May 15, 2013
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech junior Bo Andrews and 2012 graduate James White both advanced out of U.S. Open local qualifiers in the Atlanta area on Monday, and will play in a sectional qualifier in early June for a chance at playing in the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
Andrews, a Raleigh, N.C., native who will open play along with his teammates in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on Thursday, shot a 1-under-par 69 at Marietta Country Club to tie for second place and join a group of eight players who qualified out of a field of 130 players. Sophomore teammates Anders Albertson and Ollie Schniederjans each shot 71 to tie for 11th, one shot out of a playoff for the final qualifying spots.
Junior Seth Reeves (73), sophomore Drew Czuchry (74) and freshman Michael Hines (81) also played in the qualifier Monday.
White, an Acworth, Ga., native now playing on mini-tours and may play some Web.com Tour events, shot an even-par 72 to tie for fifth place and grab one of the eight qualifying spots available (out of 111 players) at Atlanta National Golf Club on Tuesday.
Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga., will play host to one of the 13 U.S. Open 36-hole qualifying tournaments on June 3, the day after the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship ends at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course.
Going Low
Georgia Tech alumnus Roberto Castro was not the only Yellow Jacket to go way low in the past week. Tech junior Bo Andrews shot a 9-under-par 61 during a team practice round May 8 at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course, where the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship will be held May 28-June 2 (the Crabapple Course will play to a par of 70 and measure 7,319 yards for the NCAA Championship).
One day later, Castro, a 2007 graduate of the Institute, tied the course record at the TPC Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra, Fla., with a 63 in the opening round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Castro went on to tie for 19th place at 5-under 283, earning $107,214 in the PGA Tour’s richest event.
Andrews has played well for the Jackets of late, capturing co-medalist honors at the Gary Koch Invitational in early April with rounds of 71-70-66.
Wang Graduates, Makes Pro Debut
Georgia Tech’s Minghao Wang, who has represented his native China in two World Amateur Championship events, just completed a five-year career in the Yellow Jackets’ golf program and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration on May 4.
Less than a week after commencement, Wang made his professional debut and made the cut at OneAsia’s GS Caltex Maekyung Open at the Namseoul Country Club near Seoul, Korea. He opened with rounds of 69 and 71 to comfortably make the cut and wound up finishing tied for 46th to earn his first paycheck of $4,445.
Wang, who attended high school in Florida, played 13 events during a Tech career that was limited by injury, and posted three top-20 finishes. His debut was featured in the South China Morning Post.
Tech Pro Update
Roberto Castro’s tie for 19th at THE PLAYERS was his second-highest finish of the season and moved him up 10 positions to 103rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
Matt Kuchar, who finished 46th in defense of his 2012 title at THE PLAYERS, is fifth in FedEx Cup points. Cameron Tringale is currently 46th in the standings, followed by Stewart Cink (65th), Bryce Molder (81st), Nicholas Thompson (96th), Troy Matteson (171st) and Paul Haley II (221st).
Chesson Hadley (2010 graduate) has played seven events and made five cuts on the Web.com Tour, while Haley (2011) has played in nine events when not able to make the field for a PGA Tour event. Matt Weibring (2002) and James White are also playing some Web.com events.
Former Tech stars Chan Song (2005) and David Dragoo (2009) are full-time members of the Canadian Tour, which has been purchased by the PGA Tour.
