May 18, 2007
Alpharetta, Ga. – Cameron Tringale shot a 2-under-par 70 to maintain the individual lead, and Georgia Tech posted a 6-over team score of 294 Friday and stand fourth after 36 holes of the NCAA East Regional golf tournament at The Golf Club of Georgia.
Tringale, who turned in the Yellow Jackets’ only subpar round Friday with a 70, held onto the individual lead at 7-under 137, two shots ahead of Todd, who has a 36-hole total of 139, five under par.
“We were 8-over through six holes, so we didn’t get off to any kind of a good start at all,” said Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. “We played it all the way back to even and maybe 1-under, then we got a double-bogey at 17 and one at 18 that took the gas out of the round. It could have turned into a whole lot worse, but we hung in there and stayed competitive.”
Brendon Todd shot a 3-under-par 69, while Chris Kirk and Brian Harman added a pair of 71s Friday to lift top-ranked Georgia into the lead.
The Bulldogs, who began the day in second place, two shots behind host Georgia Tech, parlayed the three sub-par scores into an even-par team round of 288. Georgia’s 2-under tournament total of 574 is one stroke better than Florida. The Gators rode a 3-under 69 from Billy Horschel to post a second-round score of 285 and get to 1-under 575.
Auburn moved into third place at 1-over 577 after getting a 5-under 67 from Glenn Northcutt, the day’s best score. First-round leader Georgia Tech (2-over 578) dropped into fourth place after posting a 6-over score of 294 Friday, while Duke stood fifth at 5-over 581 after carding a 293 in the second round.
Charlotte (+11), Coastal Carolina (+14), North Carolina (+15), Florida State (+16) and Clemson (+16) round out the top 10 teams after two rounds. Central Florida and Georgia State are tied for 11th. The top 10 teams after 54 holes, plus two individuals not on those teams, will advance to the NCAA Division I Championship May 30-June 2 at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.
The Chanticleers, with a team score of 290 Friday, made the biggest leap upward, from a tie for 13th to seventh, while Maryland made the biggest slip, from eighth to a tie for 17th.
Individually, Kirk and Horschel are tied for third place at 2-under-par 142. Horschel was one of five players to break 70 Friday, carding a 3-under 69 along with Todd and Coastal Carolina’s Dustin Johnson. Reed Darsie of North Carolina shot a 4-under 68.
Chesson Hadley of Georgia Tech (75 Friday), Patton Kizzire of Auburn (72) and Bryan Rozier of Jacksonville State (74) are tied for fifth at 1-under 143. Harman and Northcutt are in a four-player tie for eighth at even-par 144.
Tringale headed off challengers Friday on the Lakeside Course with a sharp short game, unlike Thursday’s round when he put himself in position for seven birdies with great iron shots into the greens.
“My iron play wasn’t great today, but my short game saved me a bunch on the front,” the Tech sophomore said. “I missed quite a few greens, and I was able to save quite a few pars with good chipping and good putting.
“I just want to try and shoot as low as I can tomorrow, shoot as low as I can for the team and contribute. It’d be great to win at home, especially after an average finish in our tournament here in April. We’ll be off early, and maybe we can post a number and let the others chase it.”
Georgia, Florida and Auburn, who are within three shots of each other, will be grouped together for the final round Saturday and begin from the first tee at 7 a.m. Georgia Tech, Duke and Charlotte will play together and begin from the 10th tee at 7:18 a.m.
Said Tech coach Bruce Heppler, “There are some great teams at the top. You just try and win the tournament, and if you get close to that, then you’ll be okay.”
