National championships don’t happen all that often at Texas A&M.

Consequently, this video is an instant Aggie classic in that it shows the remarkable wedge shot that The Woodands’ Bronson Burgoon stiffed on the 18th hole of the final match to win his match 1 up and seal the Aggies’ first NCAA Golf Championship this past weekend at storied Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio.

GolfWeek has the full coverage here of the Aggies’ remarkable run.  Way to go Ags!

Although it is flying under the radar screen outside of golfing circles, Lance Ten Broeck’s performance at last weekend’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio is one of the most amazing sports stories of the year. In fact, it would be so in most any year.

Ten Broeck is a 53 year-old former University of Texas golfer who bounced around the PGA Tour and satellite tours for decades before settling in to become a well-regarded caddy on the PGA Tour. Ten Broeck has looped for several well-known PGA Tour players and currently caddies for Jesper Parvenik.

As a former PGA Tour player, Ten Broeck was one of the alternates for the tournament in the event that one of the qualifying players dropped out. However, not expecting anyone to drop out of the tournament, Ten Broeck didn’t even bring his golf clubs to San Antonio.

Then, last Thursday, as Ten Broeck was getting ready to caddy for Parvenik, tournament officials informed Ten Broeck that a player had dropped out because of injury and that a spot in the tournament had opened up for him.

In 90 degree heat, Ten Broeck proceeded to caddy for Parvenik during his morning round on the incredibly hilly La Cantera Golf Course. Then, in the afternoon — and after borrowing clubs and shoes and buying a pair of pants at a nearby Dillard’s — Ten Broech went out and walked the course again while shooting a one-over-par 71 in the afternoon!

Incredibly, on Friday, again in 90 degree heat and after borrowing another set of clubs, Ten Broeck caddied for Parvenik in the morning and then went out and shot an even par 70. His 141 total for two days missed the 36-hole cut by two strokes.

By the way, Ten Broeck’s boss Parvenik shot 70-74 = 144 to finish below his caddy in the tournament.

I’ve played La Cantera several times. The thought of walking that hilly course twice on one hot day is daunting enough. However, that a 53 year-old did so while carrying a PGA Tour member’s bag, and then while shooting near par golf under PGA Tour tournament conditions, is flat-out unbelievable.

Brian Wacker provides more info here.

As noted earlier here, the Shell Houston Open had its best field in decades earlier this month when it was played the week before the Masters. Based on the World Golf Rankings, 15 of the top 20 players, and 21 of the top 30 played in the SHO, including No. 2 Phil Mickelson, No. 3 Sergio Garcia, No. 5 Padraig Harrigton and No. 6 Vijay Singh.

Just three years ago, when the SHO was being played in the slot two weeks after the Masters, Only two of the top 10 players in the World Rankings played and only ten others in the top 60 of the World Rankings bothered to show up.

This year, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has the slot two weeks after the Masters that the SHO used to inhabit. Only one of the top 10 players in the World Rankings is playing — Kenny Perry (5) — and only two more of the World top 20 are in the field, Steve Stricker (12) and Mike Weir (20). And that’s even with New Orleans offering arguably the best cuisine of any event on the PGA Tour.

Timing is everything in the Tiger Chasm.

"I can only tell you that eggs, country ham, biscuits, a pot of coffee, a morning paper, a table by the window overlooking the veranda and putting green, listening to the idle chitchat of competitors, authors, wits and philosophers, hasn’t exactly been a torturous way to begin each day at the Masters all these years."

–Dan Jenkins, Golf Digest (1985)

The lowdown on the 2009 Masters field is here, and Geoff Shackelford is doing his usual fine job of providing a daily review of the best information being generated in connection with the tournament. Starting at 9:45 a.m. CDT, you can watch a live feed of the tournament here.

