Feb. 27, 2009
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico –
Freshman James White fired a 4-under-par 68, and All-American Cameron Tringale added a 70 Friday, pacing Georgia Tech to a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Puerto Rico Classic golf tournament.
White birdied six holes with a pair of bogeys on the River Course at Westin Rio Mar Resort, posting his season-best score by four strokes. The Acworth, Ga., native is tied for third place individually, one shot behind Darren Blair of NC State and Dylan Fritelli of Texas, who each shot 67. Tringale, a senior from Laguna Niguel, Calif., posted his eighth subpar round in 16 this year and is tied for seventh.
“James played very well today,” said head coach Bruce Heppler. “He drove the ball very well and made a lot of terrific shots. It’s the best I’ve seen him play.”
Tech’s team total of 280 was eight shots under par and one clear of NC State and three ahead of No. 2-ranked Georgia. Clemson is fourth at 285, and Oklahoma State is fifth at 286.
“We just need to keep working,” said Heppler. “The wind made the last nine holes a little difficult today, but it was nothing like what we dealt with in Hawai’i three weeks ago. This was a good start for us.”
John-Tyler Griffin and David Dragoo each shot 1-under 71 for Tech Friday and are tied for 13th place individually. Freshman Minghao Wang shot 74 and did not count for the Jackets. The second round begins at 7 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, with the final round set for 6:30 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. There is no live scoring for the tournament. Results will be posted at the end of each day on www.ramblinwreck.com.
PUERTO RICO CLASSICRio Grande, Puerto RicoFirst-Round Results
TEAM STANDINGS Georgia Tech 280 (-8) NC State 281 Georgia 283 Clemson 285 Oklahoma State 286 Michigan 287 Florida 288 Alabama 288 Purdue 292 Northwestern 294 Texas 294 Kent State 295 Minnesota 296 East Tennessee State 297 Virginia 312
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Darren Blair, NC State 67 (-5) Dylan Fritelli, Texas 67 James White, Georgia Tech 68 David May, Clemson 68 Matt Hill, NC State 69 Brian Harman, Georgia 69
GEORGIA TECH SCORES James White (T3) 68 Cameron Tringale (T7) 70 John-Tyler Griffin (T13) 71 David Dragoo (T13) 71 Minghao Wang (T42) 74
