April 21, 2017
Clinton, S.C. – Vincent Whaley and Tyler Strafaci each fired 3-under-par 69s Friday to pace No. 20 Georgia Tech to an even-par 288 score and fourth place after the opening round of the 64th Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Musgrove Mill Golf Club.
SCHEDULE ALTERED FOR FINAL 36 HOLES – The schedule for the 2017 ACC Men’s Golf Championship has been altered due to inclement weather forecast for Sunday. ACC Network Extra coverage will be streamed from 12-2 p.m. and 5-7:30 p.m.
Originally scheduled for 18 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday, the second and third rounds will now be held on Saturday with play getting underway at 7:30 a.m. The second and third rounds will be played continuously utilizing split tee starts, and groups will not be repaired after the second round.
TECH LINEUP — Whaley, a senior from McKinney, Texas, played a steady round with five birdies and two bogeys on the way to his 69, a career low in seven ACC Championship rounds. Strafaci, a freshman from Davie, Fla., making his ACC Championship debut, also birdied five holes against a pair of bogeys. They are tied for seventh place individually, three shots off the lead.
Freshman Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.) played his last six holes 2-under-par to finish with a 73 (+1), while junior James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) added a 77 (+5) after recording consecutive double-bogeys at 8, 9 and 10. Freshman Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) shot 78 and did not count.
TEAM LEADERBOARD — Matt Oshrie and Jake Shuman each shot 68, while Alexander Matlari added a 69 to lead No. 21 Duke to an 11-under-par 277 on Friday. The Blue Devils are one shot ahead of No. 27 Florida State (278, -10), led by Cristobal Del Solar’s 5-under-par 67. No. 14 Clemson, which has won five straight tournaments this spring, is in third place at 8-under-par 280 behind a 66 from Bryson Nimmer.
At even-par 288, Tech is eight shots back of the Tigers and three ahead of NC State (291, +3). Top-seeded and ninth-ranked Wake Forest shot 291, +4 and is in sixth place.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD — Clemson’s Nimmer bogeyed the final hole but shot 66 and carries a one-stroke lead into Saturday’s second round over FSU’s Del Solar and North Carolina’s Ben Griffin, who each shot 67. Duke’s Oshrine and Shuman are in a three-way tie at 68 with the Seminoles’ Harry Ellis.
Whaley and Strafaci are in a group of five players, including Duke’s Matlari, Virginia Tech’s Logan Yates and Clemson’s Carson Young, at 69. Seven other players shot under par in the opening round Friday.
COACH Bruce Heppler SAYS — “It’s tough to beat really good teams without having four good scores. You’ve got to have some depth. The course is tough, the greens are good, it’s short (6,951 yards), and you can shoot a big number if you don’t put the ball in the right place. Vince and Tyler both played well today. Andy rallied with his three birdies on the back, but you need a fourth score to compete with these teams. We’ll get back out there tomorrow and try to play a little better.”
TECH’S ACC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY — Georgia Tech has two of the last three Atlantic Coast Conference championships, six of the last eight and eight of the last 11. Tech’s 16 ACC men’s golf titles in history ranks second among conference schools behind Wake Forest (18). Tech has won 11 of its conference titles under current head coach Bruce Heppler, nine of those outright (1999, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015) and two shared (2006, 2007). The Yellow Jackets won five championships (1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) under previous head coach Puggy Blackmon.
Albertson became Tech’s 10th ACC individual champion, winning twice in 2013 and 2015, joining Bob McDonnell (1985), David Duval (1991, 1993), Mikko Rantanen (1994), Bryce Molder (2000), Cameron Tringale (2006), Chesson Hadley (2010), Paul Haley (2011), Albertson (2013, 2015) and Ollie Schniederjans (2014).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The 64th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship is being contests this year at the 6,951-yard, par-72 Arnold Palmer designed course at the Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, S.C..
Five ACC teams are ranked in the Golfstat Top 25, with Wake Forest leading the way at No. 9 and followed by No. 15 Clemson, No. 17 Virginia, No. 20 Georgia Tech and No. 21 Duke. Four ACC golfers rank in the Top 25 of the Golfstat individual rankings: No. 4 Will Zalatoris (Wake Forest), No. 14 Cristobal Del Solar (Florida State), No. 15 Jimmy Stanger (Virginia), and No. 22 Doc Redman (Clemson).
2017 marks the second time the ACC Men’s Golf Championship will be held in South Carolina, and first since 1964, when it was held at Forest Lakes Country Club in Columbia, S.C.
Wake Forest leads all schools with 18 league titles and 22 individual champions. Georgia Tech, which has won 14 outright ACC Championships and shared two more, has produced 11 individual medalists. North Carolina is third with 11 titles (10 outright), followed by Clemson with 10 (nine outright).
