University of Washington
NCAA Central Regional
Husky Men's Golf Opens Early NCAA Regional Lead
May 14, 2009 | Men's Golf
May 14, 2009
ALVATON, Ky. - Despite having a target on its back as the tournament's top-seed, the University of Washington men's golf team cruised to a 10-stroke lead after the first round of the NCAA Central Regional at The Club at Olde Stone today.
The sixth-ranked Huskies shot a first round six-under-par 282 to lead the 14-team field. Seventh-ranked Georgia Tech and No. 19 UCLA are tied for second-place with a four-over-par 292. The top five finishers after three 18-hole rounds advance to the NCAA Championships May 26-30 in Toledo, Ohio.
"These guys never cease to amaze me," said UW head coach Matt Thurmond. "We had such a great day. I did not think it was possible for any team today to shoot a round that low, considering the conditions. I thought if any team shot even-par, it would be amazing."
UW junior Nick Taylor leads the 75-player field after shooting a five-under-par 67. The Abbotsford, B.C. native registered five birdies and did not bogey a hole during his round. He did, however, roll-in a 15-footer on No. 12 then made a 25-foot putt on No. 16 to save par. Taylor, last year's NCAA runner-up, ended the day with a two-stroke lead over Georgia Tech's Cameron Tringale.
"I started out playing good, but not spectacular," said Taylor, who current ranks ninth nationally as an individual. "But, fortunately I was able to take advantage of my birdie opportunities and I made a couple of long putts for par. "
Husky junior Richard Lee is tied for third-place with a two-under-par 70, while Pac-10 champion Darren Wallace is tied for 10th with an even-par 72. Chris Killmer is tied for 12th at plus-one and Tze Huang Choo is tied for 30th with a three-over-par 75.
Washington was scheduled to tee-off at 8:30 a.m., but the start to the tournament was delayed approximately 90 minutes due to inclement weather. During Tuesday's practice round, the conditions were windy and dry. After rain fell during the evening and into the early morning, the course softened up and made the greens a bit easier to navigate.
"I thought the course played a lot easier than it did yesterday after the wind died-down and the rain softened the greens a bit. As a team, I thought we played great. Our high score being a 75, on this course, is a bit of a surprise."
2009 NCAA Central Regional
Team Results
Pos. Team today overall 1 Washington - 6 282 282 T2 Georgia Tech + 4 292 292 T2 UCLA + 4 292 292 4 North Carolina State + 6 294 294 T5 Louisville + 8 296 296 T5 Mississippi + 8 296 296 7 Duke University +10 298 298 8 East Tennessee St. +11 299 299 9 Ohio State Univ. +12 300 300 10 Vanderbilt +17 305 305 11 Cleveland State +20 308 308 12 Middle Tennessee St. +22 310 310 13 Austin Peay State +27 315 315 14 Bucknell University +29 317 317UW Individual Results Pos. Individual today overall 1 Nick Taylor -5 67 67 T3 Richard Lee -2 70 70 10 Darren Wallace E 72 72 T11 Chris Killmer +1 73 73 T30 Tze Huang Choo +3 75 75
