May 30, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Georgia Tech golf team turned in a solid closing nine and led by the play of freshman Nick Thompson (-4) are tied for first place after the conclusion of the first round of the NCAA Championships on Thursday morning. Many teams were forced to finish their first round on Thursday morning after heavy rains halted play on Wednesday afternoon. The 72-hole tournament is being contested at the par-71, 7,222-yard Scarlet Course at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
The top-ranked Yellow Jackets started their round on the back nine and made the turn at two under par before making a charge on the front nine. A five-under total on the front side let Tech to a 7-under-par score of 277 to tie it for the lead with Illinois, which also finished at 277.
Thompson was the top Tech individual in the field as he carded a season-best-tying score of 4-under-par 33-34=67 and is tied for third place with Mark Warman of San Diego State. That duo trails individual leaders Brock Mackenzie of Washington and Ben Portie of Colorado, both of whom fired opening-round scores of 5-under-par 66.
A trio of Yellow Jackets trail Thompson in the individual standings, as seniors Kris Mikkelsen (35-35=70) and Matt Weibring (36-34=70), along with rookie Chan Wongluekiet (35-35=70) all finished at 1-under-par and are part of an 18-player logjam in 20th place. Junior Troy Matteson was the final member of the Tech contingent and is tied for 88th place at 2-over-par, 36-37=73.
The second round of play got under way 90 minutes late, with the Yellow Jackets once again being grouped with Oklahoma State and New Mexico.
TOP-10 TEAM SCORES AFTER 18 HOLES1. Georgia Tech 277 Illinois 2773. Washington 2794. Colorado 2805. Tulsa 2816. Arizona 282 North Carolina 2828. Florida 283TCU 283Toledo 283
TOP 10 AND TECH INDIVIDUALS 1. Brock Mackenzie, Washington 66 Ben Portie, Colorado 66 2. Nick Thompson, Georgia Tech 67 Mark Warman, San Diego State 67 5. Dustin Bray, North Carolina 68 Geoff Lound, Illinois 68 Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma State 68 8. 12 players tied at 69
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T20. Kris Mikkelsen 70 Matt Weibring 70 Chan Wongluekiet 70 T88. Troy Matteson 73
