Sept. 14, 2008
ROCKY FACE Ga. - The Wake Forest men's golf team carded a 293 in the final round Sunday to finish tenth in a strong field at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic at The Farm Golf Club. The Deacons finished the 54-hole event in tenth at 15-over par but were just seven shots out of fourth place. Out of the four scores Wake counted each day, the Deacons had a total of 43 birdies and four eagles but the big numbers did them in. Overall, head coach Jerry Haas was pleased with effort this weekend. "We played very well this weekend, we just needed to eliminate the big numbers," said Haas. "There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend. This was probably the strongest field we will play in this year and we were just a few shots from a top-5 finish." Senior Dustin Groves was the top individual finisher for the Deacons as he tied for 13th at 1-over par. After a pair of 71s in the first two rounds, Groves carded a 3-over 75 on Sunday but his 16 total birdies over the three rounds were tops in the field. "Dustin played well the entire weekend, Haas said. "He could have very easily shot 9 or 10 under and won the tournament. A few holes got him but he will take a lot of confidence away from this tournament." Junior Travis Wadkins struggled in the second round but rebounded nicely with three birdies and an eagle in round three to card a team-low 72. He finished the tournament at 11-over and tied for 67th. Fellow junior Brendan Gielow carded his second straight 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 33rd with a three-day total of 221. Gielow made 10 birdies over the three rounds. Freshmen Daniel Meggs and Lee Bedford rounded out their first collegiate tournament with matching rounds of 2-over 74 on Sunday.
Meggs birdied No.1 and No. 9 but had three bogies and a triple bogie in between to post an opening nine 40. However, Meggs matched his back nine from the second round with an eagle on 12, a bogie on 14 and a birdie on 15 to come home in 2-under 34. He finished the tournament tied for 40th. Bedford made three birdies and three bogies through his first 12 holes on Sunday but a double on the final hole gave him a 74. He ended the 54-hole event at 8-over 224 and tied for 49th. "Dan and Lee played well for their first time out," said Haas. "They both showed a lot and they looked like experienced players out there." Despite shooting a 290 in the final round, Tennessee-Chattanooga held on to win the team title at even par 864. Clemson's Kyle Stanley entered the final round with a two-shot lead and carded a 3-under 69 to take home medalist honors. He won by five shots over South Carolina's Allen Koon and Tennessee-Chattanooga's Jonathan Hodge. "We may have been a bit rusty this weekend with some of the guys not playing for a while but I've been out here long enough to know that we have a good group of players here," Haas said. "I think you will see a much different team next time out." The Deacons will return to action on Sept. 22-23 at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate at the famed Shoal Creek Golf Club in Birmingham, Ala. |
