Nacho Elvira did his homework over the Christmas break, and because of it, the Texas A&M men's golf team has graded out well this spring.

Now comes the real test, the postseason beginning with the Big 12 tournament.

Six months ago, it was no guarantee Elvira, a redshirt freshman, would be among A&M's five golfers at Whispering Pines in Trinity on Friday. But over the past month, he's arguably been one of collegiate golf's top five players, winning the Barona Cup in California, finishing sixth twice and being named Golfweek's Player of the Week.

It started when A&M coach J.T. Higgins gave Elvira a reading assignment over the holidays.

"Coach gave me a lot of stuff to read over Christmas, and I picked some books to read. That's been my biggest improvement," Elvira said. "I was so focused on not making mistakes I could not focus on playing my own golf. If I made a bogey, it was, 'Don't make another one,' instead of, 'Forget about it, and you can make birdie on this hole.'"

For the talented Elvira, the improvement might've been a simple matter of time, which was something he needed after coming over from Spain to play for A&M.

"I was from a different country, and I had a lot of problems, like missing home," he said. "I struggled with the language. I wasn't focused mentally to be here."

Higgins recognized the difficulties Elvira was having, most of them off the course, and redshirted the Spaniard.

"With the language barrier, his first two months here he was quiet, didn't talk a lot and really didn't know English that well," Higgins said. "Now, gosh, we can't shut him up. Once he felt comfortable speaking English, that's when he started to blossom."

He still hadn't bloomed this fall, however, and Higgins knew Elvira would need to work mentally on his game if he were to crack A&M's deep starting lineup.

"Once he got to where he was looking forward and not looking backward at all, it made all the difference in the world to him," Higgins said. "He realized what he was capable of, that he was talented enough he could birdie four, five, six holes in a row and totally wipe out what had happened before."

Still, it took a chip-in on the first hole of a qualifier for Elvira to earn his spot in A&M's starting five when the Aggies opened the spring season in Hawaii.

"I'm glad he won the spot," Higgins said. "I knew it was just a matter of time before he broke into the lineup, especially with his short game. It is ridiculous."

After reading up on the game and working with a sports psychologist, Elvira is now playing up to this potential. Over his last four tournaments (12 rounds), he's had four rounds in the 60s, including a 66 in California when he and the team brought home first-place trophies. His highest round over the stretch was a 74, and he recently shared the Big 12 golfer of the month award with Oklahoma State's Trent Leon.

Elvira has enjoyed more than the golf this spring. Everywhere the Aggies play, it's his first chance to visit that site.

"I'd only been in the States in Florida, so everywhere I go I'm liking it better," said Elvira, who is from Santander, the hometown of Spain's Seve Ballesteros. "I've been in Vegas, Georgia, Arizona, San Diego. I'm going to very nice places and enjoying it a lot."

Higgins recruited Elvira and fellow-teammate Andrea Pavan of Italy at the same tournament in Europe. Elvira is a three-time Spanish national junior champion.

"When we sat down and talked in Italy, he couldn't understand a word I was saying," Higgins said. "He just knew he had a chance to go to college, so he nodded his head a lot and agreed."

Elvira admits as much.

"I didn't know where Texas was on that day, but it's one of the best choice I've ever made in my life," Elvira said.

A&M among favorites

The 16th-ranked Aggie men are looking for their first Big 12 golf title. Fifth-ranked Oklahoma State, the only Big 12 team ranked ahead of the Aggies, is the team to beat, but Higgins says A&M has the team this year that can upend the defending champions.

"I think for the first time since I've been here that if we play our best and they play their best we can beat them," Higgins said. "In the past, if we played our best, they would still have to be a little bit off. They'd have to do some things wrong. I hope they play their best, and we play our best and we'll see who comes out on top."

Texas Tech is ranked 27th and Texas is 38th among the Golfweek rankings. Baylor and Colorado have also posted scores that could put them in the running with a good showing.

Bobby Gates Jr., Bronson Burgoon, Elvira, Pavan and Matt Van Zandt will compete for A&M. It's the team that shot 37-under in California and beat OSU by 20 strokes.

NOTES -- A&M's Pavan, Trey Todd and Van Zandt were named to the academic All-Big 12 first team Wednesday. A&M's Miranda Orr, Lauren Johnson and Ashley Freeman also made the first team on the women's side.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.