Sports > September 25, 2008

By Gary Pasqualicchio | Contributing writer

Coming off a 10th place finish at the Carpet Capital Classic Sept. 12th-14th, the Wake Forest men’s golf team shot a combined 906 and finished in 11th at the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala. Held from Sept. 22-24, this competitive event featured golf powers Baylor, Mississippi, Tulsa, East Tennessee State, Auburn, LSU, Georgia Southern, Texas Tech, North Florida, Oklahoma, the host UAB Dragons and the Demon Deacons.

The Deacs, ranked No. 20 in the Golf World/Nike Coaches Poll, shot rounds of 309 and 295 on Sept. 22 and finished Sept. 23’s third and final round with a 302.

After two rounds of play, Wake sat in 11th place just two shots out of ninth place and eight back of sixth. Freshman Lee Bedford, from Cary, N.C., and junior Brendan Gielow, a Muskegon, Mich., native, led the way on this first day with equal 36 hole scores of 151, seven over par. Senior Dustin Groves was only a shot back of the pair with a 152 on the day. Redshirt junior Marc Gladson put up a 153 for the Deacs and freshman Daniel Meggs contributed a 157.

Groves had a rough first round, carding an 80, but he finished strong with a solid par 72 in the second. Bedford was in a similar situation. He shot a 79 in the first round but came back with five birdies in the second to finish with a 72.

Gielow had three birdies shooting a 74 in round one but started off the second slow. He rebounded from a 42 on the front nine to birdie twice and finish with a total of 77 for the round. The second round scores of 72 from Groves and Bedford, the best of the tournament for the Deacs, went a long way toward the Demon Deacons’ overall finish.

Bedford paced Wake Forest with a team-best 224 for the tournament, finishing round three with another strong effort of 73. He finished tied for 18th place out of a field of 60 golfers, tops for the Deacs.

Gielow was right behind Bedford with a 225 over the two days and a top score of a two-over 74 in rounds one and three. He was the Deacs’ most consistent performer, the only golfer to not shoot higher than a 77 in any of the three rounds. Gielow finished tied for 24th.

Groves carded a 78 in the final round and finished the event with a 230. He finished tied for 39th in the tournament to add to his 13th place finish the previous weekend at the Carpet Capital Classic. The Baylor Bears shot an 880 to win the event led by a 220 from Colton Williams, who finished ninth. Individually, Zach Sucher, from the host Dragons, took home top prize with a total score of 214.

On the season, Gielow leads the Deacs with a plus-two 446 in six total rounds of play. Groves and Bedford are right behind with a three-over 447 and 448 respectively. The Deacs will travel to Richmond, Va., on Sept. 29-30 for the VCU Shootout. Hosted by the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth, this two-day event will be played on the Manakin Golf Course.