Feb. 23, 2003
PALMER, P.R. — Despite a pair of opening-round 73s from senior Troy Matteson and sophomore Nicholas Thompson, the Georgia Tech golf team is in ninth place after the first round of play at the Puerto Rico Classic. The 54-hole tournament is being contested at the 6,954-yard, par-72 River Course at the Westin Rio Mar Country Club in Palmer, Puerto Rico.
The Yellow Jackets, who are the defending team champions in the tournament, opened the event with a 13-over-par score of 301, as none of the 18 teams in the field were able to break par on the first day of competition. Tech’s opening-round total puts it 13 shots off the pace of team leader NC State, which shot an even-par 288 on Sunday.
Matteson and Thompson are both part of a seven-player tie for 10th place after their opening round scores of 1-over-par 73. Only seven individuals carded sub-par rounds on the first day, including Clemson’s D.J. Trahan and NC State’s Fernando Machareffe, both of whom are tied for the lead at 3-under-par 69.
The next Tech individual in the field is sophomore Chan Wongluekiet, who is among eight players in a tie of 35th place at 4-over-par 76. Wongluekiet is followed by rookie Thomas Jordan, who is tied with nine players in 58th place at 7-over-par 79, while senior Adam Cranford is the final member of the Yellow Jacket contingent and is part of a five-way tie for 72nd place after and opening-round score of 81.
The Puerto Rico Classic will continue on Monday with the second round of play and conclude on Tuesday with the final round of competition. Full tournament results are available at www.purduesports.com
TEAM SCORES AFTER 18 HOLES1. NC State 2882. Minnesota 291 Oklahoma State 2914. Clemson 2935. Texas 2966. Florida 300 Northwestern 300 ETSU 3009. Georgia Tech 30110. Duke 30411. Georgia 30512. Colorado 31013. Kent State 31114. Oklahoma 316 Purdue 316 Illinois 31617. Virginia 32518. Michigan 328
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS 1. D.J. Trahan, Clemson 69 Fernando Machareffe, NC State 69 3. Justin Walters, NC State 70 Simon Nash, Minnesota 70 Stephen Lewton, NC State 70 6. Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma State 71 Rusty Kenneky, Texas 71 8. Derek McNamara, ETSU 72 Zack Robinson, Oklahoma State 72 10. Troy Matteson, Georgia Tech 73 Nicholas Thompson, Georgia Tech 73 Five other players tied at 73
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T35. Chan Wongluekiet 76 T58. Thomas Jordan 79 T72. Adam Cranford 81
