Sept. 9, 2017
Rocky Face, Ga. – Andy Ogletree fired a 4-under-par round of 68, and 18th-ranked Georgia Tech surged over the last five holes to post a 4-under team total of 284 and come within a shot of the lead after 36 holes at the 29th Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga.
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TECH LINEUP – The Yellow Jackets played the final five holes in 6-under-par with eight birdies. Ogletree, a sophomore from Little Rock, Miss., Chris Petefish, a senior from Danville, Calif., and Tyler Strafaci, a sophomore from Davie, Fla., had two birdies each over that stretch.
Ogletree played the back nine in 5-under-par, posting birdies at 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15. Paired with his opening round 69, his 7-under-par 137 total is three shots off the lead, tied for third place.
Strafaci followed his opening 74 with a 2-under-par 70 Saturday and is tied for 20th place at even-par 144. Petefish, sophomore Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) and freshman Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.) each shot 1-over-par 73.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Florida held onto its lead Saturday despite a 1-over-par team total of 289, led by individual leader Alejandro Tosti’s 68, but the Gators also had to count a 76 in its score. Their 36-hole total of 570 (-6) is one shot clear of the Yellow Jackets and Alabama, both at 5-under-par 571. The Crimson Tide posted the day’s best round of 277 (-11).
Tennessee holds fourth place at 572 (-4), followed by LSU and Auburn, tied for fifth at 575 (-1), and North Florida, in seventh place at 576 (even par). The rest of the 15-team field is over par.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Tosti, the Florida senior, has a 36-hole total of 134 (-10) and a two-stroke lead over Tennessee’s Lorenzo Scalise, who also shot 68 Saturday and has an 8-under-par 136 score. Ogletree is tied with Auburn’s Trace Crowe at 7-under-par 137.
Clemson’s Bryson Nimmer holds solo fifth place at 6-under-par 138, while North Florida’s Phillip Knowles and Clemson’s Turk Pettit are tied for sixth at 5-under 139. K.K. Limbhasut of California, Caleb Proveaux of Clemson and Luis Gagne of LSU are tied for eighth place at 4-under-par 140.
COACH BRUCE HEPPLER’S TAKE – “The back nine is where you have to get after it. We played that better than we did yesterday, and now we’re in a really good position. Andy hit it phenomenally again today. He hit 17 of 18 greens, and hit two of the par-5s in two, so he really had good control of his shots. We’ve had 10 competitive rounds so far, the worst has been a 74, so I’m pleased to be where we are going into the last round.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Carpet Capital Collegiate concludes Sunday at The Farm Golf Club, a 7,012-yard, par 72 layout designed by Tom Fazio near Dalton, Ga. The Yellow Jackets have been the institutional host of this event since its inception in 1989, winning seven times, most recently in 2013. Tech has finished fifth each of the last two years, placing behind Virginia, Auburn, Clemson and LSU last September, all of whom return to compete this weekend. The 14-team field for this year’s event includes pre-season top-20 teams Clemson and Virginia from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Auburn, Alabama, Florida and LSU from the Southeastern Conference.
TECH’S CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE HISTORY – Georgia Tech has won the Carpet Capital Collegiate seven times in its 28-year history, most recently in 2013, the most of any participant. Clemson has won four times, Alabama three. A Yellow Jacket has won medalist honors nine times, including each of the past four years (Luke Schniederjans last fall, Jacob Joiner in 2015, Ollie Schniederjans in 2013 and 2014). Current PGA Tour pros Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley, Troy Matteson and Bryce Molder also have claimed victory at The Farm, with Molder taking the title three consecutive times between 1998 and 1999, when the event moved from the spring to the fall schedule.
