Oct. 30, 2016
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf team finishes off its fall schedule Monday and Tuesday by competing in a unique match play event at one of the nation’s legendary golf courses in the Cypress Point Classic at Cypress Point Golf Club in Pebble Beach, Calif.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Cypress Point Classic is a bracketed match play event hosted by Stanford and featuring Alabama, California, Georgia, Southern California, UCLA and Wake Forest, six of whom are ranked among the top 30 teams in the nation by Golfstat. The eight teams competing have been pre-seeded No. 1 through No. 8 in order by average ranking between Golfstat and Golfweek rankings seven days prior to event. No. 1 seed will play No. 8 seed, etc., in the first round of bracketed play. Winners will go forward in bracket, losers will move to consolation bracket. Each team will be guaranteed three matches under each format outlined.
The first two rounds will be played Monday. Round one will feature fourball, or best ball, matches. Teams will compete in foursomes, or alternate shot, matches in round two. Round three on Tuesday will feature singles matches.
Four total points will be available per match. One point each will be awarded for front nine match, back nine match, and two points for the over-all match. Each match will be played over 18 holes under format during that round. The total number of “holes won” by each side over the full 18-holes will settle ties. Teams with highest point total at the end of each round will advance in the bracket.
FIRST-ROUND PAIRINGS – Monday’s first round features top-seed Stanford vs. No. 8 California and No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech in the upper half of the bracket. In the lower half, No. 2 Wake Forest takes on No. 7 UCLA, and No. 3 Southern California faces No. 6 Alabama. Competition for the first round begins at 8 a.m. local time.
There is no live scoring available online due to Cypress Point’s prohibition of mobile devices on its grounds.
TEAM UPDATE – Georgia Tech, No. 29 in this week’s Golfstat rankings and No. 30 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, returns to action after nearly a full month since its last outing, a sixth-place finish at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. The Yellow Jackets opened the fall by finishing fifth at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. Freshman Luke Schniederjans, who won the Carpet Capital Collegiate and tied for 13th at the Maui Jim, is ranked 13th individually in Golfstat and eighth in the Sagarin ratings.
Head coach Bruce Heppler has everybody back from his 2015-16 team which played in an NCAA regional last spring but did not advance to the NCAA finals, and has added a highly-regarded class of four freshmen who were all rated among the top 100 junior golfer in their class.
TECH LINEUP – Tech’s travel team for the season-ending event was created using a qualification system based on points accumulated through players finishes in the Yellow Jackets’ first three events this fall and team qualifying rounds.
The Yellow Jackets are represented by senior Vince Whaley (McKinney, Texas), juniors James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) and Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.), sophomore Tyler Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.) and freshmen Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Tyler Strafaci (Davie, Fla.).
For the first two rounds of fourball and foursomes matches, Tech’s pairings will be Clark and Whaley, Joiner and Petefish, and Schniederjans and Strafaci.
COACH Bruce Heppler ON THE CYPRESS POINT CLASSIC – “We’re playing an iconic golf course, so that makes this a unique experience. We want our players to experience opportunities like this. It’s much more so like a Ryder Cup, or even a Palmer Cup from that standpoint. It’s just you against somebody, or you and your partner against somebody, and that’s a great opportunity to learn something about yourself.”
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is entering its 22nd under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 16 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 (@GT_Golf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
