October 15, 2001

Yellow Jacket Golfers in Fifth After 36 Holes at Jerry Pate Intercollegiate

Oct. 15, 2001

ATLANTA — The Georgia Tech men’s golf team was unable to find a scoring groove until the second round and is in fifth place after 36 holes of play in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala. The two-day, 54-hole event is being contested at the par-71, 6,958-yard layout of the Old Overton Golf Club.

Monday featured two rounds of play and the Yellow Jackets finished the morning round with a team score of 5-over-par, 289 and were in seventh place. Tech then rebounded in the afternoon round, carding a team total of 4-under-par, 280, to stand at 1-over-par, 289-284-569 after two rounds. The Jackets are 14 shots off the pace of team leader Wake Forest, which was the steadiest team on the opening day, carding a pair of solid rounds to stand at 13-unde-par, 279-276-555. The Demon Deacons hold an 11-shot advantage over Oklahoma State (286-280-566) and Arizona (286-280-566) entering Tuesday’s final round.

In the individual standings, junior Troy Matteson, whose steady play puts him in a five-way tie for fifth place, led Tech. Matteson finished the morning round with a total of 1-under-par, 70, and followed that with a 2-under-par round of 69 in the afternoon and is at 3-under-par, 70-69-139 for the tournament. He trails individual leader Bill Haas of Wake Forest by three shots, as Haas fired the low round of the day in the afternoon, a 6-under-par 65, and is at 6-under-par, 71-65-136 for the tournament.

Joining Matteson in the top 15 is senior Kris Mikkelsen, who opened the day with a 2-under-par round of 69, but fell back to 1-under-par for the tournament with a second-round 72 and is one of three players tied for 15th place at 69-72-141. Following Mikkelsen and also standing among the top 25 is freshman Chan Wongluekiet, who struggled in the opening round but rebounded nicely in the afternoon and is one of five players tied for 25th place at 2-over-par, 75-69-144. Senior Matt Weibring is just one shot behind Wongluekiet, as he is among five players tied for 30th place at 3-over-par, 75-70-145. The final member of the Yellow Jacket contingent in the field is freshman Nick Thompson, who is tied for 42nd place at 75-76-151.

The Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate will conclude on Tuesday with the final round of play, as the Yellow Jackets will be grouped in threesomes with Clemson and Texas.

Team Standings After 18 Holes

1. Wake Forest 279-276-555

2. Oklahoma State 286-280-566

Arizona 281-285-566

4. Clemson 282-285-567

5. Georgia Tech 289-280-569

6. Texas 284-290-574

7. Auburn 292-283-575

8. Georgia 294-288-582

9. UAB 294-290-584

10. Alabama 293-293-586

11. Arizona State 288-299-587