Special to The Eagle
DALY CITY, Calif. -- Senior Bronson Burgoon set a Texas A&M record with an 8-under-par 64 on Saturday to help the 12th-ranked Aggies finish third at the NCAA Men's Golf West Regional at Lake Merced Golf Club.
A&M, which shot 281-286-273-840, advances to the NCAA Championship on May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio, along with the other top-five teams.
Senior Matt Van Zandt added a career-best 67 as A&M posted a team score of 15-under for the third-best round in school history.
"It was an awesome day," said A&M head coach J.T. Higgins, who has taken A&M to nationals five of the last seven seasons. "Our two seniors didn't want this to be their last college tournament. They wanted a chance to play for a national championship. They played with a lot of heart and determination. We put the ball in the right position all day and after missing putts all week, we knew we were due to start making some. We played really solid golf and took advantage of our opportunities."
Arizona State won with a 828, nine shots ahead of Oregon. San Diego 849 and Southern California 853 rounded out the top five. Other scores were New Mexico 854, San Diego State 857, San Francisco 863, Colorado 864, Oregon State 868, UC Irvine 870, Kansas State 872 and UC Davis 873.
Burgoon placed second individually with an 11-under 205 (69-72-64), finishing one stroke behind Arizona State's Jesper Kennegard (66-68-70-204). Van Zandt (73-71-67-211) tied for 12th, while A&M sophomore John Hurley (67-72-74-213) tied for 18th, junior Andrea Pavan (72-71-72-215) tied for 27th and sophomore Nacho Elvira (75-73-70-218) tied for 43rd.
Burgoon's round included two eagles and six birdies. His only miscues were three-putt bogeys on Nos. 4 and 12.
Burgoon was 1 over through five holes but made a short birdie putt on the par-5 sixth. He drained a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth. He ripped a 326-yard drive on the par-5 ninth and made a 4-foot putt for eagle after hitting a 7-iron from 190 yards. He added another eagle on the par-5 14th with a 3-foot putt that was set up by a long drive and an 8-iron form 179 yards. He birdied the next three holes and finished with a par on the par-5 18th.
"The guys I played with started poorly, and I was thinking that par would be a good score today," Burgoon said. "The eagle on the ninth really got me jump-started. I was livid after I three-putted the 12th, but after I eagled the 15th, I knew I had a good round going. It's great to set the school record at regionals because it helped the team advance, and that's all that really mattered."
Van Zandt got the Aggies off to a great start when he holed a lob wedge from 75 yards for eagle on the par-4 second. He added five birdies, including one on the 18th to end his round.
Elvira was 3 under through six holes and had six birdies. He also birdied the final hole.
Other Big 12 teams advancing from the NCAA Tournament's six regionals were No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 24 Texas.
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