Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Golf Competes in Conference Championships this Weekend
4/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 17, 2001
Orlando, Fla. -
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Wake Forest Men's Golf News & Notes
2001 ACC Championships * April 20-22 * Disney's Magnolia Golf Course * Orlando, Fla.
Championship Info
Course
Disney's Wide World of Sports Magnolia Golf Course
Par 72 * 7,093 Yards
Format
54 holes, 18 each day
Times
Teams tee off beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day
Wake Forest Lineup (stroke avg.)
Bill Haas (72.7)
Brent Wanner (72.7)
Cortland Lowe (73.0)
Jay Morgan (74.7)
Chris Yoder (73.9)
Deacon Golfers Join Spring Championship Festivities at Disney's Wide World of Sports...
The Wake Forest men's golf team - along with the Demon Deacon track & field, tennis and women's golf squads - heads to Orlando, Fla. this weekend for the ACC Springfest. Championships will be determined in the sports mentioned above, in addition to lacrosse, with all events taking place in and around the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
This is the first time the conference's spring sport championships will be held in Orlando and just the second time the events have taken place in a centralized location. The ACC hosted golf, tennis, softball and track & field championships in the Atlanta area in 1997.
The 2001 ACC men's golf championship marks the first time the tournament has ventured into the state of Florida, and is just the sixth time in its 48-year history that the event has taken place outside the state of North Carolina.
Deacs Look to Continue Spring Hot Streak...
Over Wake's last four tournaments, the Deacons, ranked 18th nationally, have posted team finishes of second, first, third and second. After finishing second at the Birkdale on March 5-6, Wake captured the team title at the USC Aiken/Cleveland Golf Collegiate on March 19-20. The Deacs followed that up with a second-place finish at the Augusta State Invite on March 31-April 1, and just last weekend posted a second place finish at The Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill.
Over those four tournaments, the Deacs' final score has trailed the team champion by a total of nine strokes. In the last two outings, WFU has been just two strokes off the winning score.
A Look at the Deacon Lineup...
Wake Forest will sport a lineup of one junior, three sophomores and one freshman at this year ACC Championships. Leading the way for the Deacs are sophomore Brent Wanner (Chatham, Mass.) and freshman Bill Haas (Greer, S.C.). Both Wanner and Haas are tied for the team lead with a 72.7 stroke average and collectively have posted eight top-10 finishes. Wanner has been a consistent force all season long, as he is the only Deacon to play in every event so far this year. After winning the individual title at the Duke Classic in October, Wanner has posted three top-10 showings this spring.
Haas has really come on strong during the spring campaign, posting four straight top-10 finishes to close out the regular season, including a pair of second-place finishes. He has dropped his average by two strokes from the fall to spring (73.8 to 71.8).
Sophomore Cortland Lowe (Augusta, Ga.) holds the third spot in the Deacon lineup. After leading the Deacs in the fall with a 72.6 average, Lowe currently owns a 73.2 with two top-10 finishes to his credit.
Jay Morgan (Choctaw, Okla), the team's "elder statesman" though just a junior, has seen action in nine events this year. While he ranks third on the squad with over 42 percent of his rounds equal/under par, Morgan is looking for increased consistency. He enters the weekend with a 74.7 stroke average.
Sophomore Chris Yoder (Ashland, Ohio) rounds out the Deacon lineup. After playing as an individual in two fall events, Yoder has appeared in four team events this spring, compiling a 73.6 average.
Head Coach Jerry Haas...
Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas is in his fourth season at the helm of the men's golf program. Haas is familiar with the tradition and history of the Wake program, having played under coach Jesse Haddock from 1982-85 and earning All-America honors four times as a Deacon golfer.
Haas' leadership and enthusiasm have been instrumental in the Deacons' recent return to national prominence, as he led Wake to a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2000 after a two-year hiatus from the event.
Wake Forest Golf - A Long and Successful ACC History...
Atlantic Coast Conference golf is highly regarded and Wake Forest men's golf has played a key role in developing that reputation. Since 1954, WFU has captured 18 ACC team championships, more than any other school (North Carolina is second with 10.)
Individually speaking, over the years the Demon Deacons have captured more ACC individual championships (20) than any other league school, beginning with the legendary Arnold Palmer in the first ACC championship in 1954.
Only four players in conference history have won two ACC individual titles and two of those are from Wake Forest - Ronny Thomas (1959,'60) and Scott Hoch (1977, `78). Georgia Tech's David Duval (1991, `93), and Clemson's Charles Warren (1997, `98) are the only other two who can claim this distinction.
