Fort Worth, Texas – Bartley Forrester shot rounds of 69-65 Monday in the opening 36 holes, and the senior from Gainesville, Fla., has a 1-shot lead at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational. The No. 8-ranked Yellow Jackets, after posting a 2-under-par morning round to take a share of first place, stumbled to 12-over in the afternoon round and are tied for 10th place in the team race.
In a bid to claim the third victory of his college career, Forrester played a bogey-free afternoon 18 holes with five birdies at the par-70 Colonial Country Club, taking a 1-stroke lead over Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen. He had one bogey against a pair of birdies in his morning round of 69.
The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, dropped 20 strokes behind North Carolina after matching the Tar Heels in the opening round.
ROUND 2 SUMMARY – While Forrester fashioned his 5-undr-par 65, Tech counted a 4-under-par 74 from freshman Hiroshi Tai, a 6-over-par 76 from Christo Lamprecht and a 7-over-par 77 from freshman Aidan Tran in the afternoon, giving the Yellow Jackets a 12-over-par score of 292 and a 10-over-par total of 570 for 36 holes. Lamprecht, who won the Inverness Intercollegiate in Tech’s last time out, and Tai are tied for 52nd place at 5-over-par 145, the closest Jackets to Forrester on the leaderboard.
Connor Howe, who has finished third and 14th in Tech’s two prior events this fall, did not count for his team in either round Saturday after posting rounds of 73-79.
ROUND 1 SUMMARY – Tech shared the 18-hole lead with North Carolina with a 2-under-par score of 278 after Forrester, Lamprecht and Tran each carded 1-under-par rounds of 69. Tai added a 1-over-par 71 for the Yellow Jackets’ fourth counting score.
Bartley Forrester is bidding for his third career tournament victory, leading by one stroke after 36 holes. (photo by Stacie McBride)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – While Tech descended on the leaderboard in the afternoon, 13th-ranked North Carolina posted the best score of the round, an 8-under-par 272, and finished 36 holes at 10-under-par 550. The Tar Heels, who have four players among the top 12 individuals on the leaderboard, are four strokes ahead of No. 3 Stanford (554, -6), which shot 7-under-par 273 in the afternoon. No. 6 Arizona State, which matched North Carolina’s 8-under-par afternoon score, sits in third place at 557 (-3), with No. 25 Pepperdine in fourth at 558 (-2) and No. 7 Texas Tech in fifth at 559 (-1).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Forrester’s 6-under-par 134 total is one stroke ahead of Thorbjornsen, who carded rounds of 69-66 Monday. David Ford and Austin Greaser of North Carolina, Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech and William Mouw of Pepperdine are tied for third place another stroke back at 136 (-4).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Yellow Jackets are competing in the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational for the first time. Hosted by TCU, the tournament consists of 36 holes on Monday beginning with a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday’s 18-hole round will begin at 8 a.m. off of holes No. 1 and No. 10.
Colonial Country Club, which measures 7,204 yards and plays to a par of 70, has hosted an annual PGA Tour event since 1946, the longest running non-major tour event to be held at the same venue. The club was started in 1936 and hosted the 1941 U.S. Open, the 1975 Tournament Players Championship and the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open. The course sits along the bank of the Trinity River and is located less than a mile from the campus of TCU.
The Ben Hogan event will include 14 teams that competed in the 2022 NCAA Championship, including all eight that advanced to match play. Thirteen of the 16 teams are currently ranked among the nation’s top 25 according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll of Sept. 30. The complete field (with current Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches ranking) – Vanderbilt (1), Oklahoma (2), Stanford (t3), Arizona State (6), Texas Tech (7), Georgia Tech (8), Florida (10), Oklahoma State (11), North Carolina (13), Georgia (17), Texas (19), Wake Forest (t21), Pepperdine (25), Oregon (29), Southern California and TCU.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets 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 is in its 28th year 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.
