May 20, 2005
KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. - Freshman Ben Leong followed up his opening round 5-under-par 66 with a 4-over-par 75 Friday as UCF dropped into a tie for 16th after two rounds of the NCAA East Regional at the Golf Club of Tennessee. UCF began the second round in fourth place, but fell 12 spots after an 18-over-par 302.
Wake Forest leads the 27-team tournament at 14-under-par after shooting a 1-under-par 283 Friday. Florida made the biggest move up the leaderboard Friday after firing a 14-under-par 270 and moving into second place, three shots behind Wake Forest.
East Tennessee State's Rhys Davies is leading the individual standings at 11-under-par after shooting a 6-under-par 65 Friday. Duke's Michael Schachner is one shot back after shooting a 9-under-par 63. Florida's Matt Every also shot 63 and is tied for third with four other golfers at 8-under-par. Leong is tied for 24th in the tournament at 1-under-par after entering the second round tied for third.
Preston Brown shot the low round of the day for the Golden Knights with a 2-over-par 73, followed by Giwon Suh's 74. Andreas Hoegberg shot a disappointing 80 after an opening round 4-under-par 67, while Sonny Nimkhum shot 84.
UCF had to finish its first round early Friday morning and closed with a flurry of birdies. The Golden Knights were at 1-over-par when play was halted due to darkness Thursday, but by the time they finished the final five holes of the opening round Friday they had moved to 6-under-par with seven birdies, three of which came from Suh.
Beginning on the 10th tee, UCF opened the second round in fourth place, seven shots behind first-round leader Wake Forest. The Golden Knights carried the momentum they built on that same side early Friday and by the time they were mid-way through the first nine holes they were only three shots out of the lead.
That's when things started to go sour for UCF. The Golden Knights dropped three shots in the closing holes of the opening nine and then dropped 15 shots on the back side, five of which came on the par-5 seventh hole, UCF's 16th of the day.
"Today's round was especially disappointing because we played so well to get ourselves into contention after a slow start," UCF coach Nick Clinard said. "We had trouble on the par-5s, which is where we had the opportunity to make up ground on the leaders."
The top 10 teams in the Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., near Baltimore. The Golden Knights are 11 shots behind 10th-place Georgia Southern.
"We have to get some momentum going early tomorrow if we are to have any chance of making it to the NCAA Finals," Clinard said.