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University of Tennessee
Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
Vols in Second at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
October 16, 2009 | Men's Golf
Oct. 16, 2009
JONESBOROUGH - Under-par rounds from Justin Walker and David Holmes in sloppy conditions here Friday guided Tennessee into a tie for second place after 18 holes of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.
The Vols fought through a steady drizzle at The Ridges Golf Club to finish 1-under-par 287, one stroke behind Oregon State's 286. The Beavers were paced by overall individual leader Diego Velasquez at 6-under 66.
Walker's round was a collegiate best 2-under-par 70 for the Springfield sophomore, who last season played in only a pair of tournaments for UT and sported the team's highest stroke average at 79.17. This year has been a completely different story, and Walker has the stroke average (74.43) to prove it.
"Over the summer, Joe Whitney (team mental trainer) and I decided what I needed to work on and that's what I did," Walker said. "And I've improved. I've been playing decent in the tournaments.
"Today, I didn't really hit anything close but just happened to make some long putts. I've been working on my putting a lot and it's starting to show."
Walker's 32 on the front nine bettered the entire 81-player field. He birdied Nos. 3, 6, 7 and 9 -- draining long putts on the latter two -- and then played the back side in a solid 38 to settle into a tie for fifth overall. His only blemishes after the turn were a pair of bogeys on the par 5s.
Holmes shot 71 for his fourth round this fall of par or better in just seven outings. The Knoxville senior was 3 under through eight holes Friday before a lost ball on his approach to the difficult ninth led to triple bogey.
"I'm really happy with the way I played," said Holmes, who is tied for eighth. "I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, and then putted well. It's unfortunate when you make a triple on 9, but I bounced back. I didn't let it affect me and came right back to birdie 11 and 12.
"It was playing tough and the conditions weren't very good, but I'm playing well and ready for another good score."
All six Vols on the course shot 75 or better.
Robin Wingardh also overcame trouble at the ninth hole -- dropping his approach into the hazard for a double bogey -- to finish even par 72 in a tie for 18th place. He birdied Nos. 2 and 8 before the trouble at 9, then countered a bogey at 11 with a birdie at the par-5 14th. The junior from Morarp, Sweden, leads the team with a 71.71 stroke average.
Darren Renwick's 74 tied him for 34th and rounded out the Tennessee scoring on Friday. The Worthing, England, sophomore carded eight pars on the front side, with his lone bogey coming at the par-3 seventh from just off the green. The back nine was a little more adventuresome, with bogeys starting out at 10 and 11, consecutive birdies at 13 and 14, followed by another dropped shot at 17.
Jay Vandeventer shot 75 to begin his second collegiate tournament in a tie for 40th place. The freshman from nearby Bristol birdied the par-5 fourth and the par-3 12th to help offset five bogeys.
Garrick Porteous is competing as an individual and also opened with 75. The sophomore from Morpeth, England, was at 5 over par through 13 holes before a birdie at the 14th. He then birdied No. 18 to just beat the approaching darkness and move into a tie for 40th at 3 over par.
Missouri is in the second-place tie with Tennessee at 287, followed by the fivesome of Duke, UNC Wilmington, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest at 290. Host East Tennessee State is ninth at 294 and Auburn stands 14th at 300.
Saturday's weather calls for slightly cooler and breezier conditions, with a 30 percent chance of rain. Second round play for Tennessee begins at 11:50 a.m. Eastern time and can be followed live on UTsports.com or Golfstat.com.
| TEAM SCORES | ||
| 1. | Oregon State | 286 (-2) |
| t-2. | TENNESSEE | 287 (-1) |
| t-2. | Missouri | 287 (-1) |
| t-4. | Duke | 290 (+2) |
| t-4. | UNC Wilmington | 290 (+2) |
| t-4. | Virginia | 290 (+2) |
| t-4. | Virginia Tech | 290 (+2) |
| t-4. | Wake Forest | 290 (+2) |
| 9. | East Tennessee State | 294 (+6) |
| 10. | Coastal Carolina | 295 (+7) |
| 11. | Kent State | 296 (+8) |
| 12. | North Carolina State | 297 (+9) |
| 13. | North Carolina | 299 (+11) |
| 14. | Auburn | 300 (+12) |
| 15. | UAB | 306 (+18) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||
| 1. | Diego Velasquez, Oregon State | 66 (-6) |
| t-2. | Daniel Meggs, Wake Forest | 68 (-4) |
| t-2. | Wes Roach, Duke | 68 (-4) |
| 4. | Josh Brock, UNC Wilmington | 69 (-3) |
| t-5. | Justin Walker, TENNESSEE | 70 (-2) |
| t-5. | Drew Ernst, Coastal Carolina | 70 (-2) |
| t-5. | Ben Kohles, Virginia | 70 (-2) |
| UT SCORES | ||
| t-5. | Justin Walker | 70 (-2) |
| t-8. | David Holmes | 71 (-1) |
| t-18. | Robin Wingardh | 72 (E) |
| t-34. | Darren Renwick | 74 (+2) |
| t-40. | Jay Vandeventer | 75 (+3) |
| t-40. | Garrick Porteous* | 75 (+3) |
| *Competing as individual. | ||
Players Mentioned
