Oct. 25, 2014
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Looking to generate momentum after a slow start in his opening round, University of Notre Dame men’s golf senior Tyler Wingo responded in a big way on Saturday during the first day of the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate at the Grandover Resort East Course. Wingo birdied four of his final 11 holes during his second round as part of a two-under-par 70, rising to a share of 16th place on the leaderboard at 146 (76-70, +2).
As a team, Notre Dame shaved 10 strokes off its morning 18 to post a 36-hole total of 600 (305-295), claiming solo 12th place.
Teeing off at the sixth hole during the shotgun start format, Wingo drifted off the pace with bogeys at the par 4 ninth and par 3 12th holes to fall to two-over at the outset of his second round. The Fairfax, Virginia native immediately bounced back with a birdie at the par 5 13th hole, before rolling in a three at the 470-yard 15th hole to square his round at even par. A birdie four at the 570-yard 18th hole for Wingo capped a back nine score of 34 (-2).
The Irish senior continued his strong play on the Grandover Resort par 5 holes after making the turn back to the front nine, notching his third birdie in as many par 5s at the 535-yard second hole to move to two-under-par overall. Three straight pars secured Wingo’s best 18-hole total of the 2014 fall season, cementing his place in the field’s top 25.
Freshman Thomas Steve rolled in three birdies during an even par 72 in round one Saturday morning before hitting a rough patch on his afternoon scorecard. Two double bogeys knocked the Irish newcomer off the pace, with Steve settling into a tie for 32nd place after a day one score of 149 (72-77).
Senior Patrick Grahek shook off a five-over-par 77 in the first round with three birdies of his own during round two, logging a one-under 35 on the back nine holes of the Grandover Resort East Course. Grahek ultimately recorded a two-over-par 74 to tie for 42nd place at 151 (77-74).
Sophomores Matthew Rushton (80-76) and Liam Cox (81-75) rounded out the Notre Dame finishers in a tie for 67th place at 156.
A sterling eight-under-par 280 in the second round from North Carolina gave the Tar Heels a three-stroke lead heading into day two at 568 (288-280). Virginia Tech completed the one-two ACC pairing at the top of the leaderboard at five-under-par 571 (286-285). Memphis (296-288) and Chattanooga (298-286) tied for third place at 584, with Mercer in fifth place at 585 (293-292).
The third and final round of the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate will tentatively begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. (ET) on Sunday at the Grandover Resort East Course. Live tournament results will be available via GolfStat.com.
Bridgestone Golf Collegiate-Grandover Resort East Course-Par-72, 7,245 Yds.
TEAMS (After Round 2): 1. North Carolina 288-280=568, -8; 2. Virginia Tech 286-285=571, -5; T3. Memphis 296-288=584, +8; T3. Chattanooga 298-286=584, +8; 5. Mercer 293-292=585, +9; 6. Georgia State 295-294=589, +13; T7. South Alabama 295-395=590, +14; T7. VCU 296-294=590, +14; 9. William & Mary 299-293=592, +16; 10. UNCG 306-288=594, +18; 11. Purdue 304-294=598, +22; 12. Notre Dame 305-295=600, +24; 13. Marquette 301-303=604, +28.
TOP-10 INDIVIDUALS (After Round 2): 1. Scott Vincent (Virginia Tech) 66-69=135, -9; T2. William Register (North Carolina) 69-70=139, -5; T2. Be Griffin (North Carolina) 74-65=139, -5; T2. Andrew Weathers (Chattanooga) 71-68=139, -5; T5. Trey Rule (Mercer) 72-69=141, -3; T5. Trevor Cone (Virginia Tech) 72-69=141, -3; T7. Cory Gaylord (Memphis) 73-70=143, -1; T7. Charlie Kern (William & Mary) 72-71=143, -1; T9. Austin Eoff (Purdue) 75-69=144, E; T9. Carter Jenkins (UNCG) 74-70=144, E; T9. Emmanuel Kountakis (Mercer) 74-70=144, E; T9. Davin White (Georgia State) 71-73=144, E.
NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUALS (After Round 2): T16. Tyler Wingo 76-70=146, +2; T32. Thomas Steve 72-77=149, +5; T42. Patrick Grahek 77-74=151, +7; T67. Matthew Rushton 80-76=156, +12; T67. Liam Cox 81-75=156, +12.