April 17, 2015
Norman, Okla. – Georgia Tech seniors Ollie Schniederjans and Anders Albertson have been named to represent the United states in the 2015 Palmer Cup, the annual Ryder Cup-style collegiate competition that will be played June 12-14 at Rich Harvest Farms outside Sugar Grove, Ill.
The Palmer Cup teams for both the United States and Europe were announced live Friday morning on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive program. Lee McCoy of Georgia, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart, Alabama’s Robby Shelton, Florida State’s Jack Maguire and Beau Hossler of Texas were the six United States players selected by the Palmer Cup Ranking. Schniederjans, Baylor’s Kyle Jones and Carr Vernon of CSU Monterey Bay were committee selections. Vernon was the designated non-Division I player. Anders Albertson of Georgia Tech was coach Bruce Heppler’s coach’s pick. Maguire and Schniederjans were members of 2014 American team that fell to Europe at Walton Heath.
“I’m thrilled for Ollie and Anders to both be a part of this, and it will be a special week for all of us,” said Heppler, who is in his 20th year as Georgia Tech’s head coach and serving as captain of the U.S. Palmer Cup team for the second time. “If you go back and look at their track records over their careers, they’ve both played a lot of match play, and they know how to compete. They’ve been in pressure situations over and over again, and they know what it means to represent their country. I’ve seen how they reacted in matches we have played, in the regular season and in the NCAA championship, and I think they are both deserving and excited about playing.”
Schniederjans, named a semifinalist this week for the Ben Hogan Award, won the Carpet Capital Collegiate in the fall and has been a runner-up three other times among his seven top-10 finishes this year. He is currently ranked No. 8 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index and No. 14 in Golfstat. The Powder Springs, Ga., native has a team-best scoring average of 70.00 over 27 rounds in 2014-15 and a career mark of 70.89, which stands as the second-best in Tech golf history. He has six career collegiate victories, including five in 2013-14 when he was a finalist for the Hogan Award and was a first-team All-American. Schniederjans was named the ACC Player of the Year in 2014, winning the ACC Championship among his five victories.
A mainstay in the Tech lineup, Albertson has never missed a tournament in his career for the Yellow Jackets and is a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, as well as a two-time All-American. The Woodstock, Ga., native has been resurgent this spring, earning three top-10 finishes, including his second career victory at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate earlier this month. The recipient of this year’s Byron Nelson Award, Albertson has finished no lower than 11th in Tech’s last six events and has averaged 69.67 over his last 18 rounds. He is ranked No. 43 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index and No. 47 in Golfstat. Albert¬son’s career stroke-average of 71.42 over 140 rounds is third best in school history. He has 20 top-10 finishes, including 12 in the top five while at Georgia Tech, including a win at the 2013 ACC Championship.
Albertson becomes the 11th Georgia Tech player to be a part of a United States team for the Palmer Cup, and Schnierderjans becomes the fourth Yellow Jacket to compete in at least two Palmer Cups. They join James White (2012), Cameron Tringale (2009), Chesson Hadley (2008), Roberto Castro (2005, 2006), Kevin Larsen (2006), Bryce Molder (1998. 1999, 2001) and Matt Kuchar (1998, 1999). Tech coach Bruce Heppler served as coach of the U.S. team in 2003, and former assistant coach Christian Newton was an assistant coach for the 2012 USA team.
“It’s an honor to do this for the second time,” said Heppler, who captained the U.S. team in the 2003 Palmer Cup at Kiawah Island, S.C. “There are a lot of coaches who could’ve been picked. It’ll be a challenge, but we are up for it, and we will put our best foot forward.”
Schniederjans has represented the United States in international competition several times before, and this will be his second opportunity to compete in the Palmer Cup. The Tech senior participated last summer at Walton Heath, England, where he went 3-1 in his matches. He also competed on the American side in the World Junior Golf Team Championship in Japan and the Junior Ryder Cup in Scotland in the summer of 2010. In the Ryder Cup event, Schniederjans roomed with current PGA Tour pro and 2015 Masters champion Jordan Speith and played alongside teammates who became successful collegians like Anthony Paolucci of Southern California and Denny McCarthy of Virginia.
Jon Rahm of Arizona State (Spain) led the six players from Europe selected by the Palmer Cup Ranking. He was joined by his Arizona State teammate Max Rottluff (Germany), Rowin Caron of Florida State (Netherlands), ETSU’s Adrian Meronk (Poland), Clement Sordet from Texas Tech (France) and Thomas Detry from Illinois (Belgium) from the ranking. Committee selections were Gary Hurley of Maynooth (Ireland) and Vanderbilt’s Matthias Schwab (Austria). Mathias Eggenberger of Stirling (Liechtenstein) qualified for Team Europe by winning The R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament. Pep Angles of Central Arkansas (Spain) was Jean Van de Velde’s coach’s pick.
Rahm, Detry and Angles were members of last year’s victorious European squad while Hurley was a member of the 2013 team at Wilmington Country Club. Meronk is the first Palmer Cup player from Poland while Schwab and Eggenberger are the first from Austria and Liechtenstein, respectively. Counting its coaching staff, Europe is represented by a Palmer Cup record 10 countries.
The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 9-8-1 and is 7-2 on American soil.
Congratulations to @AndersAlbertson & @ollie_gt – named to USA team for 2015 Palmer Cup with Coach Bruce Heppler. pic.twitter.com/Q1DZFTrcC3
— Georgia Tech Golf (@GT_GOLF) April 17, 2015
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 20th year under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 27 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GT_Golf). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
