OPELIKA, AL (June 2) — The Georgia Tech men’s golf team shot its best team round of the tournament (278) and remained in sole possession of third place at the 2000 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships after 54 holes of play. The 72-hole event is being contested at the par-72, 7003-yard, Grand National Golf Club in Opelika, Ala.
The Yellow Jackets’ team round of 10-under-par, 278, puts them at 24 under par for the tournament (280-282-278=840). That total is eight shots off the pace of team leader Oklahoma State, which continued its strong play and is at 281-276-275=832 or 32 under par. Texas is in second place, seven shots behind Oklahoma State.
Leading the Tech individuals in the third round of play was sophomore Matt Weibring (Plano, Texas), who fired his best round of the championships, a 5-under-par 67 and is part of a three-way tie for tenth place at 7-under-par 71-71-67=209. Joining Weibring in the tie for tenth is senior Matt Kuchar (Lake Mary, Fla.), who carded an even-par 72 on Friday and is at 67-70-72=209 after 54 holes. Both players trail individual leader Charles Howell of Oklahoma State, who blitzed the course for a course-record-tying 63 on Friday and who is at 20-under-par 67-66-63=196 for the tournament.
The next Yellow Jacket individual in the field is senior Carlton Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), who continued his improved play in the event with an 4-under-par round of 68 on Friday, to stand in a four-way tie for 20th place at 4-under par 74-70-68=212. Junior Bryce Molder (Conway, Ark.) is also part of the group at four under par, as he finished the third round with a 1-under-par 71 and is at 69-72-71=212.
Rounding out the Georgia Tech contingent in the event is freshman Troy Matteson (Austin, Texas), who finished the third round with an even-par 72 and is one of eight players tied for 42nd place at even-par 73-71-72=216.
The NCAA Championships will conclude tomorrow with the final round of play. Georgia Tech will begin its round at 9:00 a.m. Central Time and will again be paired with Oklahoma State and Texas.
TEAM SCORES AFTER 54 HOLES
1. Oklahoma State 281-276-275=8322. Texas 272-286-277=8353. Georgia Tech 280-282-278=8404. Arizona 286-289-269=8445. North Carolina 288-282-278=8486. UNLV 286-287-277=850 Kent State 288-283-279=850 Houston 284-289-277=8509. Clemson 291-287-277=85510. Fresno State 293-285-279=85711. TCU 289-289-281=859 Northwestern 287-293-279=85913. Minnesota 290-290-282=86214. Auburn 290-288-288=86615. Wake Forest 292-290-295=877
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS AND GEORGIA TECH PLAYERS
1. Charles Howell, Oklahoma State 67-66-63=1962. David Gossett, Texas 63-70-66=1993. Chris Wisler, ETSU 67-68-68=2034. Ricky Barnes, Arizona 70-68-68=206 Jeremy Anderson, UNLV 69-68-69=2066. Chris Morris, Houston 71-69-67=2077. Brad Hyler, N. Carolina 69-71-68=208 Jess Daley, Northwestern 69-70-69=208 J.J. Wall, Texas 65-71-72=20810. Matt Weibring, Georgia Tech 71-71-67=209 Matt Kuchar, Georgia Tech 67-70-72=209 Max Harris, N. Carolina 75-68-66=209
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS
T 20. Carlton Forrester, Georgia Tech 74-70-68=212T 20. Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech 69-72-71=212T 42. Troy Matteson, Georgia Tech 73-71-72=216
