Wake Forest University
ACC Championship
Men's Golf Off To Solid Start At ACC Championship
4/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
First Round Results
| Live Scoring | ACC Championship Website
NEW LONDON, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's golf team shot an opening round 3-under 285 at the ACC Championship on Friday and currently stands in fifth place heading into the weekend.
The Deacs were 1-over par at the turn but a strong back nine of 4-udner par allowed them to fifth under-par round this season.
"We were coming off a couple of tough tournaments but I thought the guys played pretty well today," said Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas. "Some of the holes that usually give us trouble out here, we played them pretty well. We just need to keep taking advantage of the par-5s. The course is in great shape and you can really get it going. Sure, we would have liked to shoot a couple more under but they don't give out the awards today. We need a good round tomorrow and I think we'll be right in the mix."
This is just the fourth time in 16 ACC Championships at Old North State that the Demon Deacons have opened with and under-par round. Each of the other three times, the Deacons have finished the tournament under-par and in the top-5.
Senior Lee Bedford said before the week that he loves the competitiveness of the ACC Championship and he sure rose to the challenge on Friday. Bedford made six birdies and just one bogey in his opening round of 5-under 67. He was in a tie for the lead at the turn at 2-under par but jumped into the lead by himself after a birdie at the par-5 11th. He then made another birdie at No. 13 and a solid closing birdie at No. 18. Bedford finished his round with the lead and is now just one-shot back.
This is Bedford's third 5-under 67 at the ACC Championships. He also shot a 67 in the second round in 2009 and the opening round in 2010. His 67 today is tied for his lowest round this season as he also carded a 4-under 67 in the second round of the Morris Williams Intercollegiate last month.
Coming off the worst tournament of his career, junior Evan Beck could not have gotten his day off to a better start. He made birdie at the par-5 first and then holed his approach to the par-4 second and was 3-under through two holes. He would make the turn in 1-under 35 and quickly get back to 2-under for the day with a birdie at No. 10. After a bogey at the par-4 13th, Beck made four-straight pars and a nice birdie at No. 18 to finish with a 2-under 70. That is his first under-par round of the spring and he is currently tied for 11th.
Junior Charlie Harrison and freshman Cyrus Steward each opened with rounds of 2-over 74. Both players made a pair of birdies their rounds and will start the second round on Saturday in a tie for 34th.
Sophomore Thomas Birdsey rounded out the Deacon-five on Friday with a 3-over 75.
Georgia Tech and Old North State have gotten along well the past few years as the Jackets have won the last three ACC Championships. Friday was another great round Georgia Tech as it posted an 18-under 270 and leads Virginia by six shots. The Yellow Jackets were the only team in the field to have all five players break par on the day.
The Demon Deacons will be in the second to last wave on Saturday morning beginning at 10:10 a.m. Wake is paired with North Carolina and Maryland. Golfstat.com will have live scoring of the final two rounds and there will also be live video coverage on TheACC.com beginning at 1:30 p.m. each day.
| Wake Forest | 285 | -3 | 5th |
| Lee Bedford | 67 | -5 | t-4th |
| Evan Beck | 70 | -2 | t-11th |
| Charlie Harrison | 74 | +2 | t-34th |
| Cyrus Stewart | 74 | +2 | t-34th |
| Thomas Birdsey | 75 | +3 | t-44th |
Players Mentioned
