Wake Forest University
Rees Jones Invitational
Deacons Place Three In The Top-10 At Rees Jones Invitational
10/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. - The Wake Forest men's golf team had three golfers place in the top-10 at the Rees Jones Invitational as the Deacons finished in a tie for third overall as a team. The 54-hole event was played at the prestigious Haig Point Golf Club.
Senior Lee Bedford led the way as the Cary, N.C., native posted rounds of 74-71-76=221 to finish tied for fourth at 5-over par. The 1-under 71 in the second round was Bedford's 51st career round at par or better.
Sophomore Thomas Birdsey and junior Charlie Harrison each posted final round 72s to finish tied for 10th at 7-over par. For Birdsey, the top-10 finish was his first as a Demon Deacon. Harrison backed-up his career-best finish last week at the VCU Shootout with another solid showing this week.
As a team, the Demon Deacons just couldn't get that low round to propel them over the top. Wake opened with a 306 on Monday morning but rebounded with a solid round of 296 in the afternoon, highlighted by Bedford's 71 and Harrison's 72. On Tuesday, the Deacons posted a final round 298, which was the second-best round of the day, and finished tied for third at 36-over par.
"We were right there but for whatever reason, we just didn't come up with the shots when we needed them," said Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas. "We can't really put our finger on the exact problem right now but we're close to putting up some really good numbers. We just have to clean it up a bit and keep plugging away."
"Lee (Bedford) had another good finish and Charlie (Harrison) put together his second-straight good tournament," Haas continued. "It was also good to see Thomas (Birdsey) get his first top-10 as a Deac. He played pretty well this week."
Kennesaw State, the 2010 Rees Jones Invitational champion, came into the final round 11-shots behind 36-hole leader Iowa State. KSU got five strong rounds on Tuesday to card the lowest round of the event, a 1-over 289, and would come back to win the tournament at 30-over par. South Carolina finished second at 34-over and Iowa State finished tied with Wake at 36-over.
Junior Evan Beck finished-off a tough week with a round of 78 and finished tied for 39th at 18-over. Sophomore John Varol carded rounds of 78-83-80 and finished tied for 57th.
Iowa State's Nate McCoy ran away with medalist honors, as he was the only player to finish the tournament under-par. McCoy shot rounds of 68-70 on Monday and then sealed the win with an even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish at 6-under par. That was nine shots better than Kennesaw State's Ben Greene, who finished second at 3-over par.
The Demon Deacons will have a little more than a week off before returning to action at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at The Ridges Golf Club in Johnson City, Tennessee. That event is set to get underway on Friday, Oct. 14 and run through Sunday, Oct. 16.
| Wake Forest | 306 | 296 | 298 | 900 | +36 | t-3rd |
| Lee Bedford | 74 | 71 | 76 | 221 | +5 | t-4th |
| Thomas Birdsey | 75 | 76 | 72 | 223 | +7 | t-10th |
| Charlie Harrison | 79 | 72 | 72 | 223 | +7 | t-10th |
| Evan Beck | 79 | 77 | 78 | 234 | +18 | t-39th |
| John Varol | 78 | 83 | 80 | 241 | +25 | t-57th |
Players Mentioned
