ATLANTA (Oct. 3) – Fifth-ranked Georgia Tech fired a 5-under-par 283 as a team Sunday and won the 10th annual Carpet Capital Collegiate by 12 strokes, and junior Bryce Molder (Conway, Ark.) captured his third consecutive medalist honor at the event after a three-day total of 68-68-68-204. The tournament, which is Tech’s home event, was played at the 6,906-yard, par 72 The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga., and consisted of 11 top-25 teams, six of which are in the top 10.
The Jackets finished 14-under-par as a team after carding a 279-288-283-850 total to finish 12 strokes ahead of No. 1 Clemson and No. 8 Florida, both of which finished at 2-under 862. Tech’s margin of victory was the sixth-best in school history, while the team score of 850 was the eighth lowest for a 54-hole tournament. The Jackets became the first four-time winner of the event, adding to team wins in 1991, ’94 and ’95. It was the first win at the Farm for head coach Bruce Heppler, and his sixth at Georgia Tech.
Molder, a two-time first team all-America and 1999 ACC Player of the Year, matched his career best of 204, which he also shot a year ago during the same event. It is also the second lowest 54-hole individual score at the Institute, trailing only Matt Kuchar’s 202 in the 1998 NCAA East Regional. All three of Molder’s career collegiate victories have come at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. It marked Molder’s 20th top-10 finish in 28 collegiate tournaments.
Alex Rocha of Mississippi State placed second after shooting a 72-67-69-208, while Roland Thatcher of Auburn was third after carding a 72-68-70-210. Lucas Glover of Clemson, a co-medalist with Molder two years ago, was fourth after shooting a 68-72-71-211.
Following Clemson and Florida to round out the top five was No. 7 Houston at 289-292-283-864, while No. 22 Auburn was fifth at 290-293-289-872. Last year’s champion, No. 4 Georgia, finished ninth at 20-over-par with a 292-303-289-884.
Jacket senior Matt Kuchar (Lake Mary, Fla.) compiled his 18th top-10 finish in 38 collegiate events after finishing tied-for-eighth at 3-under 69-72-72-213. He has notched top 10 and top 20 placements in two tournaments this year. Redshirt-freshman Troy Matteson (Austin, Texas) tied-for-20th in his second collegiate event as he finished tied-for-17th at even par 70-76-70-216. Sophomore Kris Mikkelsen (Woodstock, Ga.) was one stroke back at 72-72-73-217 to place 21st at 1-over. Sophomore Matt Weibring (Plano, Texas) ended 62nd after carding a 14-over 74-76-78-230.
The Jackets are back in action Oct. 17-18 at the Iron Duke Golf Classic in Durham, N.C.
Team Results:1. Georgia Tech 279-288-283-8502. Clemson 282-291-283-862 Florida 287-287-288-8624. Houston 289-292-283-8645. Auburn 290-293-289-8726. UCLA 289-293-292-8747. Wake Forest 286-300-291-8778. Virginia 290-302-289-8819. Georgia 292-303-289-88410. NC State 287-297-302-88611. South Carolina 293-297-297-88712. North Carolina 296-292-301-88913. Tennessee 297-307-288-89214. Mississippi St. 300-294-299-89315. East Tennessee St. 300-302-295-897Top 10 Individuals1. Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech 68-68-68-2042. Alex Rocha, Mississippi St. 72-67-69-2-83. Roland Thatcher, Auburn 72-68-70-2104. Lucas Glover, Clemson 68-72-71-2115. Chris Morris, Houston 71-69-72-212 John Engler, Clemson 68-73-71-212 Mike Mitchell, Virginia 72-74-66-2128. Carl Pettersson, NC State 70-70-73-213 Max Harris, North Carolina 73-69-71-213 Matt Kuchar, Georgia Tech 69-72-72-213
