Texas Tech Athletics
NCAA Central Regional
Tech in Striking Distance of Needed Position
May 16, 2008 | Men's Golf
May 16, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas - A new day proved to be just what Texas Tech men's golf needed as it improved by six strokes from its first-day total to put itself four strokes out of the coveted 10th spot heading into Saturday's final round. The Red Raiders are tied for 14th at 22-over 598.
After some rust showed during Thursday's first round, Tech displayed more of its true form Friday as it finished the day with a 296. Will Griffin and Garrett Merrell, who had their collective struggles yesterday, each rebounded strong by posting even-par 72s to lead the way for the Red Raiders and put them in contention for the needed 10th position. The top 10 teams and two individuals not associated with those teams advance to the NCAA Championships.
A pair of birdies on his first two holes got Griffin off to the start he needed early. Two bogies on the back nine looked threatening, but the San Antonio, Texas, native responded with three consecutive birdies over his last four holes to pull even. He currently sits at eight-over 152 in a tie for 74th. Merrell posted four birdies on the front nine and posted another late to help him pull even for the day and come in at six-over 150. Sergio Franky posted his second straight round of 75 for the tournament and sits at 150. Chris Ward, who was Tech's most consistent golfer through the first round, was hampered by late bogeys to post a 78 for the day. He joins Merrell and Franky at 150 in a tie for 51st. Santiago Rivas carded a 77 for the day and rounds out the Red Raiders at 154 to tie for 87th.
No. 2 USC leads the event at two-under 574. No. 48 Oregon is five strokes back in second place at three-over 579. No. 14 Clemson is in third with 580. No. 4 UCLA and host Washington are tied for fourth at 585, while No. 29 Arizona State (589) is in sixth. No. 45 Pepperdine, No. 11 Stanford and Kentucky are all tied for seventh at 593. Wisconsin occupies the 10th spot with a 594. St. Mary (CA) and Oklahoma are each tied for 11th, one stroke back of the Badgers at 595. No. 42 Oregon State is in 13th at 597, while Tech and Texas are deadlocked at 598 in a 14th place tie.
No. 50 California and No. 20 North Carolina (601) are tied for 16th, while No. 25 Central Florida (603) and Kansas State (604) are 18th and 19th, respectively. The bottom part of the standings has No. 32 San Diego State (605), No. 9 Florida State (609), Denver (610), No. 17 UNLV (612) and No. 38 LSU (617). San Diego (618), Navy (621) and Columbia (641) wrap up the standings.
Oregon's Joey Benedetti is the leading individual at six-under 138. He is followed by Wisconsin's Dan Woltman at five-under 139, while Washington's Nick Taylor is third at four-under 140.
Saturday's final round will get underway shortly after 9 a.m. CST. The first Red Raiders are set to tee off at #. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
