The No. 7 Texas A&M men's golf team enters the 2009-2010 season as defending National Champions.
Despite the title, the Aggies will approach the season as a new beginning and look to improve areas where the team struggled last year.
"We aren't approaching (the season) as if we are the National Champions; we are approaching it like we have another season of golf," said A&M Head Coach J.T. Higgins. "There were a lot of things we should have done better last year and we are going to work on those things."
The overwhelming question that faces the Aggies this season will be how to replace All-American former member Bronson Burgoon.
Burgoon, who will go down as one of the greatest golfers in A&M's history, finished in the top 25 in 10 tournaments last season, including five top five finishes. It was Burgoon's birdie on the 18th hole during the NCAA Championships that clinched the national title for the Aggies.
"I am anxious to see how we [replace Burgoon] this year," Higgins said. "We are talking about losing one of the best players in the history of this program and that is a no small task. I am anxious to see who steps up."
Despite the big hole Burgoon leaves in the A&M line-up, Higgins said that the team will be better because of it. The team will return three starters from last year in senior Andrea Pavan and juniors John Hurley and Conrad Shindler, who will all be competing for the top spot in the line-up.
"This year we have three to five guys who are competing for that No. 1 spot, and that should make us better down the line," Higgins said. "Last year it was pretty much determined pretty early on who the No. 1 on the team was and everyone else was playing for second best. I think it will be a great competition to see who the No. 1 player on our team will be, and ultimately that will make us an even better team than we were last year."
Shindler said competing in the NCAA Championship in the summer revealed the character of a team without Burgoon.
"Losing Bronson is big," Shindler said. "But we all saw a lot in ourselves at the National Championship because we all had our own part in [winning] it, and it showed us that we are capable of stepping up when needed and filling in the gap. "
Another bonus to the Aggie roster this season will be increased depth coming from a freshman recruiting class that includes four freshmen ranked in the top 50 amongst junior golfers.
Most noticeable is the 2008 Junior National Player of the Year, Cameron Peck. Peck was tabbed as the No. 1 player in the nation by Polo Golf after winning the 2008 Junior US Amateur Open and two major American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events.
"Cameron is a difference-maker who should make an immediate impact on our team," Higgins said. "I don't think there is any doubt that Cameron is going to play. He is probably a little too talented to keep out of the line-up."
With the fall season opening this weekend at the William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., Higgins plans to allow competition to decide the top five spots for the spring. While allowing some new faces to prove themselves, the Aggies will not sacrifice the overall goal, which is to win tournaments.
"Our whole program is built around competition in the fall that carries into the spring," Higgins said. "We want to win every time we go out and play, so we are going to play the five best guys at that time. I am not going to sacrifice our team standing and our team having a chance to win to let younger guys play."
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