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May 19, 2000

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

Wyoming's David Hearn fired a three-over par 75 on Friday at the NCAA West Regional Men's Golf Championship, being played in Fresno, Calif. Hearn opened the tournament with one-over par 73 on Thursday. He will enter Saturday's final round with a 36-hole total of 148, tied for 74th in the field of the top 141 men's collegiate golfers in the Western United States.

Hearn began Friday's second round tied for 49th, only six shots out of the lead. He will tee off on Saturday 11 strokes back of the leaders -- Derek Gillespie of Arizona, Parker McLachlin of UCLA and Alex Kuyumjian of USC, who are tied at 137.

Brigham Young University of the Mountain West Conference continues to lead the team competition. BYU holds a one-stroke lead over Arizona heading into Saturday's final round. BYU sits at 557, while Arizona is at 558. BYU also led the first round by four strokes over Arizona.

"David didn't have the kind of day he was looking for," said UW men's golf coach Roger Prenzlow. "He had a couple of bad drives on par fives today which resulted in bogeys instead of birdies. As David and I talked after the round, he just needs to go out and put up a good score in the final round and not worry about whether he makes the cut for the NCAA Championships. You never know what might happen in a big tournament like this. David will have the advantage of playing in the morning before the wind comes up, and if he can put up a low score he may be able to catch quite a few golfers."

This marks the second consecutive year that Hearn has earned his way to the NCAA West Regional. At the '99 West Regional in Tucson, Ariz., Hearn placed 17th and missed advancing to the NCAA Championship by one place. Hearn is coming off an eighth-place showing at the 2000 Mountain West Conference Championships in Palm Desert, Calif., May 1-3.

The West Regional includes three 18-hole rounds. The final round will be played Saturday, May 20 on the Riverbend Golf Club in Fresno, Calif. The course plays to a par of 72 and measures 6,966 yards.

In men's collegiate golf, the NCAA Division I Championship begins with three regional competitions. In addition to the West Regional, there is also a Central and East Regional. All three regionals are being contested May 18-20. The Central Regional is being held at Victoria Country Club in Victoria, Texas, hosted by Southwest Texas State. The East Regional is being played at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, Pa., hosted by Temple University.

The NCAA Division I Championship will be hosted by Auburn University on May 31 - June 3 at the Grand National Golf Course in Auburn, Ala.

A total of 421 individuals are competing at the Regional competitions with 156 advancing to the NCAA Championship. Those 156 participants will consist of at least eight teams from each regional. The two lowest scoring individuals from each regional, whose teams do not advance, will also move on to the championship finals. The remainder of the NCAA Championship field will be selected by the Division I Men's Golf Committee.