Oct. 27, 2002
STANFORD, Calif. — Led by the play of sophomore Nicholas Thompson, who matched his career-best finish by tying for second, the Georgia Tech golf team recorded its top finish of the fall in placing third at the Nelson Invitational in Stanford, Calf. The 54-hole tournament was contested at the par-71, 6,786-yard Stanford Golf Club.
The Yellow Jackets entered the final round tied for the lead, but were unable to hold on, finishing the day with a 3-over-par score of 287 on Sunday. Tech finished the tournament at even-par, 283-282-287-852. That score put the Jackets 11 strokes behind team champion Duke, which finished the event at 11-under-par 278-287-276-841.
Thompson was the top individual performer for the Yellow Jackets, as he was one of three players tied for second place. Thompson finished the tournament by carding a 4-under-par score of 67 in the final round, and was just one shot off the lead at 11-under-par, 66-69-67-202 after 54 holes. Duke’s Leif Olson claimed medalist honors with his final score of 12-under-par 70-66-65-201.
Joining Thompson in the event’s top 20 was freshman Thomas Jordan, who recorded his top finish of the year, placing alone in 19th place at 1-over-par, 72-70-72-214. Senior Troy Matteson was the next Tech player in the field, as he was one of five players tied for 23rd place with his 54-hole score of 3-over-par, 71-72-73-216. Sophomore Chan Wongluekiet finished as part of a 10-player logjam in 37th place at 74-71-75-220, while freshman Michael Barbosa tied for 83rd at 76-79-76-231.
The Jackets will now have a week off before travelling to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to compete in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Dye Course on Nov. 8-10.
FINAL TEAM SCORES1 Duke University 278 287 276 841 -112 Washington, U. of 274 303 271 848 -43 Georgia Tech 283 282 287 852 E4 Colorado State Univ. 281 290 283 854 +25 North Carolina State 293 279 287 859 +7 Kansas, U. of 288 287 284 859 +77 Northwestern 289 293 280 862 +10 Stanford University 285 293 284 862 +109 Toledo, U. of 291 287 290 868 +1610 Oregon State U. 292 292 285 869 +1711 Miami (Ohio) 292 288 290 870 +1812 Notre Dame, U. of 285 296 296 877 +2513 Missouri, U. of 292 296 290 878 +26 Colorado, U. of 294 291 293 878 +2615 Texas Tech Univ. 296 296 287 879 +2716 Florida Southern Col 296 298 287 881 +2917 Idaho, Univ. of 304 297 297 898 +4618 Hawaii-Hilo, U. of 308 299 308 915 +63
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS 1 Leif Olson Duke 70 66 65 201 -12 2 Brock Mackenzie Washington 67 70 65 202 -11 Justin Walters NC State 70 66 66 202 -11 Nicholas Thompson Ga. Tech 66 69 67 202 -11 5 Martin Laird Col. St. 65 77 65 207 -6 6 Tyler Hall Kansas 69 70 69 208 -5 Jim Seki Stanford 70 70 68 208 -5 8 Chris Marshall Kansas 69 70 70 209 -4 Brad Heaven Toledo 73 67 69 209 -4 10 Ryan Blaum Duke 70 74 66 210 -3
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS 19 Thomas Jordan Ga. Tech 72 70 72 214 +1 T23 Troy Matteson Ga. Tech 71 72 73 216 +3 T37 Chan Wongluekiet Ga. Tech 74 71 75 220 +7 T83 Michael Barbosa Ga. Tech 76 79 76 231 +18
