Sept. 23, 2003
HOT SPRINGS, Va. – Led by top-10 finishes by both sophomore Thomas Jordan and freshman Roberto Castro, the Georgia Tech golf team carded the best round of the tournament on Tuesday, a 4-under-par, 276, to climb nine spots and finish second at the Ping/Golfweek Preview Invitational in Hot Springs, Va. The rain-shortened 36-hole event, which featured most of the nation’s top-ranked teams, was contested at the Homestead’s par-70, 6,679-yard Cascades Course.
Jordan was outstanding throughout the two rounds, carding a 1-under-par 69 on Tuesday to finish the event at even-par, 71-69-140 and tie with one other player for third place. The finish was the best of his young career and was just two strokes behind individual medalist John Poucher of UCLA (70-68-138).
As a team, Tech bounced back from a tough opening round to finish with the top round of the tourney over the second 18 holes at 276 for a final team score of 13-over-par, 297-276-573. That score was just one shot behind team champion UCLA (294-278-572).
Along with Jordan’s solid finish, Castro recorded his second strong outing by notching his first top-10 placement of the year. His final-round score of 3-under-par 67 put him at 2-over-par, 75-67-142. That total was good for ninth place along with two other players. Junior Nicholas Thompson was the third Yellow Jacket in the top 15 as he tied with four other players in 12th place after a closing round of 1-under-par, 69 to finish at 3-over-par, 74-69-143.
The final two members of the Tech contingent in the field included freshman Kevin Larsen (77-71-148) and junior Chan Wongluekiet (78-72-150), who finished tied for 38th and 47th respectively.
The Yellow Jackets will have a week off before returning to action on Oct. 3-5, when they will host the Carpet Capital Collegiate at the Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga. Full results from the Ping/Golfweek Preview are available at www.golfstatlive.com.
FINAL TEAM RESULTS1. UCLA 294-278-5722. Georgia Tech 297-276-5733. Clemson 287-288-575 Florida 292-283-5755. Georgia 294-283-5776. Augusta State 290-288-5787. UNLV 304-278-582 Wake Forest 292-290-582 North Carolina 291-291-58210. Arizona State 298-292-59011. Oklahoma State 296-295-59112. Texas 296-296-59213. Arizona 293-302-59514. Auburn 306-296-60215. Virginia Tech 308-302-610
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS 1. John Poucher, UCLA 70-68-138 2. Kevin Silva, North Carolina 68-71-139 3. Thomas Jordan, Georgia Tech 71-69-140 Travis Johnson, UCLA 72-68-140 5. Gregg Jones, Clemson 69-72-141 Ryan Moore, UNLV 77-64-141 Chez Reavie, Arizona State 70-71-141 Kyle Reifers, Wake Forest 69-72-141 9. Roberto Castro, Georgia Tech 75-67-142 Brent Delahoussaye, Clemson 72-70-142 James Heath, Augusta State 71-71-142
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T12. Nicholas Thompson 74-69-143 T38. Kevin Larsen 77-71-148 T47. Chan Wongluekiet 78-72-150
