Follow UW Men's Golf At NCAA Championships
May 31, 2010
• Golfstat.com Live Scoring
• Follow UW Golf on Twitter: Matt Thurmond | UW Sports News
• Husky Golf NCAA Media Release
• NCAA Golf Championship Central
• Recap: Day 1 | Day 2
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. -- Return to this page throughout the day for live reports from The Honors Course outside of Chattanooga, Tenn., where the No. 4 seeded Husky men's golf team is competing with 29 other teams for the 2010 NCAA Men's Golf Championship.
Thursday, 5:48 p.m. ET - I just walked the front nine with Charlie Hughes, Richard Lee and Nick Taylor. After everyone struggled on No. 10, the Huskies really got things rolling. I watched Richard and Nick nail several key birdies which has helped push them up the standings into fifth.
It looks like the UW won't be counting Charlie's score today as he struggled on the front nine, so the key is for the other four guys to keep chugging along and playing steady golf.
I'll be following Darren Wallace and Chris Williams on the last nine and probably go camp out at No. 9 (which is 18 today for the Dawgs). Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Golfstat.com (links above).
And cross your fingers that we keep hitting it straight as only the top eight advance to stroke play tomorrow! Go Dawgs!
Thursday, 1:48 p.m. ET - Just arrived at the course and the team was out on the range. They are wearing purple shirts today, so hopefully that is our equivalent of Tiger Woods wearing red on Sunday.
I talked to Darren Wallace and asked him why he doesn't wear shorts on the course. He said he hasn't owned a pair of golf shorts since he was a little kid. So, it is supposed to be mid-80's to low 90's today, and I'm guessing he might be wishing he would have packed a pair...probably not though.
I'm gonna go hunt around the clubhouse and look for the pool. I haven't seen one so far, so I may have to take a dip in one of the many water hazards on the course.
By the way, the media compound is in the caddyshack. I'm just waiting for Danny Noonan to walk through. Goonga ga Loonga.
Thursday, 10:45 a.m. ET - With round two now complete, the Huskies will play a waiting game and just hope that they can get their entire third round completed today. Charlie Hughes will be the first off the tee at 2:47 p.m. local time, while Chris Williams -- the Huskies' leader after two rounds -- will tee off at 3:25 p.m. I hope that Williams is getting the twilight rate.
Here are tee times for the day and final results after round two:
• Round 3 Tee Times | Results and Standings after Round Two
Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. ET - A two hour weather delay hindered play after Washington left the golf course and ultimately several teams were unable to finish the second round. Play will resume at 7:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Washington is tied for seventh with Clemson and will most likely be paired with them and Oregon for the final round. It could set up to be a very intense final pairing as only the top eight team will advance to Friday's match play.
Needless to say, tomorrow is a big day and the Huskies will need to get their rest before taking on the task at hand. They plan on showing up an hour before their tee time, but will not know what time that is for sure until after the second round is completed.
Wednesday, 3:18 p.m. ET - Here is a recap of day two action. Once teams start coming off the course and the Huskies' standings are firmed up, we'll have an updated report.
Wednesday, 2:44 p.m. ET - The photo gallery (link below) has been updated with some photos of the second nine. Also, here are the post-round video interviews from Wednesday's action:
Post-Round Interviews: Matt Thurmond | Darren Wallace
Wednesday, 1:32 p.m. ET - Golf's a funny game. The Huskies were really rolling early in the round and it looked like they may be able to make some serious headway on the field. But, as the day went on, they started missing some shots they normally would make and were unable to build on the momentum. Ultimately, they ended right where they started at even par for the day and +1 for the tournament.
As they eat lunch, they are tied for seventh. The second wave of teams are either in the beginning stages of their rounds or warming up on the range, so it is way too early to tell where the Huskies stand.
What we do know is that this season the Huskies have been a third-round type of team. Tune in later, either in the recap or this blog, and we'll have an update of where the Huskies stand.
After all the guys got off the course, I had a chance to catch up with coach Matt Thurmond. For some reason, he insisted on conducting the interview in front of some port-a-potties, despite the plethora of beautiful, scenic golf course backgrounds we had to choose from. This was by no means an indication of how he felt his golfers played, it was more an indication that he is not in panic mode and that he believes everything will be alright. Check back later, as video of this interview and another one with Darren Wallace will be posted on GoHuskies.com.
Wednesday, 10:27 a.m. ET - Here is a photo gallery of the morning action from The Honors Course:
Day 2 morning action
Wednesday, 9:51 a.m. ET - While you were sleeping, the Huskies made a move on the front nine. So far, they are 4-under with just three guys yet to complete their first nine of the day. Currently they're tied for fourth.
Chris Williams was on fire early and continues to record his share of birdies. He is 3-under through eight holes and has four birdies so far. Darren Wallace has three birdies after having none during first day action.
