UPDATE: Mackenzie Leads NCAA Golf After Two Rounds
May 30, 2002
Audio:
B. Mackenzie
Columbus, OH - The Washington men's golf team experienced mixed results during its second round at the NCAA Championships at Ohio State's Scarlet Course. After finishing their rain-delayed first round Thursday morning by carding a 5-under 279, the Huskies fell back from the leaders during the second round with a 7-over 291.
Washington is tied for ninth with Tulsa at 2-over 570. Clemson, which carded a 7-under 277, moved into a tie with Georgia Tech at 5-under 277.
Washington sophomore Brock Mackenzie continued to be impressive shooting 2-under 69 to increase his lead on the individual leaderboard to 7-under 135 after 36 holes. North Carolina's Dustin Bray and TCU's Adam Robinson hold down second place at 6-under. Clemson's D.J. Trahan, the Ben Hogan Award winner as the collegiate golfer of the year, is third at 5-under along with Arizona's Chris Nallen and North Carolina State's Justin Walters.
"Following a 66 is pretty darn tough and he said that he played even better today than he did yesterday," said first-year Husky coach Matt Thurmond. "Brock did a great job and we really needed him to carry us today because we were struggling. It's nice to know he is back there having a good round."
Playing the Scarlet Courses' back nine first, Mackenzie made birdies on the No. 12 and 18 holes. A bogie on No. 2 dropped him back to 1-under before he regained that stroke on the No. 4 hole. Through 36 holes he has made 10 birdies and three bogies.
"I hit the ball a lot better today," Mackenzie said. "Yesterday I just got a couple of lucky breaks. I chipped in twice. Overall I probably hit more fairways and more greens today. It was a solid round, probably more of what I'm used to."
Mackenzie's score was the 15th time this season he has carded a score in the 60s. It was the 25th time in 45 rounds that he has shot under par.
He opened the tournament by posting a 66, setting a UW record for a postseason round. His gross score and score vs. par was the fourth best round by a Husky golfer this season. His score was one stroke off equaling his career best of a 65 he shot at The Prestige in October.
"First rounds are usually not my best rounds, so this is a good way to start the week," Mackenzie said. "It gives you a couple of strokes to give back. On this course, you are going to take your hits, so it is nice to have some cushion."
The Huskies appeared to be on their way to a solid second round score when they made the turn at even par as a team. During the opening round Washington played that portion of the course 3-over par. The second hole proved to be the team's undoing. All five Huskies bogied the hole, costing them four strokes in the team competition. Washington finished their final nine holes 7-over par after playing that same strech 8-under during the first round.
"I'm disappointed that we didn't play a little better during the second round, but I know we are going to be in it," Thurmond said. "Going into the tournament, I just said `Let's just put ourselves in position after 36 holes and that's what we've done.'"
Junior Conner Robbins (Bremerton), who has seven birdies during the first two rounds, shot 1-over 72 for the second consecutive day. He is tied for 53rd overall. Sophomore Corey Prugh (Spokane) posted a 74 after opening with a 72. Sophomore Dan Potter (Coeur d'Alene) and junior John Robertson (Olympia) both shot 76 during the second round. Robertson is now at 4-over 176 for the tournament while Potter stands at 5-over 177.
"Fatigue was probably an issue for us," Thurmond said. "Having to get up at five a.m to come out and finish that first round made it a long day. It was probably harder to score today, but I thought we hung in there pretty well. I thought the course played a little tougher. The pin placement was tougher and the wind started to pick up in the back nine."
The Huskies will tee off Friday at 7 a.m. ET from the number-one tee and be paired with Florida and North Carolina State. The final 18 holes of competition are scheduled for Saturday.
Complete results and live scoring of the NCAA Championships is available at www.Golfstat.com
2002 NCAA Men's Golf Championships
The Scarlet Course
Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Par 71, 7,222 yards
Team Results
T1 Clemson 286 277 563 -5 T1 Georgia Tech 277 286 563 -5 3 Toledo 283 281 564 -4 T4 North Carolina 282 284 566 -2 T4 TCU 283 283 566 -2 T4 Texas 291 275 566 -2 7 N.C. State 286 281 567 -1 8 Florida 283 286 569 +1 T9 Tulsa 281 289 570 +2 T9 Washington 279 291 570 +2 T11 Purdue 284 287 571 +3 T11 Virginia Tech 291 280 571 +3 T13 Arizona 282 290 572 +4 T13 Augusta State 289 283 572 +4 T13 Pepperdine 284 288 572 +4 T16 Colorado 280 293 573 +5 T16 Illinois 277 296 573 +5 T16 Minnesota 284 289 573 +5 T19 Auburn 288 287 575 +7 T19 Texas Tech 288 287 575 +7 21 Fresno State 290 286 576 +8 22 UAB 293 286 579 +11 T23 Baylor 292 289 581 +13 T23 UNLV 292 289 581 +13 T25 Georgia 293 289 582 +14 T25 Oklahoma State 289 293 582 +14 T27 New Mexico 293 291 584 +16 T27 Pacific 292 292 584 +16 29 Ga. Southern 296 291 587 +19 30 VCU 295 295 590 +22
Husky Results
1 Brock Mackenzie 66-69-135 53 Conner Robbins 72-72-144 96 Corey Prugh 72-74-146 96 John Robertson 70-76-146 106 Dan Potter 71-76-147
Top Individuals
1 Brock Mackenzie, Washington 66-69-135 -7 2 Dustin Bray, North Carolina 68-68-136 -6 2 Adam Rubinson, TCU 69-67-136 -6 4 Chris Nallen, Arizona 69-68-137 -5 4 D.J. Trahan, Clemson 71-66-137 -5 4 Justin Walters, N.C. State 70-67-137 -5 7 Camilo Benedetti, Florida 70-68-138 -4 7 Gregg Jones, Clemson 69-69-138 -4 7 Graeme McDowell, UAB 71-67-138 -4 7 Chris Noel, Tulsa 69-69-138 -4 7 Ben Portie, Colorado 66-72-138 -4
