Oct. 14, 2002
Birmingham, Ala. — Led by the strong play of sophomore Nicholas Thompson, the Georgia Tech golf team is tied for sixth place after 36 holes of play at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala. The 54-hole tournament is being played at the par-71, 6,958-yard Old Overton Golf Club.
The Yellow Jackets finished the day with two of their most solid team rounds of the young season, carding a 5-under-par 279 over the second 18 holes to stand at 3-under-par, 286-279-565 after the first two rounds of competition. That total ties Tech with Arizona (282-283-565) and places it nine shots off the pace of team leader and top-ranked Clemson, which finished day one at 12-under-par, 278-278-556.
Thompson was the steadiest performer for the Jackets on Monday, firing a pair of sub-par rounds, including a season-best second-round score of 3-under-par 68, to finish tied with two other players at 4-under-par, 70-68-138 after 36 holes. That score puts him just three shots behind individual leader Chris Nallen of Arizona, who fired a second-round score of 5-under-par 66 and is 7-under-par, 69-66–135, for the tournament.
Joining Thompson in the tournament’s top 12 is senior Troy Matteson, who had a consistent opening day and is one of five players tied for 12th place at 2-under-par, 71-69-140. Sophomore Chan Wongluekiet bounced back from a tough opening round of 75, to fire Tech’s low individual round of the day in the afternoon, a season-best 4-under-par 67. His 36-hole score of even-par 75-67-142, places him among four players tied for 20th place. Freshman Thomas Jordan is the next Yellow Jacket individual in the field, as he is tied for 42nd place at 73-75-148, while fellow freshman Michael Barbosa is tied for 58th place at 72-82-154.
The Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate will conclude on Tuesday with the final round of competition over the Old Overton layout.
TEAM SCORES AFTER 36 HOLES1. Clemson 278-278-5562. Texas 288-274-5623. TCU 283-280-5634. UNLV 281-283-564 Wake Forest 285-279-5646. Arizona 282-283-565 Georgia Tech 286-279-5658. Alabama 280-277-5679. Auburn 295-285-58010. Oklahoma State 293-288-58111. Southern California 300-287-58712. UAB 300-295-595
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS 1. Chris Nallen, Arizona 69-66-135 2. D.J. Trahan, Clemson 66-70-136 Ryan Moore, UNLV 66-70-136 4. J.J. Wall, Texas 70-67-137 Matt Hendrix, Clemson 68-69-137 6. Bill Haas, Wake Forest 70-68-138 Nicholas Thompson, Georgia Tech 70-68-138 Brien Davis, UNLV 70-68-138 9. Jack Ferguson, Clemson 73-66-139 Brent Wanner, Wake Forest 69-70-139 Reid Hatley, Arizona 67-72-139
GEORGIA TECH INDIVIDUALS T12. Troy Matteson 71-69-140 T20. Chan Wongluekiet 75-67-142 T42. Thomas Jordan 73-75-148 T58. Michael Barbosa 72-82-154
