Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
NCAA Regionals
Deacons' Lead Grows at NCAA Central Regional
5/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 16, 2008
The No. 19 Wake Forest men's golf team held on to its first place position at the NCAA Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio after posting a three-over 287, three shots better than Thursday's first round score.
The Deacs, who have carded a nine-over 577 for the first two rounds, lead second-place Alabama by 10 strokes.
"Today was probably our best round of the year," Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas said. "It was cold, wet, rainy, windy. It was a very, very good round for us. We thought if we could shoot 10 or 12 over, we'd be doing pretty well. I'm really proud of the whole gang."
The Deacs will try for their third regional title since 2005 in Saturday's final round. Wake won back-to-back East Regional titles in 2005 and 2006.
"I can't tell you how pleased I am for the guys. We need to finish it off tomorrow," Haas said. "We'll play with Alabama, who's one of the best teams in the country, and we have to play well and know that we can beat them."
Brendan Gielow, Dustin Groves and Webb Simpson are in second, third and fourth place, respectively.
Gielow, who entered the second round leading the field, carded a one-over 72 and fell one spot into second place. The sophomore recorded four birdies on the day.
Groves, playing his best golf of the season, fired a one-under 70 and jumped from an 11th-place tie into sole possession of third place. The junior matched Gielow with four birdies and for the second consecutive day three of those came in a row. Groves birdied holes 10-12 yesterday and 16-18 Friday.
Groves has not recorded a top 10 finish this season.
"With Dustin shooting 70 today, that was huge," Haas said. "For him to step up at a very important time in our season, that's very impressive."
Simpson, the ACC Player of the Year, shot an even par 71 Friday. The senior rose from an 11th-place tie into sole possession of fourth place and is one over par for the tournament.
"Webb is playing like an All-American," Haas said. "He is really playing some solid golf."
Chris McCartin posted a three-over 74 and is currently tied for 65th. The senior entered the round tied for 77th.
Sophomore Travis Wadkins carded a 12-over 83 on the day.
"We've still got work to do," Haas said. "There are a lot of really good teams out there that are in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Championship. So, we need to finish it off tomorrow."
The Deacs will tee-off at 7 a.m.
A high of 70 degrees with a 40 percent chance of rain has been projected for Columbus Saturday by Weather.com.
-WakeForestSports.com-
Players Mentioned
