North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Men's Golf Tees Off
5/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 29, 2002
Live leaderboard updates from NCAA Golf Championship
Columbus, OH- The NC State Men's Golf team heads to the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University to begin first round action at the 2002 NCAA Men's Golf Championships on May 29th. The Wolfpack is ranked 11th nationally by Golfweek after finishing the 2001-2002 season deep in the NC State record books with impressive team and individual accomplishments.
The Wolfpack notched a second place finish at the 2002 ACC Championships, its highest ACC finish since sharing the ACC Championship with Clemson in 1990. The Wolfpack then proceeded to post its fourth highest NCAA Regional finish with a fifth place showing at the Central Regional in Little Rock, Arkansas May 16-18.
Senior All-ACC selection Garth Mulroy paces the Wolfpack with a 72.08 stroke average, a mark that ranks third all-time in school history for single season stroke average. He posted nine top-20 finishes in 12 tournaments to lead the team and also tied for the team lead with four top-10 finishes. He has finished first or second for the Wolfpack in nine of the 12 tournaments this season. Mulroy lead the Wolfpack with 17 rounds-under-par, was third with four rounds at even par and second with eight rounds fired in the 60s. He fired a tournament total of 208 at the 2002 ACC Championships, a mark that is tied for the ninth lowest tournament total in school history. Mulroy enters his second career NCAA Championship as the 37th ranked player nationally by Golfweek. Last year, Mulroy fired a 77 and 79 at the NCAA Championships before the Wolfpack missed the cut.
Joining Mulroy on the All-ACC team in 2002 was junior transfer Justin Walters. Walters burst into major college competition by winning two collegiate tournaments after transferring from Huntingdon (Ala.) College where he won the 2001 NAIA National Championship. Walters fired a 70-68-68=206 to win the Nelson Invitational in the fall and followed up that performance with a 68-72-67=207 victory at the Chris Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational in the spring. The 206 tournament total ranked third in school history while his 207 was tied for fourth. While his 206 and 207 performances notched Walters two tournament titles, they did not rank as his lowest tournament totals during the year. Playing at the Intercollegiate @ UNC Finley, Walters finished tied for third with a brilliant 65-73-67=205. The seven-under-par 65 tied for the second lowest round in school history while his tournament total of 205 also tied for second all-time. Nine of the 20 lowest rounds on the season for the Wolfpack came off of the clubs of Walters, with all nine rounds in the 60s, a team best. He tallied 15 rounds-under-par for the season and is ranked 40th nationally by Golfweek. He became only the fifth Wolfpack golfer to notch at least two individual titles during one season, joining former Wolfpack All-American's Todd Smith, Nolan Mills, Kelly Mitchum, and Tim Clark. Clark won two titles in two different seasons (1995-96, 1996-97). Kelly Mitchum and Nolan Mills are the only golfers to win three titles in one season with Mitchum doing so in 1990-91 while Mills won three titles in two different seasons (1981-82, 1982-83).
Junior Jason Moon is competing in his second NCAA Championship after posting rounds of 77 and 75 in the 2001 NCAA Championship. His stroke average of 72.8 stands as the ninth best single season stroke average in school history. His season best finish was fourth at the Nelson Invitational where he fired a career-low round of 66, the second lowest round of the season for the Wolfpack.
Sophomore Fernando Mechereffe finished fourth at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate as he fired a final round, and career best, 67 to finish strong. Mechereffe holds a stroke average of 73.9, fourth on the squad. Freshman Rodney Thomas joins Mechereffe to form a strong young duo blessed with talent and potential. Thomas erupted in the ACC Tournament finishing in his first top-ten with a share of sixth place. He fired a 70-71-68=209 with all three rounds tying or setting his season low rounds.
This is the 13th appearance for NC State as a team and pushes the total number of NCAA appearances to 27 since 1965. In 1995 and 1982, NC State placed eighth, its highest NCAA Championship finish. Three-time Wolfpack All-American Tim Clark holds the NC State record for highest individual finish at a NCAA Championships when he shared fifth place in 1996 with a 292 (70-77-71-74).
The 2002 NCAA Men's Golf Championships run from May 29-June 1.
Scarlet Course Ohio State University, host Columbus, Ohio
