May 15, 2009

Cavalier Golfers Keep Up Strong Play at NCAA Regional
The Virginia men’s golf team enters Saturday’s final round of play at the NCAA East Regional Championship in third place. The Cavaliers will need a top-five finish in the 14-team field to advance to the NCAA Championships. UVa used another solid day of play to keep its postseason hopes alive, shooting 7-over 291 at Galloway National Golf Club to finish the first 36 holes at 589. UVa’s second round score was seven shots better than its opening-round 298.

With conditions less windy than the teams faced in Thursday’s opening round, the field managed to produce better scoring across the board. Virginia’s Kyle Stough and Ben Kohles finished the day tied for fifth at 3-over 145. They are just three shots behind leader John Hahn of Kent State who used a 67 to move into first place at 142.

Kohles, a freshman, posted Virginia’s best round, shooting even par 71. Stough shot 73, the same as senior teammate Conrad Von Borsig, who is 16th overall. Will Collins and Bruch Woodall both finished with 74s. Collins is in 25th place at 9-over 151 and Woodall moved up to 62nd at 161. 

Wake Forest Keeps Pace At NCAA Northeast Regional
The Wake Forest men's golf team started the day in second place but a second-straight round of 297, in calmer conditions, has dropped the Demon Deacons to fourth after 36 holes of the NCAA Northeast Regional at the Galloway National Golf Club (Par-71, 7,022 yards).

Despite the slide, the Demon Deacons hold a 5-shot edge on sixth-place Colorado State, in the race for that elusive trip to the NCAA Championships.

The top-five teams at the end of the round on Saturday will advance to the NCAA Championships at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, May 26-30. 

Clemson in Ninth Place at Northeast Regional
Clemson improved by 11 shots over its first round team score, but is 14 shots behind the fifth-place cutline entering Saturday's final round of the NCAA Northeast Regional at Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, NJ. The Tigers have a score of 41 over par for the 36 holes, 14 shots behind the 27 over par by fifth place Illinois.

Clemson must jump over Minnesota (+39), Kent State (+33), Colorado State (+31) and Illinois (+27), to qualify for the NCAA national tournament at Inverness at the end of the month. Tennessee has the team lead at 15 over par, while Alabama is second at +20 and Virginia is third at +21. Wake Forest is in fourth place at +26.

Clemson got off to a good start on Friday as the team was four under par after two holes. All five Tigers birdied the 11th hole, the second hole of the day for he Tigers team. But the 17th and 18th holes ruined the round. The five Clemson golfers were a combined 12 over par on those two holes. Even Kyle Stanley, Clemson's top golfer, bogeyed both of those holes.

Koepka Leads Seminoles At NCAA Southeast Regional Championship
Florida State University freshman Brooks Koepka carded his second consecutive score of two-under par 69 and is in a tie for 11th place in the individual standings after two rounds of the NCAA Southeast Regional championship at the Red Tail Golf Club. The Seminoles slipped from fifth place into ninth as they carded a two-over par team score of 286.

The Seminoles, who are looking to advance to the NCAA Championship round for the second time in the last three years, need to finish as one of the top five teams in the event to advance to the finals which are scheduled for May 27-30 at the Inverness Country Club in Toledo, Ohio. The Seminoles begin play in Saturday's final round only three strokes behind South Carolina and Kentucky for the fifth and final spot if they are to advance to the championship finals. An even further illustration on how tight the competition is shows the Seminoles only five strokes behind fourth place Charlotte and six strokes behind third place Georgia.

Central Florida, the host team for the regional, maintained its lead in the team standings and will begin play in the final round with a two stroke lead over Arizona. The No. 23 ranked Knights and the No. 26 ranked Wildcats finished with identical scores of seven under par 277 in the second round. Tarquin MacManus of Arizona continued to lead the individual standings and has a two day total of 129 with scores of 63 and 66. He has a five stroke lead over David Johnson of UCF. 

