April 23, 2016
New London, N.C. – Vincent Whaley shot 2-under-par 70, and James Clark added a 1-under 71 Saturday, pacing Georgia Tech to an even-par score of 288 and a tie for fourth place after 36 holes at the 53rd Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship.
Sunday’s final round begins at 8:30 a.m., with the Yellow Jackets beginning their round from the 10th hole paired again with Duke and Virginia. Fans can watch live streaming of the round beginning at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.
TECH LINEUP — Whaley, a junior from McKinney, Texas, birdied the 11th, 12th and 13th holes in succession to finish at 70 and move up to a tie for 18th place individually at even-par 144. Clark, a sophomore from Columbus, Ga., also is tied for 18th place after recording four birdies to offset a bogey and a double bogey for his 71.
Michael Hines (Acworth, Ga.) whose 76 was tossed out Friday, shot 73 Saturday, while Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.) and Jacob Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.) each shot 74. Petefish, who opened with a 69 Friday, dropped into a tie for 16th place individually.
TEAM LEADERBOARD — Clemson, looking for its first ACC title since 2004, opened an eight-stroke lead over 11th-ranked Wake Forest. The 12th-ranked Tigers shot 4-under-par 284 and completed 36 holes at 557 (-19). The Demon Deacons, who last on an ACC title in 1989, matched Tech’s even-par score Saturday and stand in second place at 565 (-11).
The third- through eighth-place teams are within 10 strokes of each other. Florida State, the ACC’s highest-ranked team at No. 7, matched Clemson’s 4-under 284 Saturday and moved into third place at 571 (-5). Tech and No. 24 Virginia matched scores for the second straight day and are tied for fourth at 575 (-1). No. 20 Duke is one stroke back in sixth place at 576 (E), while NC State holds seventh place at 577 (+1). Louisville is in eighth place at 580 (+4).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD — Wake’s Davis Womble followed his opening 68 with a 69 Saturday and took the individual lead at 137 (-7), but three Clemson players are within two strokes, including Austin Langdale and Bryson Nimmer, both at 138 (-6), and Miller Capps at 139 (-5). Duke’s Jake Shuman is in fifth place along at 140 (-4).
Five players, including first-round leader Paul McBride of Wake Forest, are tied for sixth place at 141 (-3), while seven other players are under par through 36 holes.
COACH Bruce Heppler SAYS — “Weather-wise today was much nicer, though the North wind was the harder of the two days. We had a chance both days to finish off the round better, but I’ve seen a lot of progress, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s round.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The ACC Championship is being contested over 54 holes, with the final round set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Sunday using split tees. Live streaming of the final round will be available from 1-3:30 p.m. on ESPN3. The championship is being played for the 15th straight year and for the 20th time overall at the Old North State Club, a 7,102-yard, par 72 layout in adjacent to Badin Lake in New London, N.C.
Six of the 12 teams competing in the conference championship appear in the most recent Golfstat top 25 — Florida State (7), Wake Forest (11), Clemson (12), Duke (20), Virginia (24) and North Carolina (25). Others in the top 50 include NC State (34) and Georgia Tech (48). Virginia Tech is No. 121, and Notre Dame is No. 138.
