate after a three-round score of 864 at the par-71 Oak Hills Country Club.

The Bulldogs had not won a tournament championship since the Callis Communications Intercollegiate in fall 2006, and has now won three tournaments overall in the Clay Homan era.

In round one this week, MState shot an 8-over-par 292 and stood in fifth place. The Bulldogs then rebounded in round two, firing a 275 - the fourth lowest round in school history - and moved into first place. The Bulldogs maintained the top position in round three after notching a 297, beating runner-up Texas Tech by nine strokes.

"We did not play as well today but the wind had a large role in that," said Homan. "We were able to hang in there and we did what we had to do to earn this win."

MSU's Noah Goldman claimed the individual championship of the event after a 1-under-par, three-round score of 212. The Longwood, Fla., native also notched a career-low, one-round score of 64 in round two.

"The second round really helped Noah (Goldman) and helped our team out," said Homan. "Noah was able to hang in there in the third round and pick up the individual title."

Senior Josh Oller tied for fifth after shooting 1-over-par with a 214, including a career-low 68 in round two. Senior Jake Lambert finished 11th with a 5-over-par 218, including a 1-under-par performance in round two. Junior Josh Bevell shot consistent rounds of 75, 74 and 72 for an 8-over-par showing. Junior Matt Fast tallied a 76, 73 and 80 through three rounds for the Bulldogs.

Runner-up Texas Tech finished nine strokes behind MSU with an 873, followed by Oklahoma with an 874. Wichita State tallied a score of 875 followed by Louisiana-Monroe going 29-over-par. Rounding out the field was Sam Houston State, Air Force, DePaul, host Texas-San Antonio, Central Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin State, Illinois State, Texas State, Marshall, Rhode Island, Texas-San Antonio (B-Team) and McNeese State.

MSU will resume competition on March 2 when the Bulldogs will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to compete in the Seminole Intercollegiate.

Team Results
1.Mississippi State U. 292-275-297=864, +12 2. Texas Tech U. 286-287-300=873, +21 3. Oklahoma, U. of 291-297-286=874, +22 4. Witchita State U. 288-298-289=875, +23 5. Louisiana-Monroe, U. of 289-299-293=881, +29 6. Sam Houston State U. 300-285-302=887, +35 7. Air Force Academy 303-301-284=888, +36 T8. Texas-San Antonio, U. of 303-287-300=890, +38 T8. DePaul U. 303-299-288=890, +38 T10. Central Arkansas 305-290-301=896, +44 T10. Stephen F. Austin State 301-297-298=896, +44 12. Illinois State U. 302-302-300=904, +52 T13. Marshall U. 311-298-299=908, +56 T13. Texas State U. 306-299-303=908, +56 15. Rhode Island, U. of 305-303-312=920, + 68 16. Texas-San Antonio, U. of (B-Team) 326-296-299=921, +69 17. McNeese State U. 326-302-303=931, +79

MSU Individual Results
1 Noah Goldman 73-64-75=212, -1
T5 Josh Oller 71-68-75=214, +1
11 Jake Lambert 73-70-75=218, +5
T18 Josh Bevell 75-74-72=221, +8
T53 Matt Fast 76-73-80=229, +16

Texas Golf Takes Eighth In Arizona

(UWIRE) AUSTIN, Texas — In a display of both poise and potential, the University of Texas’ men’s golf team concluded its first event of 2008 with a small but noticeable comeback.

The youthful Longhorns finished the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate Monday evening, saving their best score for the final round. Texas opened the final round of the competition tied for a meager 11th place, but a strong collective effort helped the Longhorns advance three spots to take eighth in the 16-team tournament, which was won by Tennessee.

Senior Jace Moore accumulated five birdies in the event’s closing round, earning Texas’ top individual finish. Moore finished the tournament tied for 16th place overall, carding a team-best 1-under-par with 212 strokes.

The veteran’s solid play pleased coach John Fields.

"Jace had a consistent tournament this week, and this is what we’ve been looking for out of Jace," Fields said.

Sophomores Charlie Holland and Lance Lopez also overcame early setbacks and each carded a 3-under 68 in the final round.

