Deacon Decade -- Men's Golf
12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Dec. 9, 2009
Men's Golf Deacon Decade Photo Gallery
As the decade comes to a close later this month, WakeForestSports.com will look back on the past 10 years in Demon Deacon athletics. Today, the focus is on the decade that was in Wake Forest men's golf.
10. Wake Captures First NCAA Regional Title in 2005 - May 21, 2005
Wake Forest won its first NCAA Regional title, besting a strong field of 27 teams, after firing a stunning 17-under 835 at the Golf Club of Tennessee. Sean Moore led the Deacs with rounds of 67-68-68=203 (-10) to finish in a tie for third. He became just the tenth Demon Deacon to complete a tournament with all rounds in the 60s. Kyle Reifers finished in a tie for 10th after rounds of 65-69-73 while Webb Simpson also finished the week under par after posting rounds of 71-73-68. The win was the first for the team since the spring of 2003.
9. Sean Moore Wins 2004 ACC Championship as a Freshman - April 18, 2004
Sean Moore fired a final round 4-under 68 thanks to a birdie on the final hole and captured the 2004 ACC Individual Medalist honors by one shot. Moore became the first freshman to win an ACC Title since Jay Haas won in 1973. Entering the tournament, Moore had not finished better than 26th in any tournament that year. He finished at 11-under par, which at the time, was the lowest score to par in Wake Forest history at the ACC Championships.
8. Kyle Reifers Finishes T-2nd at NCAA Championships - June 3, 2006
Senior Kyle Reifers finished-off his career by finishing tied for second at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Sunriver, Ore. Reifers tied Curtis Strange's NCAA school-record with a 7-under 65 in the opening and would climb to 9-under par after a second round 70. He dropped a shot in the third round with a 73 but finished well with an even-par 72. The Dublin, Ohio, native finished tied four second with Georgia's Chris Kirk at 8-under par, four shots back of Oklahoma State's Jonathan Moore. With his first two rounds under par, Reifers extended his streak of rounds at par or better to nine, which is the third-best total school history. His second place finish backed-up his fifth-place showing at the NCAA Regional and a second-place finish at the ACC Championships.
7. Webb Simpson Wins College All-America Classic After School-Record 62 - Nov. 20, 2007
Webb Simpson recorded nine birdies, including six over a seven-hole span, to help him fire a bogey-free 62 in the opening round of the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic. The 62 set a new school-record and also established the course record at El Paso Country Club. He then followed that with a 1-over 72 in the second round to slip back to second place but a final round 64 gave him a three-shot victory at a remarkable 15-under par. Simpson became the second Wake Forest player to win the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, joining 1978 winner Gary Hallberg.
6. Wake Forest Finishes T-3rd at NCAA Championships - June 3, 2006
The Demon Deacons used the lowest NCAA Championship round in school-history, an 11-under 277, in the opening round to propel them to a tie for third at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Sunriver, Ore. Wake was just four shots behind Oklahoma State after finishing the 72-hole event at 5-under par, the first time a Wake Forest team had finished under-par at the NCAA Championships. Kyle Reifers led the squad as he tied for second at 8-under 280. He tied Curtis Strange's NCAA school-record with a 7-under 65 in the first round. Sophomore Webb Simpson and junior Sean Moore finished with identical scores of 290, 2-over par, and the pair tied for 32nd place overall. Fellow sophomore Chris McCartin shot a 1-over par 73 in the final round and finished 4-over for the tournament.
5. Bill Haas Finishes Second at 2004 NCAA Championships - June 4, 2004
Bill Haas finished his illustrious Wake Forest career by firing a 7-under 263 and finishing tied for second at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Haas carded rounds of 70-68-67-68-273 (-7) on the par-70 layout at The Homestead Cascades Course. The only man to beat Haas was a red-hot Ryan Moore, who fired a 66 in the final round to win by six. Fifteen of Haas' last 16 competitive rounds were at par or better, including all seven rounds in the NCAA Regional and Championship. His final three rounds and nine of his final 13 rounds were in the 60s. Among the many records he took with him to the professional level was his NCAA record for stroke average of 68.93 in 2003-04.
4. Webb Simpson Wins 2008 ACC Championship - April 20, 2008
Webb Simpson won individual medalist honors and set a new ACC Championship record after posting a three-day total of 14-under 202 at the 2008 ACC Championships at Old North State Club. Simpson fired a six-under 66 in the final round, which was his lowest round of the season in a team event, and was the lowest round for any Demon Deacon in the history of the ACC Championship. The Ben Hogan Award semifinalist shot rounds of 68-68-66 over the weekend to win by a comfortable five shots.
3. Bill Haas Wins The Hogan Award - May 6, 2004
Bill Haas capped his stellar Wake Forest career by winning the Ben Hogan Award as a senior in 2004. The award is given to the country's top collegiate golfer. He earned ACC Player of the Year honors for the second straight year in `04 and also picked-up his third first-team PING All-America honors. A four-time All-ACC performer, Haas won four tournaments during the 2003-04 season and was the nation's leader in scoring average at 68.9. He also represented the United States in both the Palmer and Walker Cups during the summer of 2003 as well as claiming the South Carolina Amateur.
2. Men's Golf Wins Third Regional in Four Years - May 17, 2008
Wake Forest played its best golf of the season en route to dusting-off a tough field in extreme conditions to win its third NCAA Regional title in the past four years at the Ohio State Scarlet Course. The Deacons finished the windy and rainy 54-hole tournament at 27-over par which was 10-shots better than Oklahoma State and 17-shots better than No. 1 Alabama. Brendan Gielow shot one of just two sub-70 rounds in the entire event with a 69 in round one to pace the Deacs. He finished tied for second at 2-over par. Dustin Groves played had his best tournament of the year, finishing fourth at 3-over. Webb Simpson's 17th place finish helped lead the team to its fourth NCAA Championship. Simpson was part of all three NCAA Regional championship teams and played in the NCAAs in all four of his years. Chris McCartin was also heading to his fourth NCAA Championship after finishing tied for 41st.
1. Walker Cup Success - 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
The Walker Cup has been played five times in the past decade and the Demon Deacons had a representative in four of the five matches. Bill Haas started the streak with a record of 2-2 in the American's one-point loss at Granton Country Club in Granton, England, in 2003. Kyle Reifers then helped the Americans turn the tables on the GB&I squad with a one-point victory in 2005 at the Chicago Golf Club. Webb Simpson was next up in 2007 as he was on the victorious US Team, again by one point, at Royal County Down in Ireland. Finally, this past summer, senior Brendan Gielow claimed a 4 and 3 singles victory over Dale Whitnell to help the Americans win a third-straight title at the Merion Country Club. In all, there have been 15 different Demon Deacons on a Walker Cup team and Wake has had at least one member on 16 of the 42 teams.
Players Mentioned
