Wake Forest Tied for Tenth After First Round in South Carolina
Webb Simpson tied for second after opening round 68

March 24, 2008

Live Scoring

The No. 14 Wake Forest men's golf team is tied for tenth after shooting a seven-over 291 in the opening round of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C.

The Deacs are attempting to win the event for the third consecutive season.

Wake's Webb Simpson fired a three-under 68 on the par-71, 7,282 Bulls Bay Course and is currently tied for second place. The senior was the only Deacon golfer under par on the day.

Simpson's 68 is his best round in team competition since the last round of the Bank of Tennessee at the Ridges and is the lowest round in a team event for Wake since Brendan Gielow's 68 in the second round of the SunTrust Gator Invitational in February.

Simpson trails Lamar University's Justin Harding by one stroke in the race for individual honors.

Gielow posted a two-over 73 in the first round to finish tied for 34th. The sophomore's round was just over his season average of 72.2 strokes per 18 holes. Gielow is looking to bounce back after his 31st place finish at the General Jim Hackler Championship. Gielow had posted four straight top 15 finishes until the trip to Myrtle Beach.

Senior Chris McCartin is tied for 43rd after recording a three-over 74. McCartin finished tied for 36th last season in Awendaw and birdied hole three of a sudden death playoff to help the Deacs to their second championship at the Hootie.

Sophomore Travis Wadkins shot a five-over 76 to land in a tie for 59th heading into Monday's second round.

Dustin Groves carded an eight-over 79 in Sunday's first round to finish tied for 71st. The junior is averaging 73.4 strokes per 18 holes for the season; good for third on the team.

Wake was tied for third place after round one in Awendaw one year ago.

Tournament co-host South Carolina leads the event after posting a four-under 280. The Gamecocks will take a four-stroke lead over second-place Augusta State into Monday's second round.

Clemson is tied for third after a one-over 285 Sunday. NC State (288) is in seventh. Virginia Tech (290) is tied for eighth and Duke (294) is in 13th place.

A high of 60 degrees and a 20 percent chance of precipitation has been projected for Awendaw by weather.com.

Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.