May 18, 2001
Williamsburg, Va. – The second-ranked Georgia Tech men’s golf team found its scoring groove over the second 18 holes of play and is currently tied for fourth place at the NCAA East Regional. The 54-hole event is being contested at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club’s 7008-yard, par-72 Green Course in Williamsburg, Va.
The Yellow Jackets tied for the second-lowest team round of the day thus far with a 9-under-par score of 279, to stand at 12-under-par, 285-279-564, after 36 holes of play. Tech is 12 shots off the pace of team leader East Tennessee State, which continued its hot play and is at 24-under-par 274-278-552. The Buccaneers lead NC State, which fired the low round of the day, a 14-under-par 274 to stand in second place at 21-under-par 281-274-555.
“We started the day very strong with two guys in Wes (Latimer) and Troy (Matteson) making the turn at five and six-under-par,” said Tech head Coach Bruce Heppler. “We gave some shots back on our second nine, but, we played a lot better today than in the first round yesterday. We know that we are going to have to play well tomorrow to keep our place in the top 10 and advance to the NCAAs.”
The Jackets continue to be led by senior Bryce Molder, who birdied three of his final four holes to finish with a 3-under-par score of 69, and is at 7-under-par 69-68-137 for the tournament. That total is currently good for a tie for third place. Molder trails individual leader Camilo Villegas of Florida by three shots entering the final round as Villegas is at 10-under-par, 64-70-134 Junior Matt Weibring joins Molder in the top 10, as he continued his consistent play with his second-straight sub-par round. Weibring is tied for tenth place following a 1-under-par round of 71 on Friday and is at 4-under-par 69-71-140 for the tournament. Sophomore Troy Matteson bounced back in the second round as he matched Molder’s 69 on Friday and is tied for 29th at 2-under-par, 73-69-142.
The remaining Tech individuals in the field include senior Wes Latimer, who carded a 2-under-par 70 on the second day of play, and is tied for 55th at 75-70-145, and junior Kris Mikkelsen who is tied for 67th at 75-72-147.
The Yellow Jackets will begin play on Saturday morning in threesomes with Alabama-Birmingham and Virginia Tech beginning on the 10th tee at 7:30 a.m. Live scoring of the event is available at www.golfstat.com.
