June 1, 2004
Hot Springs, Va. – Nick Thompson and Chan Wongluekiet each shot even-par 70, and Georgia Tech overcame troubles on its second nine holes with late birdies Tuesday to post a nine-over-par score of 289 in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at The Homestead Resort.
The Yellow Jackets stand in a tie for 12th place with Texas A&M, Penn State, UCLA and Washington after 18 holes, 10 shots behind California, which shot 1-under 279 and was led by a 5-under-par 65 from Jeff Hood. The Bears played during the morning round Tuesday on the 6,679-yard, par-70 Cascades Course, and their score stood up through the rest of the day to lead by one shot over Brigham Young (even-par 280), who had three players match or break par.
TCU is in third place at 1-over 281, and Auburn and Kentucky are tied for fourth at 283, Southern California was in sixth place at 284, and Florida, Clemson and Georgia, the nation’s top three ranked teams, are in a tie for seventh at 285. Oklahoma is 10th at 286, and Texas is 11th at 288.
Tech played during the afternoon when stronger winds made things more difficult, and the Yellow Jackets had troubles on the greens. But Thompson (36-34) and Wongluekiet (34-36) played well enough to be tied for 20th individually after 18 holes.
“This is the hardest round of the tournament to play,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “We’ve got three guys who haven’t been here before, were a little bit jumpy and didn’t get off to a very good start. We made some mistakes and didn’t putt the ball very well, so to be in single digits (over par) is not so bad.
Mike Barbosa, a junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., came in at 3-over 73, and freshman Roberto Castro of Alpharetta, Ga., carded a 76 to count for the sixth-ranked Yellow Jackets.
Thompson, a junior from Coral Springs, Fla., birdied the 15th and 16th holes and shot 1-under-par 34 on the front nine, Tech’s second nine, while Barbosa carded birdies at Nos. 16 and 17 coming in to help the Yellow Jackets rally at the finish of the first round.
“Nick and Chan, our veteran guys, did what they needed to do, and Mike birdied two of his last three to get back to three over, so we did a little damage control. Tomorrow’s round is very important. This is not as bad as it could have been, so if we putt the ball better and chip a little better, we can get right back in this thing after 36 holes.”
Hood’s 65 was one shot better than Kevin Kisner of Georgia and Adam Meyer of TCU, while Ryan Moore of UNLV and Jeff Overton of Indiana each shot 67. Nineteen players broke par Thursday.
Tech will play early Wednesday, teeing off from the 10th hole beginning at 8:03 a.m. For complete scores and Wednesday tee times, log on to Golfstatresults.com.
NCAA MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
The Homestead Resort, Cascades Course
First-round Results
TEAM LEADERS
California 279 (-1) Brigham Young 280 (E) TCU 281 (+1) Auburn 283 (+3) Kentucky 283 (+3) Southern California 284 (+4) Clemson 285 (+5) Florida 285 (+5) Georgia 285 (+5) Oklahoma 286 (+6) Texas 288 (+8) Georgia Tech 289 (+9) Penn State 289 (+9) UCLA 289 (+9) Washington 289 (+9) Texas A&M 291 (+11) New Mexico 291 (+11) Georgia State 292 (+12) Arizona State 292 (+12) Purdue 292 (+12) Arizona 292 (+12)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Jeff Hood, California 65 (-5) Kevin Kisner, Georgia 66 (-4) Adam Meyer, TCU 66 (-4) Ryan Moore, UNLV 67 (-3) Jeff Overton, Indiana 67 (-3) Jonathan Dismuke, Auburn 68 (-2) A.J. Elgert, Kansas State 68 (-2) Matt Wells, Kentucky 68 (-2)
GEORGIA TECH SCORES
Nick Thompson (T20) 70 (E) Chan Wongluekiet (T20) 70 (E) Mike Barbosa (T64) 73 (+3) Roberto Castro (T122) 76 (+6) Kevin Larsen (T154) 82 (+12)
