Coming off Regional win, A&M men's golf opens play at NCAA Championships on Friday

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M men's golf team is set to make its 32nd team appearance at NCAA Championships, beginning on Friday, May 24. The Championships will run through Wednesday, May 29 at The Blessings Golf Club (par 72/7,550 yards) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The Aggies recently earned their third Regional Championship in program history, claiming the NCAA Pullman Regional by two strokes. A&M will tee off Friday with fellow SEC members South Carolina and LSU at 6:50 a.m., and will return to the course Saturday with the same group at 12:10 p.m.

"I think we are playing our best golf right now and it just keeps getting better and better. The guys were amazing at Regionals, they did all the things we've asked them to do all year - be patient, disciplined, focused - they came ready to play. I think they felt like they had something to prove," said head coach J.T. Higgins. "If we stick to the things we've been doing, keeping the ball in play off the tee, not giving any shots away and being smart the rest of the time, we can play any golf course in the country. At the women's championship this week it has shown that this is a tough golf course. We'll need to be even more patient and disciplined than we were last week, but this team is perfectly capable."

A&M's victory in Pullman marked the first time in program history it has won back-to-back Regionals after claiming the Bryan Regional on its home course, Traditions Club, last season. In the win this season, A&M set a new 54-hole low as a team (807, -33) in Regional play. The mark also ranks second overall in the all-time record book. Individually, all four scoring Aggies finished in the top 12, each shooting par or lower in all three Regional rounds. Sophomore Walker Lee led the Aggies, finishing sixth (67-66-67=200, -10), while senior Chandler Phillips was right behind him in seventh (64-70-67=201, -9). Junior Brandon Smith and freshman Sam Bennett tied for 12th, shooting 6-under 203 in the tournament. Lee, Smith and Bennett all set new career 54-hole lows at the Regional.

Last season, A&M returned to NCAA Championships as a team for the first time since 2014. The Aggies advanced to match play, but fell to the eventual national champions, Oklahoma State. A&M's Championships appearance in 2014 capped off a seven-year streak of advancing out of the Regional Round, including the Aggie's 2009 National Championship run. Phillips leads the team with three appearances at nationals as he advanced as an individual in 2017.

Three Aggies were recently honored as the SEC released its postseason awards. Phillips was named to the All-SEC First Team for the third straight season, while Bennett earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team and Smith was acknowledged for his work away from golf, joining the league's Community Service Team. Phillips was recently named a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award, and holds the Texas A&M program records for career tournament wins (7), lowest single round score (63), lowest 54-hole score (-19) and season stroke average (70.85). Earlier in the year, he became the first American to be selected to participate in the Palmer Cup three times. In his career Phillips has accumulated 16 top-5 and 27 top-10 tournament finishes. Bennett has competed in 10 of the 11 events this season, earning a top-20 finish in stroke play at the SEC Championships and a top-12 finish at NCAA Regionals. He is second on the team with a 71.27 stroke average and finished six tournaments at par or lower. Smith has been a contributor all year for the Aggies, most recently finishing tied for 12th in Pullman to help A&M advance to Championships. Away from the course, Smith has served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while also participating in a number of different events and organizations in the community. The Frisco, Texas native took part in The Big Event, the largest student community service project in the country, the Aggies Read program that encourages reading in local elementary schools, and Aggies Can, a canned food drive for the homeless. Smith has also worked with Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity.

Follow the Aggies through NCAA Championships stroke play with updates and results here.