Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Irish Creek Collegiate
Lee Bedford Wins The Irish Creek Collegiate
4/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
KANNAPOLIS, NC - Wake Forest junior Lee Bedford fired a final round 3-under 68 to claim the individual title at the Irish Creek Collegiate on Sunday at The Club at Irish Creek. As a team, the Demon Deacons finished second at 1-under par.
Bedford came into the final round one-shot behind teammate Evan Beck at 4-under par. The Cary, NC, native made a total of six birdies in the final round, including a pair at 17 and 18 to finish at 7-under for the tournament.
"Lee played really well today and had a great finish," said Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas. "He hit it to about three-feet on No. 17 for birdie and then hit a beautiful shot to about eight-feet for birdie on 18."
Bedford finished three shots ahead of three players at 4-under par. The win was the second of the season for Bedford and the third of his career. He is now the 15th Demon Deacon to record three or more individual tournament victories in their career.
As a team, the Demon Deacons held a slim one-shot lead over Duke as the teams finished the second round Sunday morning. The ACC foes battled throughout the final round but in the end, the Blue Devils faired a bit better down the stretch and posted a 283 for a seven-shot victory. Wake carded rounds of 280-280 in the first two rounds but finished with a 7-over 291.
"It was a little closer then it ended up looking," said Haas. "We were right in it until the end and I think it was good for us to play with the leaders in the heat of it today. It didn't turn out how we wanted but the guys will hopefully take a few things from the week."
Beck made one birdie and 14 pars through the first 15 holes of the final round and was one-shot ahead of Bedford with three holes to play. But a tough finish would drop him back to 3-under for the tournament and into a tie for fifth. Despite the finish, Beck posted his team-best fifth top-5 finish of the season.
Just like in round one, sophomore Charlie Harrison opened and closed his round with a birdie and would post a final round 74. He finished the tournament 3-over par and tied for 17th. On the weekend, Harrison made nine birdies and the team's only eagle.
Freshman John Varol, who was playing as an individual this week, also finished tied for 17th at 3-over par. He made five birdies in his second round 70 and then made three more birdies in a final round 73. This was Varol's best 54-hole finish as well as his highest finish of the season.
Senior Kris Keiser had a very good showing in his first tournament as a Demon Deacon. He opened with rounds of 72-71 and despite a final round 78, the Winston-Salem, NC, native finished tied for 30th at 8-over par.
Fellow senior Justin Bryant finished his weekend with a final round 76 and tied for 52nd at 12-over par. Junior Franklin Dolan, who was playing as an individual, finished with a final round 80 while freshman Beau Cutts, who was also playing as an individual, finished with an 82.
This was the Demon Deacons' final tournament before heading to the Old North State Golf Club for the ACC Championships on April 22-24. Coach Haas knows that anything can happen at Old North State.
"We have a few things to work on but you just never know when you go to the ACCs," said Haas. "There are so many good teams that you have to come in and play well and have a few things go your way. We'll work on a few things over the next couple of weeks and I think the guys will be ready to go."
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| Wake Forest | 280 | 280 | 291 | 851 | -1 | 2nd |
| Lee Bedford | 69 | 69 | 68 | 206 | -7 | 1st |
| Evan Beck | 68 | 69 | 73 | 210 | -3 | t-5th |
| Charlie Harrison | 71 | 71 | 74 | 216 | +3 | t-17th |
| John Varol # | 73 | 70 | 73 | 216 | +3 | t-17th |
| Kris Keiser | 72 | 71 | 78 | 221 | +8 | t-30th |
| Justin Bryant | 74 | 75 | 76 | 225 | +12 | t-52nd |
| Franklin Dolan # | 74 | 75 | 80 | 229 | +16 | t-65th |
| Beau Cutts # | 81 | 73 | 82 | 236 | +23 | 76th |
Players Mentioned
