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June 3, 2006
SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Twenty years ago Wake Forest overcame a 16-shot deficit on the final day to beat Oklahoma State for the NCAA Championship. Today, the Demon Deacons couldn't quite catch the Cowboys. Oklahoma State never broke stride in today's fourth and final round, passing third-round leader Washington and holding off Wake Forest, Florida and Minnesota to win the men's golf title at the Crosswater Golf Club. The Cowboys, 9-under for the tournament, finished three strokes in front of second-place Florida. Wake Forest (-5) and Minnesota finished tied for third place. "I am very proud of our guys," Deacon coach Jerry Haas said. "They never wilted. They hit quality shot after quality shot. Oklahoma State just made a few more putts than we did." Wake Forest's Kyle Reifers finished tied for second place after a 72-hole total of 8-under. Oklahoma State's Jonathan Moore ran away with the individual crown, four strokes in front of the pace. "It's a little disappointing because all of us thought all week that we were going to win it," sophomore Webb Simpson said. "We played well today, it just wasn't our time to do it." Despite not winning its fourth NCAA Championship, Wake Forest made its mark on Deacon golf history this week: -- Wake's third-place tie was its highest finish since taking second place in 1997 in Lake Forest, Ill. -- Reifers' second-place tie was the best finish by a Deacon since 2004 when Bill Haas finished second. -- As a team, Wake Forest finished under par at an NCAA Championship for the first time in 42 appearances. The Deacons' previous best 72-hole total at an NCAA Championship was 3-over par in 1971.
-- In the opening round, Wake Forest set a school record for NCAA Championship play by firing an 11-under par 277. -- Reifers, in the opening round, tied a Deacon NCAA Championship record with his 7-under par 65, tying Curtis Strange in 1974. -- Reifers extended his streak of shooting par or better to nine consecutive rounds, tying for the third-most in school history. That streak finally ended with a 1-over 73 in Friday's third round. -- Reifers earned Wake's highest individual finish in nearly 20 years -- since Barry Fabyan tied for second place in 1987 in Columbus, Ohio. Senior Doug Manchester was instrumental in Wake Forest's final-round run. One day after shooting an 80, Manchester closed out his college career with a 2-under par 70, a round that included three birdies. "It was a good week for all of us and Kyle played spectacular," Deacon senior Doug Manchester said. "We take our hats off to Oklahoma State. I am glad that I could contribute in my final round of college golf." Simpson and Deacon junior Sean Moore finished with identical scores of 290, 2-over par, and the pair tied for 32nd place overall. Wake sophomore Chris McCartin shot a 1-over par 73 today and finished 4-over for the tournament. Reifers and Manchester graduated from Wake Forest in May, but the rest of the Deacon roster remains and should be a strong one next season. "Kyle and Doug are big losses," Haas said. "I'm always an optimist, but I know what we have coming back and who is coming in and I think we'll be every bit as good next year." Wake Forest was chasing its fourth NCAA crown and its first since 1986. Wake's Reifers was trying to become the first Deacon to win the individual title since Gary Hallberg in 1979. "As I told Coach Haas the other day, no matter what happens, these have been the best four years of my life," Manchester said.
WAKE FOREST SCORES
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