THE FLATS – For the 12th time in the last 15 years and for the 15th time since 2000, Georgia Tech has been ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation in the final polls in both Golfstat and the Golfweek/Sagarin Index. The Yellow Jackets are No. 6 in the final Golfstat rankings and No. 8 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index.
Tech, in its 23rd year under head coach Bryce Heppler, won four tournaments, including the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship for the 17th time in program history and for the ninth time in the last 12 years. The Jackets also won the General James Hackler Championship in the spring, and in the fall captured titles at the Carpet Capital Collegiate and the Franklin American Mortgage Collegiate.
Golfstat rankings | Golfweek/Sagarin Index
Tech played in an NCAA regional for the 21st straight year and for the 28th time in the 30 years the NCAA has used a regional format to qualify teams for the NCAA Championship Finals. The Jackets finished in sixth place and missed by one stroke of advancing to the Finals.
Four Yellow Jackets – freshman Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.), senior Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.) and sophomores Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Tyler Strafaci (Davie, Fla.) – earned All-ACC honors, with Norton being named ACC Freshman of the Year. Those four Jackets, plus senior Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.) and senior Jacob Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.), finished among the top 100 individuals in Division I as ranked by Golfstat.
2017-18 National Rankings
Golfstat – 6
Golfweek/Sagarin Index – 8 (strength of schedule=17)
Head-to-Head – 121-21-4
vs. Top 100 – 91-21-4
vs. Top 50 – 60-20-4
vs. Top 25 – 31-16-2
Individuals – (Golfstat/Golfweek)
Jacob Joiner – 76 / 184
Noah Norton – 57 / 72
Andy Ogletree – 86 / 101
Chris Petefish – 98 / 97
Luke Schniederjans – 71 / 90
Tyler Strafaci – 54 / 62
SUMMER AMATEUR UPDATE
● Tyler Strafaci became the first Georgia Tech undergraduate player to compete in the U.S. Open in 20 years last week, having been one of 21 players to advance through a local and a sectional qualifier to be one of 20 amateurs in the 156-player field. The Davie, Fla., junior sat on the cutline (+8) through 15 holes of his second round on Friday before recording bogey at his last two holes to finish at +10. Still, he matched or beat four former U.S. Open champions.
● Rising juniors Andy Ogletree and Luke Schniederjans each have posted a top-10 finished over the past couple of weeks, Ogletree turning in a tie for third at last weekend’s Monroe Invitational in Pittsford, N.Y., and Schniederjans tying for sixth place at The Dogwood in Atlanta.
● Ogletree steadily moved up the leaderboard at the Monroe, posting scored of 70-69 in the final two rounds to finish at 284 (+4), two shots out of the lead. Incoming freshman Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) tied for 31st (+12) in that event, while red-shirt freshman Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.) tied for 58th (+22).
● Schniederjans posted a 14-under-par total of 274 at The Dogwood, but was eight strokes off the lead, while James Clark (Columbus, Ga.), Ogletree and Smith missed the 54-hole cut.
● Schniederjans returned to action last weekend and tied for 45th place (288, +8), while rising sophomore Noah Norton tied for 48th (289, +9) at the Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnstown, Pa.
● Incoming freshman Luka Karaulic (Dacula, Ga.) had a solid summer start with a tie for 23rd place at the Southeastern Amateur in Columbus, Ga., with a 5-over-par score of 285, while Clark tied for 36th (287, +7) and incoming freshman Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) missed the 54-hole cut.
● Four Yellow Jackets – Norton, Ogletree, Schniederjans and Strafaci – are competing in the Northeast Amateur in Rumford, R.I., which starts today, while Clark and Strafaci are currently in the field for next week’s North and South Amateur at Pinehurst Resort’s famed No. 2 course in Pinehurst, N.C.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team has completed 23 years under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 53 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 17 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 32 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) and Instagram.
