Final Results via Golfstat | Complete Results (PDF)
Palm City, Fla. – Andy Ogletree fired a career-low round of 63 (8-under-par) in the closing round Monday afternoon, and No. 9 Georgia Tech posted a 2-under-par total of 282 in the afternoon round to finish 12th at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational.
TECH LINEUP – Tech began the day in eighth place in a field stacked with top-25 teams, but slipped four positions after posting the highest score shot in the morning round (288, -4). The Jackets’ held that position with their 282 in the afternoon.
Ogletree carded the best round by a Georgia Tech golfer this year and the lowest score since teammate Luke Schniederjans shot 62 in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Stanford Regional. The junior from Little Rock, Miss., recorded eight birdies and an eagle in the afternoon after shooting a 74 in the morning round, and finished in a tie for 14th place at 5-under-par 208. Ogletree has been Tech’s highest finisher in all four spring events.
Sophomore Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.) led the Jackets in the morning round with a 2-under-par 69 and followed that with a 71 in the afternoon. Schniederjans shot a pair of 73s and counted for the Yellow Jackets in both rounds as well.
Tyler Strafaci was Tech’s fourth counter in the morning with a 73, while freshman Connor Howe (75) also counted for the Jackets in the afternoon round. Strafaci was Tech’s next highest finisher in a tie for 40th.
Noah Norton shot rounds of 69-71 Monday for the Yellow Jackets.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – No. 6 Wake Forest, tied for the lead with South Carolina after 18 and 36 holes, broke away from the Gamecocks with a 5-under-par round of 279 in the afternoon, scoring the team victory by six strokes with a 54-hole total of 827 (-25). No. 13 Auburn shot 8-under-par 276 in both rounds Monday, leaping to second place at 833 (-19), six shots behind the Demon Deacons.
No. 31 South Carolina stumbled to a 4-over-par 288 in the afternoon, finishing in third place at 836 (-16), while top-ranked Oklahoma State finished fourth at 838 (-14), and No. 3 Vanderbilt was fifth at 841 (-11).
Play was suspended due to darkness with Duke, in sixth place, and South Florida, in last place, having players still on the course. Those individuals will complete their final round at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – The Cowboys’ Matthew Wolff, the nation’s top-ranked individual, shot 66-68 Monday, holding off a final-round charge from Florida State’s John Pak to capture a one-stroke victory, finishing 54 holes at 14-under-par 199. Pak shot 69-65 Monday to finish at 13-under-par 200.
Texas A&M’s Chandler Phillips finished third at 12-under-par 201, followed by Wake Forest’s Cameron Young at 208 (-8). Oklahoma State’s Viktor Hovland and Duke’s Alex Smalley, both ranked in the nation’s top 10, were in a five-way tie for fifth place at 296-
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech made its sixth appearance in the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, which began in 2014 and has become one of the spring’s premier events at one of Florida’s top golf venues. The 54-hole event is played at the 6,921-yard, par-71 Floridian National Golf Club, part of The Floridian Resort and Spa.
The 15-team field, the strongest the Yellow Jackets have faced this spring, includes 12 teams ranked among the nation’s top 50 according to Golfstat – #1 Oklahoma State, #2 Duke, #6 Wake Forest, #8 Texas, #9 Georgia Tech, #11 LSU, #18 Arkansas, #20 USF, #23 Baylor, #27 Texas A&M, #30 Florida State, #31 South Carolina, Houston (host school), Lamar and UT Arlington.
The Yellow Jackets won the inaugural event in 2014 and has finished second and fourth the last two years. Sophomore Tyler Strafaci won the individual title in 2017, while Ollie Schniederjans won medalist honors at the 2014 tournament. A sponsor’s exemption into the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship goes to the individual winner.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 24th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, having won 53 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 17 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 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). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