"Charlie gave us a great effort in the last couple of rounds, coming off the 80 in the first round," Fields said. "He showed us with the 70 and 68 that this is the kind of golf he can play."

Their improvements provided a theme for the rest of the Longhorns at the tournament. While their early play suggests otherwise, Fields believes his team possesses a high level of talent and promise.

"We got off to a poor start this week, but we came back in the second round with a really good 284 before following with a 279, which was more like the golf we know we can play," Fields said. "We’re not happy with finishing in eighth place, but we’ve got a lot left in the tank and a lot of reasons to believe we’re starting to play well."

Bobby Gates Leads Texas A&M Golf In 2008

(UWIRE) COLLEGE STATION, Texas — When Tiger Woods arrived on the scene in 1996 and uttered his famous "Hello world," golf exploded onto the national scene as something that didn’t belong to 55-year-old doctors and lawyers at hoity-toity country clubs near scenic beaches. In 1996, Texas A&M senior Bobby Gates was 11 years old, and silently swinging his way towards the top of the junior golfing world.

Gates, born on Dec. 31, 1985, grew up in the heart of Gator country in Gainesville, Fla. His father, Bob Gates, a professional in his own right, was a major factor in the young Gates’ development as a golfer.

"Growing up, my dad taught me everything," Gates said. "He started me out with little clubs, and just kinda went from there. Around 8th or 9th grade I really found a passion for the game, and decided it was something I wanted to pursue."

Senior Bobby Gates' swing in a series of slow motion still shots. (photo: Jonny Green)

Standing at 6-feet-6-inches, Gates said he played basketball through junior high and into high school, but never found a passion for it like he did with golf.

"Besides," Gates said with a sly smile, "golf is more fun than those other sports. And its something I can play for the rest of my life."

During his amateur career, Gates collected a slew of honors and victories. In 2001, Gates won the Florida State Junior Championship and finished runner-up the following year. At Buchholz High School, Gates finished third in 2003 and sixth in 2000.

"He is one of the reasons this program has progressed so fast," said A&M men’s head coach J.T. Higgins. "He was such a great junior golfer that it drew many others to the program. He has been one of the building blocks of this program over the past four years."

Gates was a first team American Junior Golf Association All-American in 2004, and Golfweek ranked him as the No. 6 junior golfer in the country.

"I really enjoyed playing different places as a kid," he said. "My dad and I got to go to a lot of cool courses. Plus in those tournaments the competition was really stiff and it helped improve my game in all areas."

Gates also competed in team competitions as a junior golfer, and said that those style events taught him how to play as a piece of a unit and spilled over when he came to A&M.

Then, during his senior year in Florida, Gates received a letter from A&M, showing interest in having him on their team.

"I really hadn’t thought about playing college golf," Gates said. "Then, one day I got a letter from [A&M Head Coach] Higgins. They showed me the plans for the current facility and it sparked my interest. I took a visit out here, as well as to TCU and Florida, but I really loved the people here and felt it was a perfect fit."

Now, almost four years later, Gates is in his final semester as an Aggie, and he and the team are poised to make a run at the Big 12 and into the NCAA tournament.

"Bobby is an awesome player," head coach Higgins said. "He is so physically gifted. The challenge for him now is to make this semester the best one ever. He has done so many great things for us and has always been a positive role model and a great leader — we are really going to be sad to see him go."

The team has been spending the offseason and the first part of 2008 sharpening their skills.

"Everyone is working as hard as they have ever worked right now," Gates said. "We are working on the little things that we have gotten away from and our focus is as sharp as it’s been. When those big moments come, we will be ready."

The Aggies tee it up for their first competitive round during the last week in February in Hawaii, and have about two months until they take on the conference in the Big 12 Tournament in Trinity, Texas.

With Gates at the helm and a solid core around him, including junior phenomenon Bronson Burgoon, fresh off a semester in academic ineligibility, the Aggies will attempt to make some serious noise around the country come May.

Tech men's golf finishes 5th after leading early

The Texas Tech men's golf team finished fifth in the Hawaii-Hilo Intercollegiate tournament at Waikoloa Village Golf Club last week.

