May 31, 2006

SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Wake Forest recorded the lowest round in its storied NCAA Tournament history and senior Kyle Reifers shot the best NCAA Tournament round by a Deacon in more than 30 years in the opening round of the NCAA Championships here Wednesday.

Three Demon Deacons shot under par, paced by Reifers' 7-under par 65, as Wake Forest raced out to a cumulative 11-under par 277 in the first of four rounds at the par 72, 7,630-yard Crosswater Golf Club, located 15 miles south of Bend, Ore. Wake's 277 was one shot better than the Deacons' previous NCAA Tournament single-round low -- a 278 in the fourth round of the 1986 championship, which was won by Wake Forest.

With many of the nation's teams still on the course, head coach Jerry Haas had a brief message to the team following round one.

"Be happy," Haas said, "but don't be satisfied."

Haas, however, couldn't help but be satisfied with the performance of Reifers, his senior leader. Reifers sank an 18-foot putt on the 18th hole, tying Curtis Strange in 1974 for the lowest single round in Wake Forest's NCAA Tournament history. Reifers' 65, which inlcuded eight birdies and one bogey, tied for the lowest round in his sterling four-year career and it came within one shot of tying the course record.

"Kyle came in as a freshman and has just gotten better and better," Haas said of Reifers, who was named along with teammate Webb Simpson to the PING All-South Region team earlier in the day. "He's at a good place right now. He is striking the ball nicely. I don't have to tell him too much. He has been great to watch."

While Reifers was on top of the individual leader board mid-way through the first day of action, he was not the only Deacon to enjoy a superb first round.

Sophomore Chris McCartin tied his lowest round of the season with a 3-under 69 and sophomore Webb Simpson fired a 2-under 70. Junior Sean Moore shot a solid 1-over par 73 and senior Doug Manchester came in with a 4-over 76.

"There is always room for improvement," Haas said. "But we made a lot of birdies today. We were up early this morning and ready to go. I thought the guys had a great attitude and kept to the game plan."

Despite winning the NCAA East Regional, Wake Forest was seeded 16th and most of the prognosticators did not include the Deacons as one of the teams capable of winning the NCAA crown. One Golfweek analyst had predicted Wake would not advance out of the East Regional.

"I told them to go out and play like they have nothing to lose," Haas said. "I wanted us to stay smart, but be aggressive. When we've played well, we have been very efficient -- we haven't made many bogies."

Getting off to a good start, Haas felt, was also a key. When the Deacons won three tournaments during the regular season, each time they got off to a good start.

"They are calling for crummy weather the next couple of days and that's when the tournament will be won," Haas said. "But every time we've won, we have started well."

Reifers has been pointing to the NCAA Championships all year. Last year the Deacons played in the Championships but did not make the cut. As a sophomore, Reifers and the Deacons did not advance past the regionals.

Reifers put his name alongside some of Wake Forest's greats with his 65 today. He joins Strange, Garry Hallberg, Chris Kite, Eddie Pierce, Jack Lewis and Bill Haas as the only Deacons to shoot a 67 or lower in an NCAA Championship round.

"I drove the ball well today and that was key," Reifers said. "It's a tough course if you are not on top of your game. It's a long tournament, but we felt it was important to get off to a good sart. We talked last night about getting off to a good start.

"The thing about a four-round tournament is that the best teams and best players usually rise to the top."

Wake Forest has a later tee time for Thursday's second round -- close to 1 p.m. Pacific. Fifteen teams will be cut from the field after Friday's third round.

TEAM STANDINGS (through 2:40 p.m. Pacific) Wake Forest 277 (-11) Washington 281 (-7) Oklahoma 284 (-4) NC State 284 (-4) Minnesota 287 (-1) Charlotte 288 (E) Lamar 292 (+4) Northwestern 292 (+4) South Carolina 292 (+4) Auburn 295 (+7) Coastal Carolina 296 (+8) Loyola Marymount 300 (+12) Nevada Pepperdine Kentucky Arizona Arizona State BYU Clemson Duke East Tennessee State Florida Georgia Georgia Tech North Carolina Oklahoma State Texas A&M Texas Tech UCLA UNLV

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS 1 2 3 4 5

WAKE FOREST SCORES x Kyle Reifers 65 (-7) x Sean Moore 73 (+1) x Doug Manchester 76 (+4) x Webb Simpson 70 (-2) x Chris McCartin 69 (-3)