March 6, 2003
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech golf team will be back in on Friday at the Toyota Men’s Collegiate Golf Championship. The 54-hole event will be contested at the par-72, 7,381-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev. The Jackets have won the event in each of the past two seasons.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of a seventh-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic and have finished in the top seven of each of their last four tournaments, including a third-place effort at the Nelson Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
As has been the case for much of the year, a top field will await the 14th-ranked Yellow Jackets, as 13 of the nation’s top 25 teams according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index will be in the event. Included in that top-ranked Clemson, No. 2 Augusta State, No. 3 TCU, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 UNLV, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Arizona, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 15 New Mexico, No. 19 Georgia and No. 23 NC State. Alabama and Arizona state, both of which are ranked in the top 35 in the nation, will round out the field.
Tech continues to be led by senior Troy Matteson, who was recently named as a finalist for the prestigious Ben Hogan Award. Matteson holds a stroke average of 71.00 and has recorded three top-10 finishes and five top 20s in six tournaments thus far in 2002-03. In Puerto Rico, Matteson tied for third with his 2-under-par score of 214. Last season, he shared medalist honors with Florida’s Camillo Villegas at 8-under-par 208.
Joining him at the top of the lineup will be sophomore Nicholas Thompson, who has been a solid contributor for Tech this year. Thompson is second on the team with a 71.82 stroke average and has a pair of top 10s and three top 20 finishes on the season.
Fellow sophomore Chan Wongluekiet has been the Jackets’ third-best performer this year, holding a 74.21 stroke average and recording a top 20 finish at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate.
A daily wrap-up Georgia Tech’s results will be available at www.ramblinwreck.com, while live scoring of the tournament can be found at www.golfstatlive.com
-GT-
