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April 18, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Wake Forest Men's Golf News & Notes
Championship Info
Format
Times
Wake Forest Lineup (stroke avg.)
Deacon Golfers Return to Old North State for ACC Championships... After moving to Orlando, Fla. last season, the ACC Championships return to North Carolina for the 43rd time and will take place at the Old North State Club for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. Nine teams will compete for the ACC crown, with top-ranked Georgia Tech looking to defend its 2001 title. Clemson and Georgia Tech have owned the conference championships as of late, as Clemson has won three titles and the Yellow Jackets two since 1997. Wake Forest, however, still leads the league in overall titles (18) and will looking for their first ACC crown since 1989.
Deacs on a Hot Streak... In fact, Wake Forest has finished first, second or third in seven of 10 events during the 2001-02 season. After finishing eighth in their opening tournament, The Ridges Intercollegiate, the Deacs have placed no lower than fifth, including four second-place and two first-place finishes.
A Look at the Deacon Lineup... Junior Brent Wanner (Chatham, Mass.), who captured the individual title at The Preview in the fall, is second on the team in stroke average (72.5) and has pocketed seven top 20 finishes. Wanner was the Deacs' top finisher at ACCs last season, placing fourth. The lone senior in the lineup, Jay Morgan (Choctaw, Okla.) has seen action in every tournament this season (along with Wanner and Haas). Morgan had his best outing of the season last weekend at The Intercollegiate, placing 10th with a four-under 212. Morgan has compiled a 73.0 stroke average this season to go with four top-20 finishes. Junior Chad Wilfong (Thomasville, N.C.), the 2001 N.C. Amateur Champion, has played in nine events with four top-20 finishes. He currently averaging 73.4 strokes per round after tying his career best 67 last weekend at The Intercollegiate. Junior Chris Yoder (Ashland, Ohio) rounds out the Deacon lineup. Yoder has seen action in five events this season, compiling a 73.8 stroke average. He posted a season-best ninth-place finish at The Schenkel last month.
Head Coach Jerry Haas... Haas' leadership and enthusiasm have been instrumental in the Deacons' recent return to national prominence. After a two-year hiatus from the NCAA Championships, Haas took the Deacs back in 2000, finishing 15th overall. Last year's squad - all underclassmen - recorded a 10th place finish at NCAAs. And this year's team was ranked No. 1 in the fall and have been among the top three all season long.
Wake Forest Golf - A Long and Successful ACC History... Individually speaking, over the years the Demon Deacons have captured more ACC individual championships (20) than any other league school, beginning with the legendary Arnold Palmer in the first ACC championship in 1954. Only four players in conference history have won two ACC individual titles and two of those are from Wake Forest - Ronny Thomas (1959,'60) and Scott Hoch (1977, '78). Georgia Tech's David Duval (1991, '93), and Clemson's Charles Warren (1997, '98) are the only other two who can claim this distinction. While Wake has traditionally been strong in ACC play, this weekend the Deacons will be looking to capture their first conference championship since 1989. That was also the last time WFU had an individual champion, as Tim Straub won medalist honors that season.
Familiarity Breeds ... A Championship?
Haas To Play in Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic... The Haas father and son duo will compete together in the 2002 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, which takes place at Forest Oaks Country Club, April 22-28. Haas received one of eight sponsor exemptions and was the only amateur selected to this year's tournament. "This is very exciting, even knowing ahead of time that this was going to happen, I got pretty emotional when the announcement was made," said Jay Haas. "To have a child playing collegiate golf and be good enough to warrant this and for me to be able to play with him is unbelievable. I feel very fortunate for the GGCC to be doing this." "I was very surprised and honored to receive the exemption," the younger Haas said. "I've always dreamed of playing in a pro event with my dad. I think it will be a great experience."
Two Tourney Titles in '02... Wake Forest has won one tournament in each of the last three seasons, but you have to go back to 1996 to find the last time they won more than one. That season the Deacs won the PING Intercollegiate, Taylor Made Red River Classic and the Wofford College Invitational.
... As Well As Three Individual Titles Wake's three individual titles this season are the most pocketed by a Deacon team since the 1983-84 squad. That team collected four titles, including one by current head coach Jerry Haas and two by current PGA Tour member Billy Andrade.
Fountain of Youth...
At Last Year's ACC Championship... Georgia Tech, which began Sunday's round one shot behind WFU, shot an eight-under par 280 to win going away by an eight shot margin over defending-champion Clemson. Wake Forest, which went two-over par for the third round, finished third, nine shots off the winning pace. Virginia finished in fourth place at 859, five-under par. NC State was fifth, North Carolina sixth, Duke seventh, Florida State eighth and Maryland ninth. Brent Wanner provided the Deacons' best finish, placing fourth with a four-under 212. Bill Haas finished one stroke back and tied for sixth, while Jay Morgan rounded out the top 10 at one-under par. Cortland Lowe placed 18th with a three-over 219 while Chris Yoder was 22nd at four-over.
Haas a Hogan Finalist... The Ben Hogan Award will be presented to the outstanding male college golfer over the course of the last 12 months at a black-tie dinner Monday, May 13 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The Hogan Award takes into consideration a player's collegiate and amateur record from May 1, 2001 to May 1, 2002. The recipient of the award will be announced on Friday, May 3. Haas, the 2001 ACC Rookie of the Year, has led the Demon Deacons in stroke average during his entire WFU career thus far. He's posted eight top-five finishes in 22 career collegiate tournaments, including individual medalist honors at both the 2002 Birkdale Collegiate and The Intercollegiate. Other finalists for the award include Ryan Hybl (Georgia), Hunter Mahan (Oklahoma State), Troy Matteson (Georgia Tech), Graeme McDowell (UAB), Chez Reavie (Arizona State), D.J. Trahan (Clemson), Camilo Villegas (Florida), Nick Watney (Fresno State) and Lee Williamson (Purdue).
The Rankings Report... In the individual rankings, Wake's Bill Haas ranks seventh nationally, while Brent Wanner checks in at No. 28. Jay Morgan is 57th, Chad Wilfong is 79th and Chris Yoder is 148th.
1-2-3 in the Nation All From ACC... Currently, three ACC schools - Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson - are ranked 1-2-3 in the country. Six ACC schools - two-thirds of this weekend's field - are also ranked among the nation's top 50 teams. In addition to the three teams at the top, NC State also checks into both polls at No. 13 (GCAA) and 21 (GolfWorld). In the Golfweek ratings, three ACC teams are among the top 50, including #18 NC State, #37 Duke and #50 North Carolina. Seventeen ACC players - over one-third of the championship field - are currently ranked among the nation's top 100 golfers. Nine rank among the top 30 players nationally, including three in top 10 - Clemson's D.J. Trahan (3), Georgia Tech's Troy Matteson (4) and Wake's Bill Haas (7). Georgia Tech leads the ACC with five top-100 players in its lineup. Wake Forest is tied with NC State with three apiece.
Statistically Speaking...
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