Florida State is having a huge start to their day and are a combined 6-under through six holes. They are 11-under overall and lead second-place Oklahoma State by five strokes.
Wednesday, 7:15 a.m. ET - Good morning Seattle. While most of the city sleeps, the Husky golf team will finish a majority of the second round of the NCAA Championships from The Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tenn. I would expect the Huskies to come out a little stronger today as they get more and more familiar with the course. This will be the third time they have played the course.
In case you're wondering, as a golf buff (albeit a terrible golfer), it pains me to walk this course and not be able to play. It is a gorgeous setting with pristine fairways. If you land in the fairway, the ball sits up beautifully for you. The golfers who are hitting it straight are for the most part taking advantage of it and scoring low, which is surprising to many of the locals here.
I be on the back nine with the team shortly, so since most of you are sleeping at home anyways, this will be the lone update for the next couple of hours. Follow the Huskies progress on Golfstat.com or Twitter, where Matt Thurmond and GoHuskies.com will keep fans abreast of the action from Tennessee.
One last note, for Augusta State, who currently is eighth in the standings, golf is the only Division I sport it fields. They are a good bunch of golfers that are hanging with the big boys and would not surprise one bit if they were among the top eight advancing teams.
Hopefully, when I come back with a later report I will have good news for all! Until then, sleep well Seattle.
Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. ET - Here is a recap of Day 1 Husky action from The Honors Course.
Tuesday, 7:46 p.m. ET - The photo gallery has been updated with several pictures from the back nine. Also, here are some post-round video interviews:
Post-Round Interviews: Matt Thurmond | Charlie Hughes
Tuesday, 6:47 p.m. ET - The Huskies ended their day at +1 as Ben Hogan Award winner Nick Taylor bogeyed No. 17 and 18 to end the round for the Huskies. Richard Lee is the only Dawg to finish in the red, carding a 2-under 70. Stay tuned on GoHuskies.com as we'll have more photos added to the gallery (link below), video interviews with Matt Thurmonda and Charlie Hughes, plus a recap of the action.
Tuesday, 6:04 p.m. ET - Sorry it's been so long but I've been with the team on the back nine. There were a few bright spots and some birdies here and there, but overall it was a rough go for the Huskies. The final couple of Dawgs are on 18 and we'll have a full report when everybody is done. We'll have an interview with Charlie Hughes and Matt Thurmond posted as soon as possible.
Tuesday, 3:06 p.m. ET - Here a photo gallery with some of the early round shots.
Photo Gallery
Tuesday, 2:35 p.m. ET - Dawgs are about to make the turn and aren't making much headway right now. After Nick started things off with a great 15-foot putt on No. 1 for birdie, he missed a near gimme birdie on the par-5 second hole. So far, the only other birdie of the day was one by Chris Williams on No. 2. Hopefully the back will play a little bit nicer for the guys.
Quick funny story...on No. 1 UW assistant coach Garrett Clegg was hanging around the tee waiting for Chris Williams to show up for his tee shot. The walking scorer came up to Clegg and asked if he was Chris. Clegg looks young but to be mistaken for an 18-year-old freshman is definitely a compliment. Now he knows how Gary Coleman felt his whole life...R.I.P.
Tuesday, 12:25 p.m. ET - It's now just minutes before Charlie Hughes gets things started for the Huskies. The team had a buffett lunch in the clubhouse and most of the guys went for the spaghetti. We'll see if the pasta adds some more punch with the guys. Please follow GoHuskies.com and Matt Thurmond on Twitter as while we're on the course, that is the only mode we'll be able to communicate. Also you can check out live scoring on Golfstat.com. Links for all the aforementioned are at the top.
Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. ET - The Dawgs have arrived at the course and will start the warm up process for the round. It is sunny and muggy here in Tennessee and some morning rain has seemingly made it even more humid. Spend five minutes outside and you'll begin the sweating process!
Just chatted quickly with the players and asked them about the course yesterday. Darren Wallace said its a hard course but said it will be a fun challenge.
The early leaders are Arizona State and they're led by Jesper Kennegard, who is at 6-under through 12 holes! Way to make an early splash by the Pac-10!
Tuesday, 12:30 a.m. ET - The Huskies will tee off at 12:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. in Seattle) tomorrow. The weather could play a factor this week, but in a different way than the guys are used to in Seattle. The temperature is expected in to be in the low 80's tomorrow with isolated thunder storms in the forecast.
Today the team had a practice round at 9:00 a.m. Coach Matt Thurmond reported that the course is long and soft and the rough is shorter than what is ideal for his team. He tweeted on his Twitter account (link above) that the course might be very scoreable.
We'll see if Coach Thurmond's prediction becomes true starting at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow when Kent State, TCU and San Diego become the first three teams to challenge the course.
