May 16, 2003
AUBURN, AL – Georgia Tech senior Troy Matteson fired a second-round 67 and is alone in first place after 36 holes of play at the NCAA East Regional in Auburn, Ala. The Yellow Jackets also got a hole in one from sophomore Chan Wongluekiet on the eighth hole of the par-72, 7,207-yard Auburn University Club, to stand in second place after two rounds.
“The guys really hung in there today,” said Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. “We’ve really had four guys involved both days, with Nick, Chan and Troy playing well and today we had Thomas step up and cover for Adam. Whenever you have Troy back there playing well, he can really make you into a good team. Chan has played well for two days and hopefully he will be able to build on that tomorrow.”
Matteson continued his outstanding play, recording a trio of birdies on the back nine to card his 67 on Friday. That score puts him at 9-under-par, 68-67-135 after 36 holes and he leads Clemson’s Matt Hendrix (70-67-137) by two shots entering Saturday’s final round. Matteson has not made a bogey through two rounds of play.
“I really haven’t made any mistakes for two days,” said Matteson after his round. “I haven’t had any bogeys in 36 holes and have been solid both days. I had a couple of wayward shots, but I was able to recover from them pretty well. I would say its my best two rounds to start a tournament this year.”
As a team, Tech is one of only three teams to be under par after two rounds, and is at 9-under-par 281-286-567. That total is five shots off the pace of team leader Clemson, which scorched the Auburn University Club layout for an 11-under-par 277 in the second round of play and is at 14-under-par 285-277-562 after 36 holes.
Wongluekiet turned in his second-straight sub-par round, which was highlighted by the ace on the 160-yard par-three eighth hole. That score led him to a 1-under-par round of 71 on Friday and puts him among three players in 14th place at 3-under-par, 70-71-141. The hole in one was the second for Wongluekiet in two months, with the other one coming at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate a month ago.
The next Yellow Jacket in the field is sophomore Nicholas Thompson, who is tied for 44th place at 3-over-par, 71-76-147. He is followed by senior Adam Cranford (72-78-15) and freshman Thomas Jordan (78-72-150), who carded an even-par round of 72 on Friday, both of whom are tied for 66th place.
Georgia Tech will be grouped with Clemson and Tennessee in the final round and will begin play at 7:12 a.m. on the first tee. The top-10 teams and two individuals not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla. Full tournament results and live scoring are available at www.golfstatlive.com.
TEAM SCORES AFTER 36 HOLES1. Clemson 285-277-5622. Georgia Tech 281-286-5673. Tennessee 281-291-5724. Florida 290-288-5784. Wake Forest 290-288-5784. Duke 286-292-5787. Augusta State 290-290-5808. South Carolina 296-285-5819. Vanderbilt 293-289-5829. Auburn 292-290-58211. Georgia State 292-292-58412. College of Charleston 295-292-58713. Jacksonville State 302-287-58914. Penn State 305-286-59115. Georgia Southern 303-289-59216. East Tennessee State 297-296-59317. UNC Wilmington 300-299-59918. Virginia Tech 302-301-60318. Rhode Island 310-293-60320. Alabama 310-298-60820. James Madison 311-297-60822. Binghamton 307-305-61223. Maryland 311-305-61624. Liberty 312-307-61925. Charleston Southern 317-313-63026. Yale 317-316-63327. Jackson State 335-332-667
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS AND GEORGIA TECH PLAYERS 1. Troy Matteson, Georgia Tech 68-67-135 2. Matt Hendrix, Clemson 70-67-137 3. William Ted Brown, VCU 69-69-138 3. Gareth Maybin, South Alabama 67-71-138 3. Lee Williams, Auburn 72-66-138 3. Ty Harris, Georgia State 70-68-138 7. Ross McGowan, Tennessee 67-72-139 8. Six Players Tied at 140
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T14. Chan Wongluekiet 70-71-141 T44. Nicholas Thompson 71-76-147 T66. Adam Cranford 72-78-150 T66. Thomas Jordan 78-72-150
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