Georgia Extends Lead at NCAA Men’s Golf East Regional
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---Top-seeded Georgia shot a 13-under par 271 to extend its lead to 19 shots over second place Augusta State at the NCAA East Regional at Council Fire Golf Club. The Bulldogs now have a two-day total of 536 (-32).
Chattanooga native Harris English led the way for UGA with a six-under par 65. First round leader Hudson Swafford and Russell Henley added matching 68s (-3), while Adam Mitchell carded a 70 (-1).
Augusta State shot a 282 (-2) to maintain second-place with a 36-hole total of 555 (-13). Auburn and Cal-Irvine are tied for third at 558 (-10).
The round of the day belonged to UAB’s Zach Sucher who tied the Council Fire course record for a competitive round with a 62 (-2) tying Ed Dougherty from the 1992 Chattanooga Classic PGA Tour event. Sucher now stands at 11-under par 131, two shots ahead of Swafford and three ahead of Henley.
The host Chattanooga Mocs moved from a tie for 11th into a tie for eighth following a three-under par effort, 281. Its 36-hole total of 563 (-5) is tied with Charlotte, one shot ahead of Middle Tennessee and Michigan State in 10th.
Derek Rende topped the charts for the Mocs with a 68 (-3) for a two-day mark of 140. Fredrik Qvicker added a 70 (-1), while Jonathan Hodge registered an even-par 71. J.T. Clendenin (72/+1) and Ben Rickett (74/+2) rounded out the UTC ledger.
The final round tees off tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. with Georgia, Auburn and Augusta State teeing off of Hole No. 1. Chattanooga will be joined by New Mexico State and Charlotte on No. 1 at 7:47. The top 10 teams and two individuals not on advancing team gain entry to the NCAA Championships hosted by Purdue May 28-31.
UNCG’s Nathan Stamey shoots 76 in second round at NCAA West Regional
BREMERTON, WA ? UNC Greensboro senior Nathan Stamey carded a second round
76 at the NCAA West Regional on Friday to sit at seven-over par 151 after two rounds.
A triple-bogey on No. 17 proved costly for Stamey. He had gotten off to a great start with five straight pars, followed by an eagle at the par-5 sixth. Stamey gave one shot back with a bogey on No. 7. but then finished the front side with consecutive pars for a 39.
But the back nine proved tougher for the second straight day. Bogeys on Nos. 10, 12 and 13 put Stamey at two-over. He came back with a birdie at No. 14 and then made par on Nos. 15 and 16. But a triple-bogey seven at No. 17 in essence dropped Stamey 30 places in the standings. A par at No. 18 gave him a 41 for back side and a 76 for the day, good for a tie for 65t h place for the tournament in the individual standings. Among the sixth individuals playing in the 141-person field, Stamey is currently fourth.
Oregon’s Joey Benedetti still holds the lead after two rounds, carding his second consecutive round of 69. Wisconsin’s Dan Woltman is in second, one shot back after carding a 68 on Friday. Washington’s Nick Taylor is third, two shots back.
Southern California gained the team lead on Friday, carding a 283 for a tournament total 574. The Trojans lead Oregon by five shots and Clemson by six.
It is the first time that a Spartan has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the Division I era. The last UNCG men’s golfer to earn a spot in the tournament came 21 years ago when Todd Jackson earned a place in the Division III Tournament as an individual. Only one Spartan has ever won a national title ? Ryan Fox in 1981.
A total of 30 teams ? 10 from each regional ? and six individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, May 28-31 at Purdue in West Lafayette, IN.
Stamey’s group will get underway on Saturday off the 10th tee at 9:02 am PT.
Lytle Climbs Standings at NCAA West Regional
BREMERTON, Wash. ? Elon University senior Jimmy Lytle forged an even-par 72 in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Division I West Regional Men’s Golf Championship Friday at the Gold Mountain Golf Club, climbing up from a first-round share of 31st place to a tie for 18th place in the 141-player field.