Hokies fall to 12th at NCAA Austin Regional
Virginia Tech shot a second round 306 and is in 12th place in the NCAA Austin Regional at the par 71, 7,412-yardUniversity of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Tex. on Friday. The Hokies, the tournament’s 10th seed has a two-round total of 608.

Senior Drew Weaver (High Point, N.C.) leads the Hokies with a two-round total of five-over-pat 147 and is tied for 18th place. He is ten strokes behind Lance Lopez of Texas who leads the tournament at 137.

Sophomore Garland Green (Tazewell, Va.) is tied for 36th at 151 and redshirt senior Will Oldham (Spartanburg, S.C.) is tied for 51stplace at 155. Sophomore Marshall Bailey (Fincastle, Va.) is tied for 55th at 156 and redshirt junior Matt Boyd (Sugar Land, Tex.) is tied for 68th at 160.

Carolina's O'Connell Tied For 31st At NCAA NE Regional
University of North Carolina golfer Kevin O'Connell carded a four-over-par 75 for an 11-over 153 total and is tied for 31st place after the second round of the NCAA Northeast Regional played at Galloway National Golf Club which features a par 71, 7,022-yard layout.

O'Connell, a senior All-ACC performer from Cary, N.C., played his front nine (the back nine since he started on the 10th tee) at one-over-par. He then birdied the first hole (his 10th) before picking up bogies on holes 2, 4, 7 and 8.

John Hahn of Kent State fired a four-under-par 67 in the second round to grab a one-stroke individual lead with an even par 142 total. Hahn, who began the day tied for 14th, fired an eagle 3 on the par-5 ninth hole, his 18th hole. Darren Renwick of Tennessee and Dan Woltman of Wisconsin are one stroke back at one-over-par 143. Renwick carded a one-over 72 in the second round while Woltman fired a one-under 69. Kyle Stanley of Clemson is alone in fourth place at two-over 144 while there is a four-way tie for fifth place at three-over 145.

Duke Tied For Third At NCAA Central Regional Midway Through Second Round
The Duke men's golf team sits in a third place tie midway through the second round of play at the NCAA Central Regional. The Blue Devils were even-par through holes No. 8-11 at The Club at Olde Stone when play was suspended for the day at 5:10 p.m. EST. Thunderstorms and lightening in the area also delayed play for two hours earlier in the day.

The second round will resume at 8:30 a.m. EST with a shotgun finish. Players will continue from their suspended point and then continue straight into the final round of play.

Washington remains in the lead at four-under through holes 10-14 of the second round. UCLA is eight shots back at four-over, while Duke (+10) and Ohio State (+10) are tied for third. N.C. State is fifth at 13-over. The top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. 

Play Halted for NC State at NCAA Regional Championships
Due to bad weather throughout the day, Round 2 of the 2009 NCAA Central Region Championships has been suspended on Friday. Play will resume at 7:30 a.m. CT on Saturday with players continuing from their suspended point and continue straight into the final round.

The five Pack players were on holes No. 16-18, with none of them finishing their second round.

NC State currently sits in fifth place, at 13-over par. The top-five teams will advance to the NCAA Championships, and NC State currently holds a one-stroke lead over both Georgia Tech and Louisville.

Second Round Suspended With For Tech at NCAA Central Golf Regional
If Georgia Tech's golf team is to regain its position among the top five teams heading into the final round of the NCAA Central Regional, it will need to rally Saturday morning after heavy rain and lightning forced suspension of the second round.

With the seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets in seventh place, four spots below its position after 18 holes Thursday, and eight holes to complete, the second round will resume at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Saturday. The final round will immediately follow. The top five teams after 54 holes advance to the NCAA Championship May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio.

Head coach Bruce Heppler's team will begin the day four shots out of fifth place. Top-seeded Washington, 2-over for its round when play was called, is 4-under for the tournament and nine strokes ahead of UCLA (+5). Duke, Ohio state and Louisville are tied for third place at 10-over-par, with NC State in sixth at 12-over, Tech at 14-over.