Feb. 9, 2008

First and Second Round Results in PDF Format

The 18th-ranked Wake Forest men's golf team rallied with a 278 (-2) second round Saturday in the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. to finish eighth heading into Sunday's final round.

Wake was eleventh out of 14 teams following a 288 (+8) opening round score.

"If we have a good day tomorrow, we can be in the top three," Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas said. "We had the shotgun start today and we probably started on the toughest stretch. It'll get better. We just didn't get off to a good start."

The Deacs began their day on hole four of the par 70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Course.

The Deacs were led by sophomore Brendan Gielow, who shot a 71-68=139 to finish one under. Gielow is tied for fifteenth overall.

Wake Forest sophomore Travis Wadkins ended his second round tied for 31st after shooting a 71-71=142 (+2).

Seniors Webb Simpson (74-70) and Chris McCartin (72-72) along with junior Dustin Groves (75-69) are in a tie for 41st after each posted two-round totals of 144.

"The scores were good but there just weren't enough birdies," Haas said. "We made too many mistakes. It's hard to put your finger on."

Gielow finished the day with a team-best eight birdies.

Wake's eight over first round ties for the third worst round for this year's squad. The Deacs were eight over for the second round of the Carpet Capital Collegiate in September.

Florida, a 21-time champion of the Gator Invitational, will take a 12-stroke lead into the final round after finishing 18-under. Florida State is in second place with a six-under (554).

Players will tee-off at 8 a.m. Sunday with projections of clear, sunny weather and a high of 73 degrees in Gainesville.