The following are a few observations from my annual trek to the Shell Houston Open at the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club:

• As I’ve noted on a number of occasions, the Tournament Course has a reasonable number of interesting holes that are effectively distributed between three different courses — no. 1 and 18, no. 2-9, and no. 10-17. Inasmuch as the three sections of the course are relatively far away from each other, the best way to watch the action is to pick one of the three courses and then stick to that course for much of your stay at the tournament.
• If you prefer to limit your walking while at the tournament, stick to the area that contains no. 1 and no. 18. That area includes two reasonably interesting holes — no. 1 is a short par 4, while no. 18 is a long 4-par that is one of the hardest holes on the course. In addition, the area includes the driving range and putting green, numerous grandstands and concession areas. Accordingly, you can see all of the competitors without having to walk around much.
• My favorite spot on the golf course to watch the action is the area behind the 6th hole, the adjacent 7th tee and the close-by 8th tee. The players have to hit a reasonably long shot into the 6th green, a short but dicey iron on the par 3 7th and a big drive on the par-5 8th. Thus, you can watch all of the players hit a nice variety of shots while walking a very small area of the course. The only downside — the area is a good 30 minute walk from the 1st tee-18th green area.
• The Tournament Course is in extraordinarily good shape. The Houston Golf Association overseeds the course with rye grass during the winter months and the rye remains vibrant in Houston through about mid-April. That’s why the players enjoy putting on the greens so much — the rye has very little grain in comparison to the slower and grainier Bermuda grass that takes over the course during the warmer months from mid-April through mid-November.
• Although the Tournament Course is in great condition, the HGA could spruce it up a bit by planting some flowers around the course. For example, the unsightly drainage ditch that separates no. 1 and 18 from the rest of the course could use some wildflowers on the banks to provide some color. Moreover, given the lush green color of much of the rest of the course, some well-placed azaleas and other bright flowers would improve the ambiance of the course nicely.
• One of the most enjoyable aspects of PGA Tour events is that the players are almost all extremely nice and friendly. Each time I said "nice putt" or "nice shot" or "great birdie" to one of the players walking by, every one of them made eye contact, smiled and said "thanks."
• I’m always amazed at the increasing number of good ball-strikers on at these events. Everyone knows about such long-time ball-strikers par excellence such as Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Tommy Armour, III, among others. But relatively unknown players such as Jonathon Byrd, Vaughn Taylor, Michael Leitzig and Kevin Na are absolutely wonderful ball-strikers. It really makes you appreciate the depth of talent on the PGA Tour.
• By the way, the 54 year-old Norman and the 49 year-old Couples remain marvelous drivers of the golf ball. They remain amazingly long and accurate.
• Geoff Ogilvy is now firmly entrenched as one of golf’s big stars. You can tell it by the way he carries himself — he has that quiet air of confidence of one who knows that he belongs among the top players in the game. He is going to be around the top of the leaderboards for a long time. He really does hit the ball high, too.
• It is simply amazing to me that Paul Casey has never won a PGA Tour event. He is an wonderfully well-rounded player. His lack of a Tour win is another reflection of the incredible depth of talent on the PGA Tour.
• Phil Mickelson was a mess in his two rounds at Redstone (9 over par). On Friday morning, I watched him fan a 144 yard 9-iron into the water hazard 20 yards left of the hole on the par 3 7th hole. His drives were similarly erratic and he didn’t putt well. I can’t imagine that he feels much confidence going into Augusta National next week.
• While strolling over to the driving range, I had a nice chat with Houston-based teaching professional Jim Hardy, who was tutoring a number of his pupils during the week. We shared a nice chuckle on how Jack Nicklaus’ idiosyncratic swing principles had created an annuity for teaching professionals over the past generation because of the necessity to correct the swings of all the golfers who were attempting to emulate Nicklaus.
• If Sergio Garcia putted with the confidence that he hits his other shots, then he would have won multiple majors by now.
• A conversation between a couple of Tour pros on the 2nd tee overheard by a friend of mine: "Were you in Stanford [Financial Group]?" "Thank God, no. I passed on that one."