North Carolina State University Athletics
Hill Closes Final Round in Lead at NCAA
5/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
TOLEDO, OHIO NC State sophomore Matt Hill is the clubhouse leader at 6-under (207) at the 112th NCAA Championships being held at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Due to Wednesday’s rain delay, not all the golfers will complete their third and final round by Thursday evening, as the last group did not tee off until 4:45 p.m. Therefore the individual medalist honors will not be officially declared until Friday when all golfers have officially completed their third round.
When Hill finished his round at approximately 5 p.m. Thursday, there were three golfers early in their final rounds at even-par for the tournament. All three of those golfers would have to shoot a 65 or better to catch Hill.
If Hill's lead holds on for the victory, he would be NC State's third individual NCAA championship this spring and the 29th in school history. In March, wrestler Darrion Caldwell and platform diver Kristin Davies each won individual titles in their respective sports. It would be the first time with more than two individual titles in the same academic year since 1993 and only the third time in school history.
"I'm pretty pumped up, that's for sure, and a little bit relieved at the same time," Hill said
For the third straight round, Hill shot a two-under 69 on Thursday. He was the only golfer to shoot each of his three rounds at 2-under or better, as every other golfer recorded at least one score in the 70s. Only nine players in the 156-man field broke par at the 7,255-yard layout.
Hill started the final round today on Hole No. 10 at 11:55 a.m. He parred his first five holes, then made birdie on the par-4 15th hole. He followed with a bogey on No. 16, and trailed TCU golfer Tom Hoge by two strokes at the turn.
He vaulted into the lead with birdies on Nos. 2 and 5, both par-4s, while his primary competition, Hoge, made back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6. Hill made bogey on No. 7, dropping his lead down to one stroke. But he quickly regained his two-stroke advantage with a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole. It is the same hole he eagled on Wednesday to jump to the top of the leaderboard.
Hill, owning a two-stroke lead on the field, was 2-under on his final nine holes. Hill was consistant throughout the three rounds, as he went two-under on Holes 1-9 in all three rounds (finishing on the holes in rounds two and three), and he was at even-par on all three rounds on Holes 10-18.
"I didn't really want to know where I stood until I was coming down the stretch," Hill said. "It was a little bit nerve-racking on a few of the holes but as soon as I found out I had a two-shot lead it was maybe a little bit more comfortable. The bogey kind of made it a little tougher, and then I guess that birdie definitely helped on 8 when that putt snuck in there."
Hill spent Thursday battling Clemson’s Kyle Stanley, who entered the day as the nation's top-ranked golfer while Hill was ranked No. 2. They played in the same threesome in the final round, with Stanley finishing his round alone in second place at 4-under-par.
The final round is currently being played, and live stats are available at golfstat.com. No announcement has been made about what time the individual golfers will tee off Friday.
** The good news keeps coming for NC State men's golf, as former Pack All-American Tim Clark is tied atop the leaderboard at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas after first round action on Thursday. Clark fired a seven-under (63) and is currently tied with Woody Austin and Steve Stricker. Clark holed seven birdies, and did not have a single hole over par.
