Sept. 30, 2003
ATLANTA – The ninth-ranked Georgia Tech golf team will look to build on a second-place finish in its last outing when it hosts the Carpet Capital Collegiate, Oct. 3-5 in Rocky Face, Ga. The 54-hole tournament will be contested at The Farm Golf Club’s par-72, 6,906-yard layout.
As will be the case throughout the year, another strong field will await the Yellow Jackets this week. Included in the 18-team field are 14 teams that began the year ranked in the top 25 of the Golfweek preseason poll, including seven from the top 10 and three of the top five. Along with Georgia Tech, the field will include: Auburn, Augusta State, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Southern California, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt, UNLV, and Wake Forest.
Clemson is the tournament’s defending champion, winning a year ago with a 54-hole score of 14-under-par, 287-282-281-850. Tech’s Troy Matteson (72-64-69-205) and Wake Forest’s Bill Haas (66-70-69-205), shared the individual crown in the 2002 event.
“Behind the NCAA Championship and the ACC Championship, the Carpet Capital Collegiate is focal point number three for our team,” said Yellow Jacket head coach Bruce Heppler. “I think if you look at the field that they have lined up this year, it’s as strong as anything but the national championship. It’s our home ground and we have played well up there in the past.”
On Sept. 23, the Jackets carded the best team round of Ping/Golfweek Preview over the final 18 holes with a 4-under-par, 276, as they finished in second place, just one shot behind UCLA with a score of 297-276-573. Sophomore Thomas Jordan led the Tech individuals in the field as he tied fir third with an even-par score of 71-69-140. He was joined in the top 10 by rookie Roberto Castro, who tied for ninth at 2-over-par, 75-67-142.
The Yellow Jackets will have their third different lineup of the young season at the Carpet Capital Collegiate, led by junior Nicholas Thompson, who is second on the team with a 72.60 stroke average and is coming off of a tie for 12th at the Golfweek Preview. Joining Thompson in the field will be Jordan and fellow junior Chan Wongluekiet, who is third on the team with a 73.60 scoring mark. The final two members of the Tech contingent will be sophomore Mike Barbosa and rookie Kevin Larsen.
Live scoring of the Carpet Capital Collegiate will be available at www.golfstatlive.com, with a recap of Georgia Tech’s daily results being posted at www.ramblinwreck.com.