While Wake has traditionally been strong in ACC play, this weekend the Deacons will be looking to capture their first conference championship since 1989. That was also the last time WFU had an individual champion, as Tim Straub won medalist honors that season.
Fountain of Youth...
If this year's roster and results are any indication, the future of Deacon golf looks bright. The 2000-01 roster includes no seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and a freshman. Wake's most consistent lineup this season (including the ACC Championship) has included one junior, three sophomores and a freshman.
Wake Forest won the Cleveland Golf Collegiate in March with its youngest lineup of the season - four sophomores and a freshman.
Frosh-Soph Duo Provide One-Two Punch for Deacs...
Wake's top players this season, in terms of stroke average, top finishes and statistics, have been freshman Bill Haas and sophomore Brent Wanner. As a tandem, Haas and Wanner have been Wake's top two finishers in four tournaments this season, including three of the last four events. Other similarities include:
* The pair is tied for the team lead in stroke average, both with a 72.7.
* Both have pocketed a team-high four top-10 finishes and five top-20 showings this season.
* Wanner won individual medalist honors at the Duke Classic in the fall, while Haas has picked up two second-place finishes this spring.
* The duo owns Wake's lowest rounds this season - Wanner carded a 65 at the Duke Classic, while Haas fired a 64 at the Augusta State Invite.
* Both have counted over 91 percent of their rounds toward team totals.
* Their stroke differentials are very close - Haas is averaging 10.8 strokes off the leader, while Wanner is averaging 10.9.
At Last Year's ACC Championship...
BADIN LAKE, N.C. -- The Wake Forest men's golf team carded a final round team score of three-over 291 to finish in fourth place of nine teams at the 2000 ACC Championship. The event was contested on the 7102-yard, par-72 course at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point.
The Deacons finished with a 54-hole score of 11-over 875, 19 strokes behind team champion Clemson (-8). Georgia tech finished second (-3), followed by NC State (-2), Wake, North Carolina (+17), Duke (+19), Virginia (+27), Maryland (+28) and Florida State (+47).
Georgia Tech's Bryce Molder won the individual conference championship with a 54-hole total of 10-under 206. The Deacs' top finisher was Jay Morgan, who turned in a final-round 75 on Sunday to tie for eighth place at even par.
Two other Deacs finished in the top 20, as Brent Wanner tied for 14th place at three-over, while Buck Williams finished tied for 19th at five-over after a final round 71.
The Rankings Report... As a team, Wake Forest is currently ranked 19th in the MasterCard/Collegiate Golf Rankings. The Deacs were listed as high as 13th (Dec. 6) and have been a mainstay in the Top 25 all season long.
Three Deacons are ranked individually. Brent Wanner, who entered the rankings at No. 23, is currently 47th. Bill Haas checked into the rankings for the first time four weeks ago and is now 50th. Cortland Lowe has consistently been ranked in the 70s all season and is currently 73rd.
In the GolfWeek/Sagarin rankings, Wake Forest is listed ninth as a team. Haas is 47th, Wanner 50th and Lowe 51st in the individual listings.
Tough Competition in the ACC...
The ACC championships are perennially one of the premier events in collegiate golf, due to the high level of competition between the nine schools. As of April 17, six ACC schools - two-thirds of this weekend's field - are ranked among the nation's top 50 teams. Georgia Tech is second, followed by No. 3 Clemson, No. 10 NC State, No. 19 Wake, No. 25 Duke and No. 34 North Carolina.
Eighteen ACC players - over one-third of the championship field - are currently ranked among the nation's top 100 golfers. Four are ranked in the top-10, led by defending ACC champion Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech, who is second nationally. Georgia Tech leads the ACC with four ranked players in its lineup. Wake Forest is tied with Clemson and NC State with three apiece.
Statistically Speaking...
Collectively, nearly 42 percent (60-of-143) of the Deacons' individual rounds this season have been equal or under par ... team members have combined for 21 top-20 finishes this season ... Wake Forest has compiled a won-loss record of 91-45-3 (.665) ... versus ACC competition, the Deacs own a record of 20-15 (.571) ... Bill Haas' first-round 64 at the Augusta State Invitational was the lowest score posted by a WFU golfer since former Deacon Todd Lynch turned in a 63 in the fall of 1996 ... Haas' spring stroke average of 71.77 ranks fourth in the ACC, behind Georgia Tech's Bryce Molder (71.07), NC State's David Sanchez (71.28) and UNC's Dustin Bray (71.67).
