Brian Kortan's Aggies are preparing for SEC Championship in Georgia

Following a first-place finish at the Traditions Club in the Aggie Invitational last weekend, Texas A&M head men's golf coach Brian Kortan joined us in studio on Thursday's edition of TexAgs Live as he prepares his Aggies for the SEC Championship in Georgia next weekend.

Key notes from Brian Kortan interview

• The Aggie Invitational was great. These guys just really did a great job. First and foremost, it's you playing at home. Every office has different challenges, and we've had a few guys who have been in that area before, and our players are maybe a little more comfortable than others.
   
• The conditions were great. The wind was blowing, and it was done. They know they need to play in those conditions. We will get to California, San Diego, so for our guys to handle that well, going against one of the elite programs, which has been Oklahoma for the last 10 years, and to go head to head with the others as well. They held their heads high and did what they needed to do.
   
• When Phichaksn Maichon sticks to it, we talk about keeping the main thing the main thing with him. His golf can be really consistent. The thing that's so impressive about him is that there's nothing there that would just knock your socks off, other than that there's nothing wrong with anything he does. It's so solid from the ground up. When he's in a good head space and moving forward, he's really good. I read a little, but I think there were only 20 under-par rounds, and he was three of them. They were back to back to back.
   
• Consistency is that every guy has really done a good job. The strengths of our squad are having five guys with a chance to give good scores. I mean, Michael Heidelbaugh's thrown a few in there. Wheaton Ennis has thrown a few. Aaron Pounds has been extremely consistent. The fifth guy is moving in and out of a few, but those four have really carried the load, and Maichon is pulling the truck. I think it helps the other guys relax a little, too.
   
• It's a long season. It's as long a season as you can have, from August to near June. You ride some ebb and flows of it. The energy’s sometimes there. Sometimes you're searching for it. Before the tournament, I had given the trophy out. I wanted to give it to them. You want to defend your home course. You only get that once, and they did it.
   
• Heidelbaugh is the mature elite of the group. Vishnu Sadagopan, whether he’s in the lineup or not, is supportive and has done great things for us, playing or not. Over his career, he's fantastic. Ennis’ rank is like 80th in the country as a freshman, and he's not remotely satisfied with how he has played, which speaks to how he is. Pounds is probably three shots better than last year. This spring, he's been fantastic. Those guys have been good, and it's important to have a foundation with us. But for the most part, to have that group togetherness and play together is awesome.
   
• Ennis is awesome. He’s just a workhorse. He has an inquisitive mind. He has more questions than anyone, and he’s fun to be around. He’s played some good golf.
   
• I tried not to look at my phone for our scores for the Masters. I would ask a little, but in the last round, I was like, “Please let me know if I need to see something.” I wanted to be as relaxed and composed as possible with those guys.
   
• I feel like the guys are feeling rested and ready. They know what we are up against and facing. I think we are the I think 16th in the country, eighth in the SEC. It's the depth of our conference, and our team is right behind us. We've never shied away from the fact that our goal is to compete for the championship; you have to compete and continue to grow. They take coaching well and make changes to get better. Kudos to them for the effort, time and commitment to each other.
   
• If you need that situation, you can build a culture at each university you face. The SEC has 15 good teams. You continue to build those calluses to continue to build around teams. You look to finish near the top and get into match play, and in one situation. In golf. It's a mindset that they are getting better and can handle tough situations.