OPELIKA, ALA (May 31) – The Georgia Tech men’s golf team, led by senior Matt Kuchar (Lake Mary, Fla.) and junior Bryce Molder (Conway, Ark.) took sole possession of second place at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships in Opelika, Ala. The 72-hole tournament is being contested at the par-72, 6,943-yard, Grand National Golf Club in Opelika.
The Yellow Jackets finished with a team round of 8-under-par 280, which puts them eight shots off the pace of team leader Texas, which scorched the Grand National course for an opening round of 16-under-par 272. The Longhorns lead Tech by eight shots and third-place Oklahoma State (281) by nine strokes.
Georgia Tech was led by Kuchar, who turned in a strong opening round in carding a 5-under-par 34-33=67. That performance leaves him in a tie for third place with Chris Wisler of East Tennessee State and Charles Howell of Oklahoma State. All three are four shots behind the tournament’s individual leader, David Gossett of Texas, who fired a 9-under-par round of 32-31=63.
Kuchar was joined in red numbers by Molder, who carded a 3-under-par round of 33-36=69, which places him among five players tied for fifth place. Also turning in a round under par was sophomore Matt Weibring (Plano, Texas), who finished the first round of play with a 1-under-par 35-36=71 and is part of a tie for 25th place.
The remaining Yellow Jacket players in the field include freshman Troy Matteson (Austin, Texas), who carded a 1-over-par 35-38=73 and is tied for 57th place after 18 holes. Rounding out the Yellow Jacket contingent is senior Carlton Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) who finished the first round of play at 2-over-par 36-38=74 which tied him for 75th.
The tournament continues tomorrow with the second round of play, the Yellow Jackets will begin their round at 7:30 a.m. central time.
TEAM SCORES AFTER 18 HOLES 1 Texas, Univ. of 272 -16 2 Georgia Tech 280 -8 3 Oklahoma State U. 281 -7 4 Houston, Univ. of 284 -4T 5 New Mexico, U. of 286 -2T 5 Arizona, U. of 286 -2T 5 East Tennessee St. 286 -2T 5 UNLV 286 -2 9 Northwestern 287 -1T 10 Kent State 288 ET 10 Mississippi St. U. 288 ET 10 North Carolina, U of 288 E 13 TCU 289 +1T 14 Auburn University 290 +2T 14 Minnesota, Univ. of 290 +2T 16 Clemson University 291 +3T 16 Kansas, U. of 291 +3T 18 Georgia, U. of 292 +4T 18 Wake Forest Univ. 292 +4 20 Fresno State Univ. 293 +5T 21 Oklahoma, U. of 294 +6T 21 North Florida, U. of 294 +6T 23 Pepperdine Univ. 295 +7T 23 Georgia State Univ. 295 +7T 25 Brigham Young Univ. 299 +11T 25 Arizona State U. 299 +11T 25 Southern California 299 +11T 25 Virginia, U. of 299 +11 29 California, U. of 300 +12 30 Washington, U. of 301 +13
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS AND GEORGIA TECH PLAYERS 1 David Gossett Texas 32- 31 63 -9 2 J.J. Wall Texas 31- 34 65 -7 T 3 Chris Wisler E Tenn. St 32- 35 67 -5 T 3 Matt Kuchar Ga. Tech 34- 33 67 -5 T 3 Charles Howell OK State 33- 34 67 -5 T 6 James Driscoll Virginia 35- 33 68 -4 T 6 Joel Hendry New Mexico 34- 34 68 -4 T 8 Bryce Molder Ga. Tech 33- 36 69 -3 T 8 Ben Smith Miss. St. 34- 35 69 -3 T 8 Brad Hyler N Carolina 35- 34 69 -3 T 8 Jess Daley N’western 34- 35 69 -3 T 8 Jeremy Anderson UNLV 33- 36 69 -3
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T 25 Matt Weibring 35- 36 71 T 57 Troy Matteson 35- 38 73 T 75 Carlton Forrester 36- 38 74
