Sept. 8, 2017
Rocky Face, Ga. – Andy Ogletree fired a 3-under-par 69, and Chris Petefish added a 1-under-par 71 as 18th-ranked Georgia Tech posted a 1-under-par round of 287 Friday and sits in third place after the opening round of the 29th Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga.
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TECH LINEUP – Ogletree, a sophomore from Little Rock, Miss., birdied four holes, three of them on par-4s, and bogeyed one Friday, and is tied for fourth place individually, three shots off the pace. Petefish, a senior from Danville, Calif., also had only one bogey on his card and is tied for ninth place with four others who shot 71 Friday.
Noah Norton from Chico, Calif., one of the nation’s top freshmen, added a 73 Friday for the Yellow Jackets, while defending champion Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) and fellow sophomore Tyler Strafaci (Davie, Fla.) each shot 74.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Tech played steadier on the front nine of The Farm Golf Club’s 7,012-yard payout Friday, getting to 2-under-par at the turn, but struggled somewhat on the back with three double-bogeys collectively to finish at 1-under-par.
The Yellow Jackets are six shots behind Florida (281, -7), which was led by Alejandro Tosti’s 6-under-par 66. Tennessee (282, -6) is just one shot behind, riding a 67 from Chase Roswall and a 68 from Lorenzo Scalise.
The rest of the 14-team field is over par, with Auburn in fourth place at 289 (+1), followed by LSU and South Carolina tied for fifth place at 292 (+4).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Tosti, a senior for Florida, played a bogey-free round of 66, which included an eagle and four birdies, to take a one-shot lead over Roswall of Tennessee. The Vols’ Scalise is alone in third place with his 68.
Tech’s Ogletree is tied for fourth place with Auburn’s Trace Crowe and Dalton State’s Chase Cole at 69, while Kennesaw State’s Connor Coffee and Clemson’s Turk Pettit are tied for seventh at 70.
COACH BRUCE HEPPLER’S TAKE – “All in all, a pretty good day for the first round of the year. We had perfect conditions, the course was really challenging, and the greens were really fast, just ideal conditions. Andy had a chance to make some more birdies, but was in some tough spots on the greens. He was really good from tee to green. We had only a few big scores, we’ll go back out and see if we can play a little better tomorrow.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Carpet Capital Collegiate continues through 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.