Coach Greg Sands said he believes this disappointing finish will provide motivation for his team.

"We started really well, we were tied for first," Sands said. "We ended up dropping to fifth. The guys seem pretty motivated to not let that happen again. It was fifth out of eighteen, so we can't act like it was a bad performance. The guys are just so hungry to win tournaments that they were pretty disappointed that they didn't get the job done."

Junior golfer Garrett Merrell turned in one of his top outings of the year by finishing in the Top 10. He shot the tournament's third lowest round total Thursday with a six-under 64.

"Off the top of my head, I guess that's his best performance," Sands said. "We really are working on just doing well as a team, and he is obviously a team player. He has had three straight Top 10 (finishes), and I think he is playing real consistent and has got a lot of confidence right now. It's hard to judge from field to field which is the better performance, he is just playing really good right now."

The team ended day one of the tournament in a tie for first place with Arizona State but saw that lead disappear over the next two days. Sands said he believes some of his golfers tried too hard to win the tournament.

"I think for the most part, more than anything, we just probably tried a little bit too hard," he said. "Mentally I think they tried to win the golf tournament on the second and third day instead of just going out and playing. Sometimes in golf you can get ahead of yourself, not stay in the present, so to speak, and focus on each shot - they were thinking too far ahead."

Sands said he thought his team was well prepared, but they were just unable to finish.

"Sometimes you just don't do as well as you hoped," he said. "Like I said, we played well at first, we just didn't finish it. Most of those guys are from last year. Most of the guys have played on Bermuda greens, and it was windy one day. Obviously we were prepared for that, being (from) Lubbock."

Sands said he believes his team needs to hold on to a lead when it can get one, but he believes that will come with maturity.

"Basically I just - we are trying look at it like 'hey we are going to get the job done, but we are learning lots of different things from our experience' and in the long run we think it's going to make us better," he said. " Each one of the guys has something I think they can take from that and get better. Ultimately, we just don't want to be satisfied with being in the lead and not holding on to it."

Along with Merrell leading the team with a 7-under 203, Chris Ward shot a 4-under 206 to tie for 13th place in his first event as a Red Raider. Will Griffin and Santiago Rivas both carded a 2-over 212 while freshman Sergio Franky finished with an 8-over 218.

No. 10 Stanford won the event while No. 8 USC and Arizona State finished tied for second place.

Nicklaus/PGA teaching grants awarded to 18 chapters of The First Tee --Texas Chapter is Recipient

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The PGA Foundation, in conjunction with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, has begun the 2008 golf season awarding teaching grants totaling $90,000 to 18 chapters of The First Tee representing 14 states.

To date, 155 of the 206 active chapters of The First Tee nationwide have been recipients of either a PGA of America or Nicklaus/PGA teaching grant. The combined PGA and Nicklaus/PGA grants total $1,810,000.

Since 2001, The PGA of America and Nicklaus have partnered to create a $2 million endowment to provide teaching grants to certified chapters of The First Tee that utilize PGA Professionals for instruction.

"The PGA of America is proud to kick off this New Year with our partner Jack Nicklaus to extend Nicklaus/PGA Teaching Grants coast to coast," said PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb. "The wonderful messages and reports we receive are that these grants continue to produce success stories in communities. The First Tee momentum has helped grow the game of golf and brought many young people into the game."

The program continues to highlight The PGA of America's commitment to partner with its PGA Professionals to grow participation in golf.

The current Nicklaus/PGA teaching grants totaling $5,000 each have been awarded to The First Tee Chapters in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

Since its inception in 1997, there are 206 chapters of The First Tee in operation and 264 golf-learning facilities that have introduced the game of golf and its values to more than 2.2 million participants and students (which include the students of the National School Program). The focus is to give young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education, life-enhancing values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.

The PGA Growth of the Game Program is one of a number of initiatives administered by The PGA of America through its PGA Foundation

The PGA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity, is dedicated to enhancing lives through the game of golf. The Foundation provides people of every ability, race, gender, and social and economic background an opportunity to experience the game and learn vital life lessons. The PGA Foundation achieves its mission through programs which provide instruction and access to playing the game of golf along with enriching those lives by providing educational, employment and scholarship opportunities.

