Hungry Jackets find early success in their attempt to top last year
Molder, Kuchar show their skills at Carpet Capital Tournament
Photo Courtesy of Georgia Tech Sports Information
Bryce Molder proved that his performance from last season was not a fluke by capturing his third title in as many tries in last weekend's tourney.
The fifth-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Golf Team lived up to its billing this past weekend in capturing the Carpet Capital Golf Tournament. The tournament was on home turf for GT as it was held in Rocky Face, Georgia at the The Farm Golf Club, a 6,906 yard private layout and site of 1999 USGA qualifying for the Senior Amateur. This is good news for Bryce Molder because if his pro career doesn't work out, he can always be successful when he gets to be 55.
The junior from Conway, Arkansas captured his third title in as many tries by shooting a three day total of 68-68-68-204. His score along with hot plays by Matt Kuchar and the rest of the team was enough for the victory.
Tech came out strong by grabbing a six stroke team lead after two days of play. The Jackets walked off the 36th hole with a score of nine under par and a comfortable lead over a field that included 11 top-25 teams. Molder helped push Tech to the forefront by shooting a bogey-free 68. It was enough to hold off Alex Rocha of Mississippi State who came out slow with a 72 but finished with a 67 on the second day to grab hold of second place in the individual contest. Matt Kuchar's steady play of 69-72 further cemented Tech's hold on the lead. The rest of the Jackets turned in solid performances as sophomore Kris Mikkelsen shot even par for a second consecutive day and was tied-for-16th at 72-72-144. Redshirt-freshman Troy Matteson was 4-over on the second day and was 23rd at 72-76-148, while sophomore Matt Weibring was at 74-76-150. Clemson's team finished the day in second place led by Lucas Glover (68-72) and John Engler of Augusta, GA(68-73). The University (sic) of Georgia was near the bottom of the heap at 13th place, a whopping 28 shots behind GT. UGA was led by Tech transfer Nick Cassini who had enough Jacket left in him to shoot 71-70 and grab a seventh place spot along with Kuchar and Engler.
Tech finished things off by shooting a five-under par 283 to take the trophy home to North Avenue. Their fine play left them twelve strokes ahead of the field and fourteen-under par. It was their fourth Carpet Capital win ever and the first since 1995, in the pre-Kuchar era. Kuchar finished eighth at this event finishing with an even par 72.
Molder, a two-time first-team All-America and 1999 ACC Player of the Year is picking up where he left off from last season. All three of his individual titles have come at this event, and it was his 20th top ten finish in 28 college tourneys. His consistent play should bode well for the Jacket's future and his own.
The Jackets' performance in the weekend tournament has allowed them to move into the number two spot in the Golfweek computer ranking. Tech is also currently No. 7 in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Foundation poll, but not as a result of the tournament. The balloting for the MasterCard poll took place before the Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament.
The Golfweek ranking is maintained by Jeff Sagarin computer rankings, while the MasterCard poll is currently voted upon by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Golf is not an easy game to dominate as there are new factors every day examples being course layouts, conditions, a player's tempo, alignment, pressure, etc.
This makes Molder's and the whole Tech team's success that more impressive. Look out for Tech in their next event, the Iron Duke Classic on October 17-18.