The first Phoenix golfer to compete in an NCAA regional since Elon officially joined the Division I level nine years ago, Lytle (74-72?146) is one of six individuals to join the 27 teams participating at the regional event hosted by University of Washington. Lytle is scheduled to tee off at 10:18 a.m. EST Saturday in the final round of the three-round tournament.
During Thursday’s first-round action, Lytle followed up a two-over-par 38 on the front nine holes with an even-par 36 on the back nine. Along the way, he birdied twice and bogeyed four times. During Friday’s second round of play, Lytle carded a one-over-par 37 on the front nine holes and a one-under-par 35 on the back nine while tallying four birdies and four bogeys.
University of Oregon’s Joey Benedetti carded a three-under-par 69 for the second consecutive day to maintain the individual lead after the second day of the three-day event. University of Wisconsin’s Dan Woltman (71-68?139) worked his way into second place on Gold Mountain’s 7,111-yard Olympic Course.
The three 54-hole regional competitions ? including the East Regional hosted by The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Central Regional hosted by The Ohio State University ? will determine the participants who will advance to the NCAA Championship.
The 2008 NCAA Championship will be hosted by Purdue University May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. The top 10 teams and the top two individuals at each regional site will move on to championship play.
Prior to regional action, Lytle fashioned a sizzling 72.22 scoring average for 32 rounds ? the third-best average in the Southern Conference this season. Last month, the three-time All-SoCon player finished in a tie for fourth place at the SoCon Championship. This spring, he was named the SoCon Golfer of the Week twice and the SoCon Athlete of the Month once.
Catamount Men’s Golf Slips to 18th; Matt Cook Tied for Fourth, Four Strokes Off the Lead
Final round commences Saturday morning; WCU tees off just after Noon
Chattanooga, Tenn. ? Western Carolina posted a second round, five-over par 289 on Friday to slip into 18th-place overall at the NCAA Men’s Golf East Regional being played at the par 71, 6,961-yard Council Fire Golf Club. The Catamounts are 10 strokes out of the final transfer spot for a team entering Saturday’s final round.
Paired with golfers from the Univ. of Virginia and Georgia State, Western Carolina’s first golfer will hit the course at 12:12 pm, with the final Catamount teeing off at 12:50 from the first hole.
The top 10 finishers from the regional move on to NCAA Championship which will be held may 28-31 at Purdue University's Birk Boilermaker Golf Complex on the Kampen Course. Top two individual finishers not on teams advancing move on as well.
Western Carolina is being paced by senior Matt Cook, who followed up his opening-round 67 with a three-under 68 on Friday to move into a four-way tie for fourth place at seven-under,135, just four strokes off the overall individual lead. But, more importantly, the Murphy, N.C., native enters the final round currently sitting in one of the two individual transfer spots for the National Championship. Cook along with Virginia Tech’s Jurrian van der Vaat, who is also tied for fourth, open play Saturday in the two individual transfer spots.
Through two days, Cook has 10 birdies and an eagle which he recorded on Friday to help him to his three-under. Over his last four rounds, including the final two at the Southern Conference championship and the past two days in the East Regional, Cook has averaged 67.75 strokes per round (67, 69, 67, 68).
National top-seed, Georgia, extended its lead over second place, Augusta State, by shooting a 13-under par 271 to extend its lead to 19 strokes. The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s final round with a two-day total of 536 (-32). Zach Sucher of UAB holds a two-stroke lead entering the final round after posting scores of 69 and 62 for a 36-hole tally of 11-under, 131.
SoCon champion and regional host, Chattanooga, posted a three-under 281 on Friday to move into eighth place in the overall standings.
WCU sophomore Ricky Stout followed his one-over 71 with a four-over 75 on day two to stand tied for 89th with a two-day total of 147. He is followed by junior Dustin Furnari who trimmed two strokes off his opening round to shoot 73 and stand tied for 102nd. Junior Andres Cuenca lowered his first-day score by three strokes, shooing a two-over 73 to be tied for 112th while freshman Caleb Marsh is tied for 126th at 152 entering the final 18.
Live scoring of the final round will be provided by GolfStat and can be accessed by visiting www.GolfStatResults.com. Complete results and recaps will be provided through www.CatamountSports.com.