Sept. 13, 2009
ATLANTA –
Minghao Wang and John-Tyler Griffin each shot 2-under-par 70 Sunday, and four Georgia Tech players scored under par to lift the Yellow Jackets into a third-place finish at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga.
The 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets, who stood ninth after Friday’s first round and began the final round tied for fifth, turned in a 6-under-par total of 282 Sunday, a score bettered only by tournament winner Tennessee. Paul Haley and Kyle Scott each posted a 1-under 71 over the 7,012-yard, par 72 Farm Golf Club. Tech discarded an even-par 70 from freshman Bo Andrews.
“The hole locations were good and the greens were fast, so it was a good round for us,” said head coach Bruce Heppler. “We had some questions about our team coming up there. We found some answers, though not all of them. We competed hard and got better every day.
After a slow start Sunday in which Tech’s four counting players posted seven bogeys between them in the first four holes, they played the final 14 holes in 11-under-par. Only Wang faltered late, bogeying the final two holes after getting to 4-under-par. Griffin, Haley and Scott played the back nine collectively in 6-under-par with only one bogey.
Haley, a junior from Dallas, Texas, who had not played in a college event since his freshman year, was Tech’s low finisher, tying for 14th place after covering 54 holes in even-par 216.
“I played great,” said Haley, who finished third in Tech’s 108-hole team qualifier for this event. “Had a little trouble with my putting the first two days, but putted better today. I feel good about the year so far. My confidence is getting higher and higher, and I just need to keep doing what I’m doing.
“I only played two tournaments this summer, and I just wanted to work on my game and get ready for school. It’s panned out so far. It’s just good to play. The scores mean something to me, but it’s important just to play and get my confidence up.”
Griffin, a junior from Wilson, N.C., who opened with a 79 Friday, was 5-under-par over his last two riunds to tie for 20th at 2-over 218. Scott and Andrews tied for 24th at 220, and Wang tied for 29th at 221.
“This is a place where first-timers usually struggle, because there’s so much to know about where to leave the ball, but it was very positive,” said Heppler. “As long as you’re getting better every day, that’s what we try to do.”
Tennessee left the other 11 teams in its wake Sunday, blistering the Farm in 14-under-par 274 to win by 12 shots over Chattanooga. The Volunteers finished at 13-under-par 851, and the Moccasins 1-under-par 863. Tech was another two shots back at 3-over-par 867, followed by Auburn (870) and South Carolina (872).
Nils Floren of Texas Tech and Darren Fenwick of Tennessee tied for medalist honors at 6-under-par 210.
Tech is off until Sept. 25-26 when it travels to Greensboro, N.C. for the UNCG Bridgestone Invitational.
CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE
The Farm Golf Club, Rocky Face, Ga.
Final Results
TEAM SCORES1 Tennessee 290 287 274 851 -132 Chattanooga 291 284 288 863 -13 Georgia Tech 295 290 282 867 +34 Auburn 293 293 284 870 +65 South Carolina 290 293 289 872 +8T6 Alabama 289 294 292 875 +11T6 Wake Forest 298 287 290 875 +118 Texas Tech 302 284 290 876 +129 Clemson 290 305 289 884 +20T10 East Tennessee St. 299 294 299 892 +28T10 Georgia 292 294 306 892 +2812 Mississippi, U. of 304 295 300 899 +35
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS T1 Nils Floren Texas Tech 73 69 68 210 -6 T1 Darren Renwick Tennessee 71 70 69 210 -6 T3 Stephan Jaeger Chattanooga 74 66 71 211 -5 T3 Jonathan Randolph Mississippi, U. of 68 71 72 211 -5 T3 Robin Wingardh Tennessee 72 71 68 211 -5 T6 Harris English Georgia 71 68 73 212 -4 T6 Russell Henley Georgia 71 66 75 212 -4 T6 David Holmes Tennessee 71 73 68 212 -4 T9 Kyle Kopsick Auburn 75 70 69 214 -2 T9 Ben Martin Clemson 70 73 71 214 -2 T11 Patrick Rada South Carolina 75 70 70 215 -1 T11 John Stembridge Auburn 69 74 72 215 -1 T11 Chris Ward Texas Tech 76 68 71 215 -1 T14 Paul Haley Georgia Tech 72 73 71 216 E T14 Hunter Hamrick Alabama 75 71 70 216 E T14 Paul Woodbury South Carolina 70 70 76 216 E T17 Lee Bedford Wake Forest 74 71 72 217 +1 T17 Daniel Meggs Wake Forest 78 68 71 217 +1 T17 Fredrik Qvicker Chattanooga 71 74 72 217 +1 T20 Evan Beck Wake Forest 71 75 72 218 +2 T20 John Tyler Griffin Georgia Tech 79 69 70 218 +2
