April 16, 2011
Alpharetta, Ga. – John-Tyler Griffin shot a 3-under-par 69 to take the individual lead Saturday, while Kyle Scott and Paul Haley each broke par and lifted 4th-ranked Georgia Tech to an 11-shot lead after the first round of the Yellow Jacket Classic at the Golf Club of Georgia.
Tech posted a team score of 4-under 284, getting a 2-under 70 from Scott and a 1-under 71 from Paul Haley, who hold second and third place among the individual leaders. Richard Werenski fired a 74 for the fourth counting score, while James White posted a 75.
UNC-Wilmington holds second at 295, followed by UAB at 303, Georgia State at 309 and Troy at 330.
“It was a very positive day under some tough conditions,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “To shoot 4-under as a team was good, and it was nice to put a pencil to the scorecard again after a long break. If we can play well tomorrow, we will have gotten what we wanted out of this weekend. We got great rounds from our seniors, and Ming played very well.”
Griffin, a senior from Wilson, N.C., played a steady round with four birdies and one bogey on his card. Scott birdied two par 3s on the front side of the Lakeside Course and had 16 pars in his round. Haley birdied three holes and bogeyed two.
Victor Lavin of Georgia State posted the top score by an individual not counting toward his team score, firing a 1-under 71 Saturday to tie Haley for third place, while Wilmington’s Thomas Bass shot a 72 (tie for 5th) and Tech’s Minghao Wang came in at 73 (tie for 7th). Werenski is tied for 8th.
The final 18 holes commences at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Yellow Jacket ClassicGolf Club of Georgia (par 72, 7020 yds), Alpharetta, Ga.First-Round Results
Fin. Top 20 Teams Scores 1 Georgia Tech 284 2 UNC Wilmington 295 3 UAB 303 4 Georgia State Univ. 309 5 Troy University 330
Fin. Top 20 Players School Scores 1 J.T. Griffin Ga. Tech 35- 34 69 2 Kyle Scott Ga. Tech 34- 36 70 3 Paul Haley Ga. Tech 36- 35 71 *Victor Lavin Georgia St 34- 37 71 5 Jason Shufflebottam UAB 38- 34 72 Thomas Bass UNCW 36- 36 72 7 *Minghao Wang Ga. Tech 36- 37 73 8 Thomas Sutton UAB 36- 38 74 Payne McLeod UNCW 35- 39 74 Michael Taylor UNCW 37- 37 74 Richy Werenski Ga. Tech 37- 37 74 12 James White Ga. Tech 38- 37 75 Josh Brock UNCW 36- 39 75 14 Tyler Gruca Georgia St 37- 39 76 15 Ross Mclister Georgia St 36- 41 77 Sam Love UAB 40- 37 77 17 Alan Fowler Georgia St 38- 40 78 Brent Paul Georgia St 37- 41 78 19 Richard Casko Troy 41- 38 79 20 Hunter Hawkins UAB 39- 41 80 *William Miller Ga. Tech 43- 37 80 *Jared Cagle Georgia St 39- 41 80 *playing as an individual
