Sept. 12, 2010
Rocky Face, Ga. – John-Tyler Griffin fired a 2-under-par 70 Sunday for his third straight round of par or better, and Georgia Tech turned in a team total of 3-over 291 and tied for third place at the Carpet Capital Collegiate golf tournament.
Tech, the nation’s 10th-ranked team, rallied to within a shot of the lead by the turn Sunday, but struggled on the back nine as did all the leaders and finished the tournament six strokes behind Alabama. The Crimson Tide, which shot a 1-over 289 Sunday, sealed a four-stroke victory Wake Forest with birdies at 18 by its last two players and finished at 8-under-par 856.
The Demon Deacons were the only team to break par Sunday in dealing with windy conditions at The Farm Golf Club, posting a 1-under 287 to finish 54 holes at 4-under 860. The Yellow Jackets and Clemson (8-over on Sunday) finished tied at 2-under 862. Auburn was fifth at 3-over 867, while Georgia (16-over par Sunday) was sixth at 12-over 876.
“We put ourselves in position to win here on the last day, so we can’t really feel too bad,” said Griffin. “We’ve got some things going pretty well here. I don’t think anyone played as well as they’d like, but we had some stretches of real good play, and we should get everything smoothed out.”
Freshman Richard Werenski shot 73 Sunday, while Kyle Scott and James White each carded 74s to count for the Yellow Jackets. Paul Haley, despite a non-counting 75 Sunday, was the low Yellow Jacket for the tournament at 3-under-par 213, good for a tie for seventh place, seven shots off the lead.
Griffin, who tied for ninth place at 2-under 214, was 4-under-par for his round through nine holes Sunday. But typical of the struggles many golfers had on the back nine in the final round, the senior from Wilson, N.C., bogeyed 10 and 11, then birdied three straight holes before a double-bogey at 16 and another bogey at 17 stunted his round.
“The wind came up pretty strong on 14, 15 and 16, and it was really swirling and made things tough. I putted well today. I had been hitting the ball well all week, but I got some putts to go today and felt more comfortable on the greens. But it was kind of an up-and-down day.”
Wake’s Lee Bedford, who shot 66-68 Saturday and Sunday, won medalist honors with a 10-under total of 206, two strokes better than his teammate, Evan Beck.
CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE
The Farm Golf Club, Rocky Face, Ga.
Final Results
TEAM STANDINGS
1 Alabama 280 287 289 – 856 -8
2 Wake Forest 289 284 287 — 860 -4
T3 Georgia Tech 287 284 291 – 862 -2
T3 Clemson 283 283 296 – 862 -2
5 Auburn 285 290 292 – 867 +3
T6 Georgia 288 284 304 – 876 +12
T6 Texas Tech 300 284 292 – 876 +12
T8 Chattanooga 290 285 305 – 880 +16
T8 Tennessee 294 288 298 – 880 +16
10 Mississippi 311 286 300 – 897 +33
11 East Tennessee State 295 302 302 – 899 +35
12 South Carolina 298 297 307 – 902 +38
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1 Lee Bedford Wake Forest 72 66 68 – 206 -10
2 Evan Beck Wake Forest 68 68 72 – 208 -8
3 Blayne Barber Auburn 67 68 75 – 210 -6
4 Bobby Wyatt Alabama 69 71 71 – 211 -5
T5 Jacob Burger Clemson 72 65 75 – 212 -4
T5 Bud Cauley Alabama 71 71 70 – 212 -4
T7 Steven Fox Chattanooga 69 69 75 – 213 -3
T7 Paul Haley Georgia Tech 70 68 75 – 213 -3
T9 John-Tyler Griffon Georgia Tech 72 72 70 – 214 -2
T9 Matt Smith Texas Tech 74 71 69 – 214 -2
GEORGIA TECH SCORES
T7 Paul Haley -3 70 68 75 – 213
T9 J.T. Griffin -2 72 72 70 – 214
T19 James White +3 71 74 74 – 219
T19 Kyle Scott +3 74 71 74 – 219
T23 Richard Werenski +4 74 73 73 – 220
