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Men's Golf
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Thursday, May 14
Bowling Green, Ky.
All Day
Duke University
vs
Day One
Blue Devils In Seventh Following Opening Round Of NCAA Central Regional
5/14/2009 10:45:00 PM | Men's Golf
ALVATON, KY -- Senior Clark Klaasen fired a team-best one-over 73 on Thursday to lead Duke into seventh place following the opening round of play at the NCAA Central Regional. Junior Adam Long and sophomore Matthew Pierce each shot two--over 74s to help pace the Blue Devils to a 10-over 298 at The Club at Olde Stone.
"Clark's game today was solid start to finish," said head coach Jamie Green. "He worked really hard to get more comfortable on the practice tee yesterday and it paid off. He was really in control of his game today and played calm, assertive golf."
Washington shot a six-under 282 on Thursday to take the first round lead. Nick Taylor paced the Huskies with a five-under 67 to grab the individual lead. Georgia Tech and UCLA are tied for second at four-over (292) with North Carolina fourth with a six-over 294. Louisville and Mississippi are tied for fifth at eight-over (296), two shots ahead of Duke. The top five teams will advance to the 2009 NCAA Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Klaasen matched a team-high with four birdies in the first round but also had three bogeys and a double-bogey en route to a 73. He is tied for 11th after Thursday's opening round. Following a par on No.1, Klaasen bogeyed the par 5 second hole to slip to one-over. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native posted four straight pars before sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on the par 5 seventh hole to get back to even-par. He added a birdie on No. 9 with a 20-foot putt on No. 9 to make the turn at one-under. Klaasen ran into trouble on No. 11 and No.12, going bogey-double-bogey to slip to two-over. He recovered to birdie No. 14 after putting his drive on the back edge of the 331-yard downhill par 4. After suffering a bogey on No. 17, Klaasen closed his day with an birdie on the 557-yard par 5 18th hole after chipping to within three feet on the final hole.
"Individually, I played pretty well today," said Klaasen. "I had two bad holes back-to-back at No. 11 and No. 12, but I bounced back to play the rest of the holes at one-under. This is a tough course, so I really just tried to remain patient and make as many pars as I could, while giving myself a few birdie chances."
Long is tied for 17th after firing a two-over 74 in the first round. The St. Louis, Mo., native got off to a slow start before rallying over the final six holes of play.
"Today was about as bad of a start as you can have," said Long. "To start off in the hole is no fun, but I just tried to stick with it to get my score back to something reasonable and help the team out as much as I could. I made the turn thinking that I needed to play the back nine at two or three-under par and that is what I did. I really just tried to stay focused and keep my eye on the big picture. My bad holes just happened to be at the beginning of the tournament and hopefully there won't be any more like that."
Long opened double-bogey - bogey and fell all the way to five-over after bogeys on No. 5 and No. 7. He birdied the 477-yard, par 4 ninth hole to make the turn at four-over. After a bogey on No. 11, Long birdied three of the next four holes to get to two-over. He birdied No. 12 to get things going and then sank a six-foot birdie putt on No. 14 after driving the green. Long added a birdie on the 472-yard, par 4 15th hole and capped the day with three straight pars.
"Adam [Long] got off to a rough start but showed a lot of determination and patience to finish the round with a few birdies to post a score that really helped us," said Green.
Pierce is also tied for 17th after shooting a two-over 74 on Thursday. He carded a team-high 14 pars in the round to go along with one birdie and three bogeys. Pierce opened with a bogey on No. 1 but moved back to even-par with a birdie on the par 4 sixth hole. He was unable to convert on a handful of birdie opportunities on the back nine and suffered bogeys on No. 12 and No. 15 to finish at two-over.
"Matt [Pierce] drove the ball as well as he has all spring and that allowed for some good positioning for second shots," added Green. "He didn't make as many putts as he would have liked but remained positive and kept rolling putts with confidence."
Sophomore Wes Roach had a five-over 77 in the first round and is tied for 44th. He had one birdie, 12 pars, four bogeys and a double-bogey on the day. Roach recorded his lone birdie on the par 4 14th hole, where Duke carded four birdies as a team.
Senior Michael Quagliano is tied for 53rd after shooting a six-over 78 on Thursday. Following a 90-minute delay due to severe weather, he suffered a triple-bogey on No. 1 and a bogey on No.2 to fall to four-over. Quagliano recovered to play the final 16 holes at two-over, including birdies on No. 6, No. 7, No. 14 and No. 17.
Duke will be in the last pairing off of No. 10 for Friday's second round. The Blue Devils will be paired with East Tennessee State and Ohio State with the threesomes teeing off beginning at 10:10 a.m.
"Our guys are really looking forward to another to compete well against this terrific golf course," said Green.
NOTES
*** Adam Long has now posted a counting team score in all 31 rounds this season ... tomorrow's second round will be the 100 career round played at Duke by Long.
*** Duke got off to a slow start following a 90 minute delay to start the day. The Blue Devils played the opening two holes at 10-over as a team.
*** The Blue Devils carded four birdies on the 331-yard, par 4 14th hole ... Adam Long and Wes Roach each drove the green on the hole.
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