THE FLATS – Looking to defend its 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference championship and earn another trip to the NCAA Championship in May, Georgia Tech’s 10th-ranked golf team opens its spring golf schedule with its annual trip to Hawai’i and will compete in two events in California and two in Florida as part of its 2024 spring campaign.
Head coach Bruce Heppler’s team begins the spring ranked No. 10 in the nation following a strong fall in which the Yellow Jackets finished third at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the East Lake Cup, and were the runner-up team at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational.
Tech starts its campaign by traveling to the Big Island of Hawai’i for the Amer Ari Intercollegiate, an event Tech has competed in every year since 1999, then heads down to Panama City, Fla., for its fourth appearance in the Watersound Invitational, an event the Jackets won in 2021 and finished runner-up last spring.
In March, the Yellow Jackets travel twice to California for the Lamkin Invitational in San Diego (March 4-5) and The Goodwin in San Francisco (March 28-30), sandwiched around a trip to nearby Greensboro, Ga., for the Linger Longer Invitational. Tech finished second in both The Goodwin and Linger Longer events last spring. The Goodwin, in which Tech finished second last year, is contested at TPC Harding Park, which has hosted a Presidents Cup and a PGA Championship.
Tech gets its final prep for the ACC Championship by competing in the Calusa Cup in Naples, Fla., an event the Yellow Jackets won the last time they played there in 2022.
Heppler and the Jackets then turn their attention to defending the ACC Championship, which is set for April 19-22 in Charlotte (N.C.) Country Club. Tech defeated Duke and Wake Forest at match play to capture their 19th all-time ACC title last spring, tying the Demon Deacons for the most titles in conference history (19).
NCAA Regionals are set for May 13-15 at six sites around the country, with the top 30 teams advancing to the NCAA Championship, May 24-29 at the Omni LaCosta Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
All-American Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa), who won twice in the fall and begins the spring ranked No. 2 in the collegiate rankings and No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), a top-100 player in the collegiate rankings last year, are set for their final spring as Yellow Jackets, competing with sophomore Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), a two-time winner and the ACC individual runner-up as a freshman.
They headline a group of eight returning letterwinners, and the Jackets add a pair of freshmen ranked among the nation’s top 15 juniors in the class of 2023 in Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.).
The Yellow Jackets begin the spring ranked No. 10 nationally after one runner-up and two third-place finishes in the fall.
SPRING SCHEDULE DETAILS
Amer Ari Intercollegiate
- Dates: February 8-10 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Venue: Mauna Lani North Course, Kamuela, Hawai’i
- Participating teams (20): Arizona State, Auburn, Cal-Davis, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Hawai’i, Hawai’i-Hilo. North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Jose State, Stanford, Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA, Washington
Watersound Invitational
- Dates: February 19-21 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Venue: Watersound Club (Shark’s Tooth Course), Panama City, Fla.
- Participating teams: field to be announced
Lamkin Invitational
- Dates: March 4-5 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Venue: Chula Vista, Calif., San Diego Country Club
- Participating teams (16): BYU, Cal Poly, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Georgia Tech, Hawai’i, LSU, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Diego State, Santa Clara, Washington, Wyoming
Linger Longer Invitational
- Dates: March 17-19 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Venue: Great Waters Golf Course at Lake Oconee, Greensboro, Ga.
- Participating teams (14): Alabama, Augusta, Charlotte, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, Mercer, UNC Greensboro, Virginia, Wofford
The Goodwin
- Dates: March 28-30 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Venue: TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, Calif.
- Participating teams (30): Appalachian State, BYU, California, Cal Baptist, Cal Davis, Cal Poly, Clemson, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Howard, Lipscomb, Little Rock, Long Beach State, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Diego State, Santa Clara, South Florida, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Utah, Utah Tech, Washington State
Calusa Cup
- Dates: April 7-9 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Venue: Calusa Pines Golf Club, Naples, Fla.
- Participating teams (8): Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, Purdue, Wake Forest
Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
- Dates: April 19-22 (stroke play, 54 holes, followed by two rounds of match play)
- Venue: Charlotte Country Club.
- Participating teams (12): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team has completed 27 years under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 31 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 (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
