J.T. Higgins, A&M men's golf team looking to build on successful 2018
After an impressive 2018 fall season, the Texas A&M men's golf team will attempt to carry that strong momentum into the spring season which begins on Monday. Lia Musgrave caught up with A&M head coach J.T. Higgins to preview the season.
On how his program changed in his 18 years at Texas A&M:
"We were terrible when we first started, but now we're pretty good so every year is pretty fun. A lot better players, a lot better facilities. They are stuck with the same old coach, but the rest is all good."
On his takeaways from the success he witnessed during the fall:
"I think that we're pretty good. We are deep, very talented group of guys. I really like our freshmen that came in. Sam Bennett made a huge impact right away – more so than expected, so that's great. I think we have a chance to be a really good team this year."
On the most exciting thing about the depth of his team:
“The great thing is the competition at home. Nobody's job is secure. You’ve got to play good every day. You’ve got to come ready to practice. You’ve got to come ready to play. That part is great because the competition is intense at home then will probably carry over on the road."
On the attitude over the offseason:
“Our big thing is to always work hard. It has never really changed. I haven't found anything better for success than that. If you want to be good, work a little harder at it. Fortunately, we recruited a lot of guys that want to play this game for a living, and they know they are going to have to work hard to make it. I think they have put in some good time over the offseason. The weather hasn't been very cooperative, so we're a little rusty. We haven't gotten in as much practice as we’ve wanted. We’re not as far along this year as we have been in the past, but at the end we will be there."
On his expectations for the team in their upcoming trip to Arizona:
"I don't know what to expect because I have seen some good and bad. This last week of qualifying, we had Reese Ramsey look fantastic. He looked like he was ready to roll. Everybody else looked a little rusty at times, but yesterday we shot some pretty good scores and they seem to be coming around. I’m sure once we get to the tournament none of us will accept anything less than our best, and that means we should be able to have a chance to compete for the championship."