COLUMBUS, Ohio – Led by a 5-under-par 66 by junior Troy Matteson, the Georgia Tech golf team remained tied for first place after 36 holes at the NCAA Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The 72-hole event is being contested at the par-71, 7,222-yard Scarlet Course on the campus of Ohio State.
“The course is playing pretty hard out there,” said Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. “With all of the water that we’ve had and all the people walking on the greens, those five to six foot putts maybe aren’t as easy as they have been in the past. I’m happy with where we are though, all five guys still feel like they are in the tournament and have contributed to the team this week. That’s what our team has been all about this year and I think you see that in our number five guy shooting 67 yesterday and our number one guy shooting 66 today.”
The top-ranked Yellow Jackets were unable to improve on their first round score and finished the day with a 2-over-par score of 286. That gives Tech a two-day total of 5-under-par 277-286=563, which ties it with second-ranked Clemson (286-277=563) for the team lead. Tech and Clemson lead Toledo (283-281=564) by one stroke entering the third round on Friday.
Matteson was Tech’s top performer on the day, as he matched the low round of the tournament with his 66 on day two and stands at 3-under-par 73-66=139 and tied with five other players for 12th place after two rounds of play. He trails individual leader Brock Mackenzie of Washington (66-69=135) by four shots.
“I didn’t have a bogey-free round today, I actually had two bogeys and seven birdies,” said Matteson. “I think the difference on this course is converting those birdie chances and I didn’t do that yesterday, but was able to do that today.”
Following Matteson in the individual standings is freshman Nick Thompson, who finished the second day at 2-over-par and is at 2-under-par 67-73=140 after two rounds and is part of a five-way tie for 18th place. Fellow freshman Chan Wongluekiet also finished the second round at 2-over-par and is at 1-over-par 71-73=144, tied with nine other players in 43rd place. Seniors Kris Mikkelsen and Matt Weibring finished the second round with matching scores of 71-74=145 and are part of a 22-player logjam in 53rd place to round out the Yellow Jacket contingent.
The Yellow Jackets will begin their third round at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, grouped with Clemson and Toledo. Live scoring of the event is available at www.golfstatlive.com, with Tech’s daily results posted at www.ramblinwreck.com.
TOP-10 TEAMS AFTER 18 HOLES1. Georgia Tech 277-286=563 Clemson 286-277=5633. Toledo 283-281=5644. North Carolina 282-284=566 Texas 291-275=566 TCU 283-283=5666. NC State 286-281=5678. Florida 283-286=5699. Tulsa 281-289=570Washington 279-291=570
TOP-10 AND TECH INDIVIDUALS 1. Brock Mackenzie, Washington 66-69=135 2. Dustin Bray, North Carolina 68-68=136 Adam Rubinson, TCU 69-67=136 4. Chris Nallen, Arizona 69-68=137 D.J. Trahan, Clemson 71-66=137 Justin Walters, NC State 70-67=137 7. Camilo Benedetti, Florida 70-68=138 Gregg Jones, Clemson 69-69=138 Graeme McDowell, UAB 71-67=138 Chris Noel, Tulsa 69-69=138 Ben Portie, Colorado 66-72=138 Mark Warman, SDSU 67-71=138
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T12. Troy Matteson 73-66=139 T18. Nick Thompson 67-73=140 T43. Chan Wongluekiet 70-73=143 T53. Kris Mikkelsen 71-74=145 Matt Weibring 71-74=145
