April 10, 2006
ALPHARETTA, GA – Thirteenth-ranked Clemson, which has had only a pair of top-five finishes this year, charged into the lead by posting the day’s best score of 282, six shots under par, in the afternoon round, and assumed a one-shot lead over Florida and Wake Forest after 36 holes of the United States Collegiate Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta.
The Tigers, whose last victories occurred in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and the NCAA East Regional late in the spring of 2004, got three subpar scores in the afternoon from Stephen Poole (70), Brian Duncan (71) and Tanner Ervin (70). Poole, who averages 2.83 birdies per round this year, recorded nine birdies for the day in 36 holes and is tied for second place individually.
“We’ve actually been playing well,” said Tigers’ coach Larry Penley, whose team won an NCAA Championship in 2003. “We haven’t had much to show for it, but I felt like at Augusta (State Invitational) last week, our game started coming around. We’re just proving we’re not cold weather players.”
Clemson, at 2-under-par 574 for 36 holes (291-283), Florida and Wake Forest were the only teams to break par for 36 holes. The Gators, ranked third in the nation, shot 287-288, while the Demon Deacons posted scores of 288-287 (both 1-under-par 575 for 36 holes) and stand one shot behind the Tigers. Georgia State, which shot the day’s best score of 279 in the afternoon, was in fourth place at 582. Fourth-ranked Georgia Tech stood in fifth place after shooting 290-298 for a 36-hole total of 588. Top-ranked Georgia and Texas are tied for sixth at 591.
Every paced Florida with a 68 in the morning and 72 in the afternoon, and is tied with Poole for second place individually, while teammate Brett Stegmaier battled back from a 74 in the morning to post a 67 in the afternoon and is tied for fourth at 3-under-par 141.
“We played solidly today,” said Florida coach Buddy Alexander. “It’s not an easy golf course. Think about it like this. It could not have been a more perfect day (weather-wise), and we’re 1-under-par as a team. We had to count a 77 in the afternoon, but you take the good with the bad. Stegmaier threw a 67 in there, and that was pretty sporty.”
Webb Simpson, who finished second at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Invitational two weeks ago, led Wake Forest into contention with rounds of 68 and 67 for a 36-hole total of 135, nine shots under par for the day. He holds a five-shot lead over Every in the individual race. The Demon Deacons also got scores of 72 and 69 from Chris McCartin, who is tied for fourth place with Stegmaier.
“I told my coach, anybody who plays the par 3’s even par has to do good out here,” said Simpson, a sophomore who played the par 3 holes even for the day. “It’s the best (tournament) I’ve played yet in college golf. I’m glad we got an invite. It kind of feels like Augusta because the course is in such good shape. The bunkers are the same as Augusta, the sand is so white.”
Tee times for Tuesday’s final round begin at 8 a.m., with the awards ceremony to occur at approximately 1 p.m. Live scoring is available at Golfstatresults.com.
The United States Collegiate Championship will be televised by Comcast Sports Southeast, which serves 11 states and 5 million households. The telecast will air on CSS on April 25th at 4:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Callaway Golf and Siemens are presenting sponsors for the USCC, with Cadillac the official vehicle.
THE UNITED STATES COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPThe Golf Club of Georgia, Lakeside CourseApril 10, 200636-Hole Results
TEAM STANDINGS 1 Clemson 291 283 574 -2 T2 Florida 287 288 575 -1 T2 Wake Forest Univ. 288 287 575 -1 4 Georgia State Univ. 303 279 582 +6 5 Georgia Tech 290 298 588 +12 T6 Georgia 298 293 591 +15 T6 Texas 294 297 591 +15 8 Alabama, U. of 294 298 592 +16 9 TCU 297 299 596 +20 10 East Tennessee St. 294 305 599 +23 11 Tennessee, Univ. of 307 297 604 +28 T12 Brigham Young Univ. 304 301 605 +29 T12 Florida State Univ. 306 299 605 +29
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS finish top 20 players school scores 1 Webb Simpson Wake Forest Univ. 68 67 135 −9 T2 Matt Every Florida 68 72 140 −4 T2 Stephen Poole Clemson 70 70 140 −4 T4 Chris McCartin Wake Forest Univ. 72 69 141 −3 T4 Brett Stegmaier Florida 74 67 141 −3 T6 Jeff Bell Texas 75 67 142 −2 T6 Jonas Blixt Florida State Univ. 72 70 142 −2 T6 Mark Harrell Alabama, U. of 72 70 142 −2 T6 Brendon Todd Georgia 70 72 142 −2 10 Rhys Davies East Tennessee St. 68 75 143 −1 T11 Tanner Ervin Clemson 74 70 144 E T11 Mark Haastrup Georgia State Univ. 73 71 144 E T11 Drew Laning TCU 72 72 144 E T11 Steve Tiley Georgia State Univ. 78 66 144 E T15 Michael Barbosa Georgia Tech 70 75 145 +1 T15 Billy Horschel Florida 73 72 145 +1 T15 Matthew Swan Alabama, U. of 71 74 145 +1 T18 Brian Duncan Clemson 75 71 146 +2 T18 Daniel Summerhays Brigham Young Univ. 75 71 146 +2 T20 Vince Hatfield Clemson 75 72 147 +3 T20 Kevin Kisner Georgia 76 71 147 +3 T20 David May Clemson 72 75 147 +3 T20 Joel Sjoholm Georgia State Univ. 76 71 147 +3
