OPELIKA, ALA (June 1) — The Georgia Tech men’s golf team recorded a team round of 282 on Thursday and finished the first 36 holes of the NCAA Championships alone in third place. The Yellow Jackets made the 36-hole cut at the 72-hole event, which is being contested at the par-72, 7003-yard, Grand National Golf Club’s Lake Course in Opelika, Ala.
Following the first two rounds of play, Tech stands at 14 under par, 280-282=562, which is five shots off the pace of second-round leader Oklahoma State. The Cowboys turned in the top round of the day in carding a 12-under-par 276 to stand at 281-276=557. First-round leader Texas is in second place at 272-286=558, or 18 under par.
Leading the Yellow Jacket individuals in the field is senior Matt Kucher (Lake Mary, Fla.), who carded a 2-under-par 70 on Thursday and is part of a two-way tie for fifth place at 7-under-par 67-70=137. Kuchar trails the event’s individual leaders Charles Howell of Oklahoma State (67-66=133) and first-round leader David Gossett of Texas (63-70=133), both of whom are at 11-under-par after 36 holes. Fellow senior Carlton Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) also turned in a 70 on the second day of competition and is part of a 19-player logjam in 28th place at even par 74-70=144 for the tournament.
Tech had two other individuals turn in rounds in red figures, as freshman Troy Matteson (Austin, Texas) carded a 1-under-par 71 in the second round and joins Forrester at even par in the event among the 19 players tied for 28th place. Sophomore Matt Weibring (Plano, Texas) matched Matteson on the second day in recording his second straight 71 and is part of a five-way tie for 16th place at 2-under-par 71-71=142.
The final Georgia Tech individual in the field is junior Bryce Molder (Conway, Ark), who finished the day with an even-par round of 72 and is at 3-under-par 69-72=141 after 36 holes of play, which puts him among three players tied for 13th place.
The tournament continues tomorrow with the third round of competition, and Georgia Tech will be in the final set of threesomes with its round beginning at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.
TEAM SCORES AFTER 36 HOLES
1 Oklahoma State U. 281 276 557 -19 2 Texas, Univ. of 272 286 558 -18 3 Georgia Tech 280 282 562 -14 4 North Carolina, U of 288 282 570 -6 5 Kent State 288 283 571 -5T 6 Houston, Univ. of 284 289 573 -3T 6 UNLV 286 287 573 -3 8 Arizona, U. of 286 289 575 -1T 9 Auburn University 290 288 578 +2T 9 TCU 289 289 578 +2T 9 Clemson University 291 287 578 +2T 9 Fresno State Univ. 293 285 578 +2T 13 Northwestern 287 293 580 +4T 13 Minnesota, Univ. of 290 290 580 +4T 15 Georgia, U. of 292 290 582 +6T 15 Wake Forest Univ. 292 290 582 +6T 17 California, U. of 300 283 583 +7T 17 East Tennessee St. 286 297 583 +7T 19 Mississippi St. U. 288 296 584 +8T 19 New Mexico, U. of 286 298 584 +8 21 Kansas, U. of 291 294 585 +9 22 Georgia State Univ. 295 292 587 +11T 23 Oklahoma, U. of 294 294 588 +12T 23 Pepperdine Univ. 295 293 588 +12T 25 Arizona State U. 299 290 589 +13T 25 Virginia, U. of 299 290 589 +13 27 North Florida, U. of 294 296 590 +14 28 Brigham Young Univ. 299 294 593 +17 29 Southern California 299 300 599 +23 30 Washington, U. of 301 312 613 +37
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS AND GEORGIA TECH PLAYERS
1. Charles Howell, Oklahoma State 67-66=133 David Gossett, Texas 63-70=1333. Chris Wisler, ETSU 67-68=1354. J.J. Wall, Texas 65-71=1365. Matt Kuchar, Georgia Tech 67-70=137 Jeremy Anderson, UNLV 69-68=1377. Landry Mahan, Oklahoma State 70-68=138 Ricky Barnes, Arizona 70-68=1389. Jess Daley, Northwestern 69-70=139 James Driscoll, Virginia 68-71=139
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS
T 13. Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech 69-71=141T 16. Matt Weibring, Georgia Tech 71-71=142T 28. Troy Matteson, Georgia Tech 73-71=144T 28. Carlton Forrester, Georgia Tech 74-70=144
