Clayton State currently fourth after opening round of NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Southeast Regional
Lakers’ Binfield, Wilcox tied for 10th at 1-over par 73

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – May 5, 2008 – Playing in its first NCAA Division II postseason even since 2003, the Clayton State Laker men’s golf team is currently in fourth place after the first round of what has become a highly-competitive NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at The Point Lake and Golf Club.

The 20th-ranked Lakers shot a first-round score of 296 on Monday to stand right in the middle of the pack in the eight-team Regional. Clayton State holds a tight one-stroke lead over fourth-ranked and Peach Belt Conference champion USC Aiken, and the Lakers trail 24th-ranked Lander by two strokes and South Atlantic Champion Newberry by three strokes.

Ninth-ranked Georgia College holds the lead after the first round following a sizzlin’ 3-under par 285, an eight-stroke lead over Newberry. The Southeast Regional is being combined with the Atlantic Regional, and the two regional winners, plus the next three highest scoring teams qualify for next week’s NCAA Division II National Championships in Houston, Texas.

"We started strong, especially on the front nine," said Clayton State head coach Barry Harwell. "However, we didn’t finish well on the backside, and that cost us some valuable strokes. But if had ended today, we would be going on next week, so we know we’re still in the thick of the race and we’ll have to play better tomorrow."

Clayton State got off to a strong start on the first nine holes, making the turn at 2-over and only three strokes off the lead. However, the Lakers managed only four birdies on the back nine and recorded nine bogeys and one double-bogey in the process.

Lander, meanwhile, recorded nine birdies on the back nine, while Newberry finished its round with a furry, recording an eagle and three birdies with its final two players on the last couple of holes to surge into second.

Individually for Clayton State, sophomore Wade Binfield and junior Will Wilcox are both tied for 10th at 1-over 73. Binfield recorded four birdies on his round, while Wilcox recorded two birdies on the front nine and one stroke off the lead through 12 holes. However, the Peach Belt Conference champion had two bogeys in the back nine to slip back to slip back four strokes off the lead of Georgia College’s Juan Bialet and Newberry’s Daniel Stanley, who are both at 3-under 69.

In addition, juniors Neil McBride and Jonathan Visconti are both tied for tied for 17th at 3-over 75, while freshman Kevin Duncan is tied for 31st at 5-over 77.

The second round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional is set for Tuesday at The Point Lake and Golf Club.

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL SCORES/ATLANTIC REGIONAL SCORES