Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Rally To Stay Near Top Of Leader Board
6/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
June 1, 2006
SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Wake Forest rallied on the last nine holes of Thursday's second round to put the Demon Deacons squarely in the hunt for the NCAA Men's Golf Championship with two days and 36 holes remaining.
Paced by senior Kyle Reifers, who battled his way to a 2-under par 70 and increase his lead in the individual race to three strokes, Wake Forest shot 5-under par on the second nine holes and is tied for second place midway through the tournament. The Deacons, 1-over on the day, are 10-under par for the tournament and trail tournament leader Washington by three strokes. Wake Forest is tied for second place with Arizona State.
"If we can play well the next two days," head coach Jerry Haas said, "we may look back on today's second nine holes as being a real key. Starting on the back nine is more difficult. The front nine has more birdie holes."
It appeared that Wake Forest, the first-round leader, would slide much further in the 30-team tournament at the par 72, 7,630-yard Crosswater Golf Club. The Deacons, who started on the back nine, sat through a 24-minute rain delay and were 6-over par at the turn. On the second nine, however, Reifers shot 3-under and sophomore Webb Simpson was 2-under to put Wake back near the top of the leader board.
By finishing the second round in the top three, Wake Forest will join the Pac 10's Washington and Arizona State in the first group off the tee at 7 a.m. Friday morning. Eight other teams are under par through 36 holes, including Florida (-7), Kentucky (-6), Clemson (-6), Oklahoma State (-4), Minnesota (-3), Texas A&M (-2), UCLA (-2) and Lamar (-1).
"One-over par (today) is not what we wanted," Haas said, "but we're in the hunt. Three strokes in college golf is not a huge deficit."
Wake Forest is chasing its fourth NCAA crown and its first since 1986. Wake's Reifers is trying to become the first Deacon to win the individual title since Gary Hallberg in 1979.
Reifers started the day with pars on his first seven holes before getting his only bogey of the day and only his second bogey of the tournament. He birdied three holes on the second nine to finish with a 70 -- his ninth consecutive round of shooting par or better, which ties for third in Wake Forest history.
Reifers, who is 9-under for the tournament, is three strokes in front of a group of four golfers: Washington's Zach Bixler, Arizona State's Niklas Lemke, and Oklahoma State's Pablo Martin and Jonathan Moore.
WFU's Simpson shot a 70 today, 2-under for the tournament and is tied for 19th place. Sophomore Chris McCartin, whose 76 today did not count toward the team score, is 1-over for the tournament and tied for 45th. Junior Sean Moore shot his second straight 73 to go 2-over for the tournament. Senior Doug Manchester improved his score by two strokes to a 74 and is 6-over through 36 holes.
"I thought we played the first day like we had nothing to lose," Haas said of Wednesday's first round in which the Deacons erupted for an 11-under par score. "Today, I thought we played a little protective, but that's human nature."
Following Friday's third round, the field will be cut in half, to 15 teams. Wake Forest is in solid shape to make the cut for the first time since finishing fourth in the 2003 NCAA Championships.
"The guys feel like they can win and I feel like we can win," Haas said. "All five guys are playing well. We've got a real gutty group."
TEAM STANDINGS
Washington 281-282--563 (-13)
Wake Forest 277-289--566 (-10)
Arizona State 287-279--566 (-10)
Florida 284-285--569 (-7)
Clemson 282-288--570 (-6)
Kentucky 283-inc (-6)
Oklahoma State 281-291--572 (-4)
Minnesota 287-286--573 (-3)
Texas A&M 291-283--574 (-2)
UCLA 280-294--574 (-2)
Lamar 292-283--575 (-1)
Arizona 296-283--579 (+3)
NC State 284-295--579 (+3)
Georgia 293-286--579 (+3)
UNLV 293-290--583 (+7)
Coastal Carolina 296-287--583 (+7)
North Carolina 297-289--586 (+10)
Northwestern 292-295--587 (+11)
Texas Tech 297-290--587 (+11)
Duke 290-297--587 (+11)
East Tennessee State 286-301--587 (+11)
Charlotte 288-299--587 (+11)
South Carolina 292-296--588 (+12)
Auburn 295-293--588 (+12)
Nevada 296-inc (+12)
BYU 292-298--590 (+14)
Oklahoma 284-306--590 (+14)
Pepperdine 296-inc (+14)
Georgia Tech 301-294--595 (+19)
Loyola Marymount 300-312--636 (+36)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1 Kyle Reifers, Wake Forest 65-70--135 (-9)
2 Zach Bixler, Washington 70-68--138 (-6)
2 Niklas Lemke, Arizona State 70-68--138 (-6)
2 Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State 66-72--138 (-6)
2 Jonathan Moore, Oklahoma State 68-70--138 (-6)
WAKE FOREST SCORES
1 Kyle Reifers 65-70--135 (-9)
19 Webb Simpson 70-72--142 (-2)
45 Chris McCartin 69-76--145 (+1)
63 Sean Moore 73-73--146 (+2)
117 Doug Manchester 76-74--150 (+6)
Players Mentioned