For more information about the PGA Foundation, visit www.pgafoundation.org, or call (561) 624-7612.

Nicklaus/PGA of America Teaching Grant - $5,000 awarded to each chapter
The First Tee of Greater Trenton - Hamilton, N.J.
The First Tee of The Tri-Valley - Pleasanton, Calif.
The First Tee of Myrtle Beach - Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The First Tee of Columbia Basin - Pasco, Wash.
The First Tee of New Orleans - New Orleans, La.
The First Tee of Albany - Albany, Ga.
The First Tee of Clearwater - Clearwater, Fla.
The First Tee of Modesto - Modesto, Calif.
The First Tee of Metropolitan NY/Essex County - Newark, N.J.
The First Tee of Northern Nevada - Reno, Nev.
The First Tee of Eagle County - Edwards, Colo.
The First Tee of Idaho - Boise, Idaho
The First Tee of the Lake Norman Region - Cornelius, N.C.
The First Tee of Central Louisiana - Pineville, La.
The First Tee of Harford County, Md. - Aberdeen, Md.
The First Tee of Metropolitan NY/Nassau County - East Meadow, N.Y.
The First Tee of Metropolitan NY/Golf Club at Chelsea Piers - New York, N.Y.
The First Tee of Brazoria County - Lake Jackson, Texas

Since 1916, The PGA of America's mission has been twofold: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.

By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, the Association enables PGA Professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the $195 billion golf industry.

By creating and delivering dramatic world-class championships and exciting and enjoyable golf promotions that are viewed as the best of their class in the golf industry, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere.

The PGA of America brand represents the very best in golf.

Northern Texas PGA's Crall is selected to head the PGA Foundation

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Darrell Crall, who has served since 1995 as executive director of the Northern Texas PGA Section while developing and guiding a wide range of members programs, junior golf and fundraising initiatives, has been named the executive director of the PGA Foundation.

Crall, who will continue his Section duties while living in Dallas, Texas, will assume the responsibility of building the PGA Foundation enterprise-wide through transferring best practices and leveraging current assets. Additionally, he will guide the promotion of the economic impact of The PGA of America, its membership, facilities and Sections in the charitable arena, and establish benchmark goals for major gifts and fundraising events.

"I am humbled by the opportunity to build upon past success of the PGA Foundation," said Crall. "I look forward to working alongside the Association's more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals and through its Sections as we grow the game of golf, making it accessible to all segments of every community, enhancing the lives of youth, the disabled and building diversity."

A native of Ashland, Ohio, Crall is a 1989 graduate of Duke University, where he captained the men's golf team. He joined the Carolinas PGA Section headquarters in 1990 as junior golf/tournament manager, and served from 1992-93 as director of education and employment. Crall was named director of tournament operations in 1993, where he was responsible for the largest golf professional tournament operations at the Section level.

He was named Northern Texas PGA executive director in 1995, and made an immediate impact by elevating the Section's annual budget, directing the marketing, promotion and management of the Section and Junior Golf Foundation, which includes an active membership of more than 5,000 PGA Professionals, junior golf and association members.

Crall organized and branded the nationally-recognized Help-A-Kid Play Golf and Golf In Schools Program, which introduces golf to more than 25,000 inner-city youngsters at city recreation centers and elementary, middle and high schools. From 1996 through 2007, Crall established and conducted the Ewing Charity Classic fundraiser to generate $2.6 million for children's charities; and since 1998, created and annually managed the Deloitte Justin Leonard Scholarship Program, raising $1.2 million for the academic and financial need-based college assistance for junior golfers.

Crall and his wife, Lane, live in Dallas, and are the parents of daughter Sarah Caroline, 5, and a son, Davis, 3.

The PGA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity, is dedicated to enhancing lives through the game of golf. The Foundation provides people of every ability, race, gender, and social and economic background an opportunity to experience the game and learn vital life lessons.

The PGA Foundation achieves its mission through programs which provide instruction and access to playing the game of golf along with enriching those lives by providing educational and employment opportunities.