Oct. 20, 2003
TAMPA, Fla. – Georgia Tech junior golfer Nicholas Thompson carded a pair of rounds in the 60s to lead a trio of Yellow Jackets in the top six as Tech stormed to a 12-shot lead after two rounds of play at the Gary Koch/Cleveland Golf Intercollegiate in Tampa, Fla. The 54-hole event is being contested at the par-72, 7,036-yard Old Memorial Golf Club.
“The team has worked real hard all fall and they’ve learned some things about how to hang in there,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “I think today showed what we’re capable of, so I was real happy with the way we played.”
Paced by a pair of opening-round scores of 5-under-par 67 by Thompson and freshman Kevin Larsen, the Jackets matched the third-lowest single-round score in school history with a 16-under-par 272 to begin the day. Tech followed that with a 5-under-par, 283 in the afternoon to stand at 21-under-par, 272-283-555 after 36 holes. That total is 12 shots better than Arkansas, which is in second place at 9-under-par, 282-285-567 and top-ranked Florida, which is in third place at 8-under-par, 276-292-568.
Thompson was stellar on the day, as he finished with his opening-round 67 and a second-round total of 3-under-par, 69, to stand at 8-under-par, 67-69-136. He is tied with one other player in second place, just one shot off the lead of John Assey of the College of Charleston (67-68-135).
Larsen was equally solid on the first day of play, carding a pair of sub-par rounds, including a second-round total of 2-under-par, 70 to stand at 7-under-par, 67-70-137 through two rounds. That score ties him with one other player for fourth place in the individual standings. One shot behind Larsen is fellow rookie Roberto Castro, who is tied for sixth place following a 36-hole score of 6-under-par, 68-70-138.
The final two members of the Yellow Jacket contingent in the field are sophomore Thomas Jordan, who is tied for 32nd place at 2-over-par, 72-74-146 and junior Chan Wongluekiet, who is tied for 37th place at 70-77-147.
The Gary Koch/Cleveland Golf Intercollegiate will conclude on Tuesday with the final round of play. Full tournament results are available at www.gatorzone.com
TEAM SCORES AFTER 36 HOLES1 Georgia Tech 272-283=5552 Arkansas 282-285=5673 Florida 276-292=5684 LSU 283-287=570 TCU 281-289=5706 Georgia State 289-285=5747 Kentucky 285-291=5768 NC State 293-289=5829 Florida State 292-291=58310 So. Florida 296-290=58611 Coll. Of Charleston 283-304=58712 UCF 294-294=58813 Mississippi 295-297=592 North Florida 299-293=59215 Alabama 295-298=593
TOP-1O INDIVIDUALS 1 John Assey Charleston 67-68=135 2 Fernando Mechereffe NC State 69-67=136 Nicholas Thompson Ga. Tech 67-69=136 4 Kevin Larsen Ga. Tech 67-70=137 Adam Meyer TCU 68-69=137 6 Seth Murphy Arkansas 71-67=138 Roberto Castro Ga. Tech 68-70=138 8 Matt Every Florida 69-70=139 9 Heath West LSU 68-72=140 Colby Beckstrom TCU 66-74=140
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T32 Thomas Jordan 72-74=146 T37 Chan Wongluekiet 70-77=147
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