May 28, 2003
STILLWATER, Okla. – Georgia Tech senior Troy Matteson carded a 2-over-par 74 in the second round and the Yellow Jackets improved their play on the second day of the NCAA Championship, to move into a tie for 13th-place at the event in Stillwater, Okla. The 72-hole tournament is being contested at the par-72, 7,301-yard Karsten Creek Golf Club at Oklahoma State University.
“I thought that through 10 or 11 holes today we were really playing well, but four bad swings down the stretch hurt us and you can’t have those on this course,” said Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. “The round was certainly better than yesterday and the guys are still playing well enough to feel confident going into tomorrow. The swings in scoring on this course can be big so you just need to try to get all five guys shooting as low as they can.”
As a team, Tech improved its score by four shots in the second round, finishing with an 18-over-par score of 306 and is at 310-306-616 after 36 holes of play in the event. The Jackets are tied with both North Carolina (308-308-616) and NC State (299-317-616) for 13th and 18 shot behind team leader UCLA. The Bruins turned in the best round of the tournament with a second-round score of 7-over-par, 295 on Wednesday.
Matteson was Tech’s top individual on Wednesday, scrambling for his 2-over-par 74, in a round that included four birdies, including a chip in on the 10th hole for one of those birdies. For the tournament, Matteson is in a tie with fourth other players for 33rd place, at 8-over-par, 78-74-152. His score is 11 strokes behind individual leader Lee Williams of Auburn, who is the only player under par at 3-under-par, 69-72-133 after the second round.
Followng Matteson in the individual standings is sophomore Nicholas Thompson, who matched his first-round score and is part of a nine-way tie for 45th place at 10-over-par, 77-77-154 through 36 holes. Senior Adam Cranford is two shots behind Thompson with 13 other players in 63rd place after he birdied his final three holes to finish with his second-straight 78 to stand at 78-78-156. Rookie Thomas Jordan matched Thompson’s second-round score of 77 and is tied with Cranford at 12-over-par, 79-77-156. The final member of the Yellow Jacket contingent is sophomore Chan Wongluekiet, who struggled on the second day and is tied for 97th place at 77-82-159.
“It was good to see Adam gain some momentum down the stretch today with three-straight birdies,” said Heppler. “I think Troy also played well and seemed to be getting some of his rhythm back today, which is good. I think that all five of the guys are still hitting a lot of good shots and it’s a lot easier to keep your confidence up when that’s the case, rather than when you’re hitting shots all over the place.”
The Yellow Jackets will begin their third round in groups with Atlantic Coast Conference brethren North Carolina and NC State at 1 p.m. ET on the 10th tee. Full tournament results and live scoring are available at www.golfstatlive.com.
TEAM SCORES AFTER 36 HOLES1. UCLA 303-295-5982. Oklahoma State 299-300-5993. Clemson 299-302-6014. Florida 302-300-602 Auburn 299-303-6026. Wake Forest 304-306-6107. Southern Californa 300-311-6118. UNLV 313-300-6139. Minnesota 305-309-614 Arizona State 306-308-614 Washington 314-300-61412. Arizona 307-308-61513. Georgia Tech 310-306-616 North Carolina 308-308-616 NC State 299-317-61616. Augusta State 311-306-617 Wichita State 308-309-61718. Texas 306-314-62019. Georgia 315-306-62120. New Mexico 309-314-623 Oregon 323-300-62322. Illinois 304-320-62423. Duke 300-326-62624. Tennessee 320-310-63025. Kentucky 309-323-63226. Vanderbilt 320-313-63327. SMU 316-319-63528. Arkansas 314-326-64029. South Carolina 313-331-64430. San Diego State 323-327-650
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS 1. Lee Williams, Auburn 69-72-141 2. Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma State 73-71-144 3. Jason Moon, NC State 72-73-145 4. Alejandro Canizares, Arizona St. 77-70-147 David Denham, Georgia 74-73-147 Jason Hartwick, Texas 77-70-147 John Merrick, UCLA 75-72-147 Ryan Moore, UNLV 76-71-147 Matthew Rosenfeld, Texas 71-76-147 Mike Sica, Oregon 73-74-147 Chris Stroud, Lamar 70-77-147
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T33. Troy Matteson 78-74-152 T45. Nicholas Thompson 77-77-154 T63. Adam Cranford 78-78-156 T63. Thomas Jordan 79-77-156 T97. Chan Wongluekiet 77-82-159
-GT-
