May 17, 2012
Live Scoring
ATHENS, Ga. -
The Wake Forest men's golf team opened the NCAA Regional at the University of Georgia Golf Club on Thursday with a round of even-par 284 and sits in eighth place after round one.
The Deacons had a bit of an up and down day. They got off to a slow start and were 4-over par at one point. But eight birdies in a six-hole span lifted the Deacs to 4-under par and into fourth place early in the back nine. However, a tough finish left Wake with a round of even-par 284.
"We started on the front nine, which I think is the tougher side and we weren't able to make any birdies in the first few holes," said Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas. "Then we made a few birdies there around the turn and got back into mix. It was a little disappointing the way we played No. 18 but all-in-all, we're only two shots behind fifth and we felt like we left some shots out there."
The Deacs are in eighth place at even-par and trail Houston and UNC Wilmington by just two shots for fifth place. The top-5 teams and top individual not on one of those five teams at the end of the 54-hole event will advance to the NCAA Championship.
Juniors Evan Beck and Charlie Harrison each carded rounds of 1-under 70 on Thursday. Harrison made four birdies in a six-hole stretch midway through his round and was as low as 3-under par. Beck made two birdies and two bogeys through the first 14 holes and then finished his round with a solid birdie at No. 18. For Harrison, it was his first under-par round since the final round of the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate on Feb. 21. For Beck, it was just his second under-par round of the spring.
Senior Lee Bedford had an up and down day as well. He made a total of four birdies on the day but finished with a double-bogey six on No. 18 to post an even-par round of 71. Bedford is currently in a tie for XX with 36 holes to go.
Sophomore
Thomas Birdsey shook off a double-bogey on his second hole of the day and would play even-par golf the rest of the round to post a 2-over 73. Freshman
Cyrus Stewart, playing in his first regional, got off to a tough start and carded an 11-over 82.
Top-seeded Alabama got four under-par rounds and made just one bogey on the final nine holes as a team to grab the opening round lead at 15-under par. Behind the top-two individuals, North Florida is in second place at 13-under. UNF's Kevin Aylwin shot a 6-under 65 while teammate MJ Maguire posted a 5-under 66. East Carolina is 8-under par and in third place while host Georgia is 4-under and in fourth place.
The Demon Deacons will start the second round Friday morning at 8 a.m. off the 10th tee. Golfstat.com will have live scoring of the final two rounds.
