May 19, 2006
ORLANDO - Senior Sonny Nimkhum rolled in a 15-foot putt on the 18th hole for his lone birdie of the day and posted a 2-over 74 in windy conditions Friday in the second round of the NCAA East Regional at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. He began the day tied for 53rd in the individual standings and moved into a tie for 39th at 5-over.
"I was rolling the ball well, but I was edging a lot of holes," Nimkhum said. "There were a lot of holes I had the line right, but not the right speed. It was almost identical to yesterday's round."
Nimkhum hit the ball well on the front nine yet made the turn at 2-over after bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes. He started the back nine by hitting the ball inside of 12 feet from the pin on five consecutive holes but was unable to get a birdie putt to drop. He hit a total of 15 greens in regulation during the round.
"When you have 33 putts on this course you are not going to score very well, Nimkhum added. "I was hitting the ball real well, but just not close enough to make birdies with the way I was putting."
Top-seeded Georgia retained its lead despite carding a 6-over 294, 10 strokes worse than Thursday's round. The defending national champion Bulldogs are at 2-over for the tournament and lead UNLV by two shots and Wake Forest by three shots heading into Saturday's final round.
Southern California's Taylor Wood leads in the race for medalist honors at 5-under after firing a 3-under 69. First-round leader Jonathan Jackson from North Carolina and Jarred Texter from UNLV are tied for second at 4-under.
There are 27 teams and six individuals competing in the tournament. The top 10 teams and top two individuals from the remainder of the field will advance to the NCAA Championship at the Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Ore. May 31-June 3.