Oct. 12, 2004

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Two Wake Forest freshmen and one sophomore shot in the 60s as the Demon Deacon golf team shot a sizzling 11-under par 273 in today's final round of the Jerry Pate Invitational. Wake Forest's strong finish gave it a tie for seventh place in a field that included many of the nation's top golf teams.

Freshman Dustin Groves shot a 5-under 66 and freshman teammate Webb Simpson fired a 4-under 67 to pace Wake Forest today. Sophomore Sean Moore turned in a 3-under 68, and junior Kyle Reifers and freshman Chris McCartin both shot 1-over 72s. The cumulative 273 score tied for the second-best round of the day as the Deacons finished 15 strokes off the winning pace. Reifers and Simpson finished the 54-hole tournament tied for 16th place with identical scores of 209.

Augusta State shot the best score of the day -- a 12-under 272 -- and took the overall team championship, four strokes ahead of second-place Georgia Tech and five strokes in front of third-place Auburn. Augusta State's Kalle Edberg shot a three-day total of 203 to take individual medalist honors.

Wake Forest returns to action Oct. 25-26 at the Isleworth Invitational in Orlando.