May 20, 1999

BARRINGTON, R.I. -

Buoyed by placing four golfers among the top 12 individuals, Georgia Tech's golf team took a three-stroke lead into the clubhouse Thursday after the first day of the 1999 NCAA East Regional at the par 72, 6,734-yard Rhode Island Country Club.

Tech, which won the East Regional last year at Dufaskie Island, S.C., was the only team to finish under par (-1) Thursday after ending with a team total of 283. The Yellow Jackets, currently ranked No. 4, are three shots ahead of No. 11 South Carolina (286).

Third-ranked Clemson is third at 291, No. 44 Mississippi is fourth at 292 and Duke, Georgia State and North Carolina ended the day tied for fifth at 293. No. 1 Georgia ended the day in eighth, 11 strokes back at 294.

Sophomore Bryce Molder (Conway, Ark.) finished the day in a three-way tie for first after carding a two-under 35-34=69, ending the afternoon with Mike Sims of Rhode Island and ACC medalist Matt Krauss of Duke as the clubhouse leaders. One stroke back is junior Matt Kuchar (Lake Mary, Fla.), who fired a one-under 35-35=70 to tie for fourth with Eric Ecker of South Carolina.

Sitting just three strokes back of the leaders and tied for 12 are junior Carlton Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) and sophomore Wes Latimer (Woodstock, Ga.), who both finished the day at 72. Forrester shot a 38 on the front nine, but responded with a 34 after the turn, while Latimer fired an even 36-36. Senior Mike Peason (Snellville, Ga.) was in the next group back at 73 after shooting a 38-35.

Play continues Friday and Saturday with 18 holes each day. The Jackets are due to begin teeing off at 8:56 a.m. Friday. The top 11 teams and two individuals advance to the NCAA Championship June 2-5 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

NCAA East Regional 
Day 1 Team Results
 1.  Georgia Tech      283
 2.  South Carolina    286
 3   Clemson           291
 4.  Mississippi       292
 5.  Duke              293
     Georgia State     293
     North Carolina    293
 8.  Georgia           294
 9.  South Alabama     295
10.  Richmond          296
11.  Florida           297
     E. Tennessee St.  297
13.  Rhode Island      299
     Mississippi St.   299
15.  Maryland          300
     Augusta St.       300
     North Florida     300
     Connecticut       300
19.  Penn State        302
     Seton Hall        302
21.  N.C. State        304
     James Madison     304
23.  Yale              305

Top 10 Individuals
1.  Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech   69
    Mike Sims, Rhode Island      69
    Matt Krauss, Duke            69
4.  Matt Kuchar, Georgia Tech    70
    Eric Ecker, South Carolina   70
6.  Michael Capone, Wake Forest  71
    Ryuji Imada, Georgia         71
    Sean Vigue  Connecticut      71
    Lucas Glover, Clemson        71
    Troy Muller, Mississippi     71
    Rob Simmons, North Carolina  71