April 23, 2010
Championship Site
Live Scoring and Tee Times
New London, N.C. – John-Tyler Griffin shot a 4-under-par 68, and Chesson Hadley added a 3-under 69 Friday to pace 17th-ranked Georgia Tech to a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point in New London, N.C.
The Yellow Jackets, who are defending their 2009 conference title, shot a 9-under-par 279 as a team and edged ahead of playing partners Duke and Wake Forest, who each shot 8-under 280.
Griffin, a junior from Wilson, N.C., posted five birdies in his first 16 holes and did not have a bogey until the par-3 17th. Hadley, a senior from Raleigh, N.C., who finished a shot out of the individual lead in last year’s championship, had four birdies and one bogey, at the par-4 15th, on his round. It was his sixth consecutive subpar round at the championship.
“You have to keep playing all the way to the end, and we got three birdies on the last hole to finish strong, so I’m very happy about that,” said head coach Bruce Heppler. “We need to have some guys near the lead in order to win this thing, and J.T. and Chesson played very solid rounds today.”
Griffin is tied for third place, three shots back of Duke’s Adam Long, who shot a 65 Friday. The Demon Deacon’s Lee Bedford holds second place after one round with a 67. Hadley is in a five-way tie for fifth place.
Juniors Kyle Scott and Paul Haley each added a 1-under 71 Friday for the Yellow Jackets, who gained three shots to par on the par-5 18th hole. They are tied for 14th place. Sophomore James White, who eagled the last hole, shot a 73 and did not count for Tech.
The 54-hole event runs through Sunday on the 7,100-yard, par-72 Old North State Club course. Live scoring will be available on www.golfstat.com. Live webstreaming will be available for free on Saturday, April 24 from 2 p.m. to the conclusion of play and Sunday, April 25 from 2 p.m. to conclusion of play on theACC.com. Please visit the ACC website: www.theACC.com for complete details. The championship is free and open to the public.
The Yellow Jackets, No. 17 this week in the Golfstat rankings and No. 23 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, has won the conference championship three times in the last four years and five times in the last 10.
Saturday’s and Sunday’s rounds begin at 8:30 a.m., with pairings based on cumulative team standing after the previous round.
Old North State Club is hosting the championship for the 14th time overall and for the ninth consecutive year. Five of Tech’s ACC titles have occurred at Old North State, and the Yellow Jackets 11 titles in history ranked second among conference schools behind Wake Forest (18). Tech has won six of its conference titles under Heppler.
