Chula Vista, Calif. – Hiroshi Tai carded rounds of 68 and 71 Monday and is tied for ninth place individually, and 13th-ranked Georgia Tech is in seventh place as a team at 6-under-par 570 after after 36 holes of the RE Lamkin Invitational.
The Yellow Jackets posted a 5-under-par total of 283 in the morning round of Monday’s 36-hole day, and followed with a 1-under-par 287 in the afternoon. Tech sits 12 strokes off the pace set by Colorado and Fresno State, who are tied for first place at 18-under-par 558.
The final round of the tournament is set for Tuesday starting at 11 a.m. EST from the first and 10th tees. Three of the 16 teams are ranked in the current Scoreboard NCAA Golf Rankings – Washington (4), Georgia Tech (13) and New Mexico (19) – with five others listed in the top 50.
TECH LINEUP – Tai and Christo Lamprecht were the only Yellow Jackets to break par in both rounds on Monday. Tai’s morning round included an eagle and four birdies, and the sophomore from Singapore birdied three holes and recorded another eagle in the afternoon. Tai is tied for ninth place at 5-under-par 139, four strokes off the pace.
Lamprecht shot 71 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon for a 36-hole total of 141 (-3), tied for 19th place. The senior from George, South Africa posted 10 birdies and an eagle over 36 holes.
Freshmen Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) mirrored each other with rounds of 72-73 Monday and are tied for 43rd place individually, while senior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) shot 72-74, not factoring into the Jackets’ team score in the afternoon.
Sophomore Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), competing as an individual, struggled with rounds of 78-73 and is tied for 79th place.
Hiroshi Tai is in the top 10 individually after rounds of 68-71 Monday. (photo by Derrick Tuskan)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Fresno State shot the best score in the morning round, a 12-under-par 276 with four players under par, while Colorado matched the score in the afternoon, also with four players under par. They are tied for first place after 36 holes at 18-under-par 558. Co-host San Diego, 11-under-par in the afternoon, and Loyola Marymount are tied for third place, one shot back at 17-under-par 559.
Co-host San Diego State has fifth place at 567 (-9), followed by 19th-ranked New Mexico (569, -7) and No. 13 Tech (570, -6).
Wyoming and Cal Poly (both at 573, -3), Saint Mary’s (574, -2) and No. 4 Washington (575, -1) are also under par through 36 holes.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – San Diego’s Craig Ronne fired a 7-under-par 65 in the afternoon round to take the individual lead at 9-under-par 135, one stroke ahead of Mason Snyder of Loyola Marymount (136, -8), who shot 65 in the morning.
Fresno State’s Matthew Sutherland and Loyola Marymount’s Riley Lewis (137, -7) are tied for third place, followed by a group of four players at 6-under-par 138, led by Colorado’s Hunter Swanson.
Tech’s Hiroshi Tai is in a group of four players tied for ninth at 139 (-5).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech is in the RE Lamkin Invitational for the first time in the event’s 17-year history. The tournament follows the traditional collegiate 54-hole, 5-count-4, stroke-play format, with 36 holes Monday and 18 holes Tuesday. The event is contested at San Diego Country Club, a venue measuring 7,033 yards (par 72).
The 16-team field includes BYU (43), Cal Poly, Colorado (70), Colorado State (57), Fresno State (48), Georgia Tech (13), Hawai’i, LSU (29), Loyola Marymount (41), New Mexico (19), Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Diego State (31), Santa Clara, Washington (4) and Wyoming.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 29th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, having won 72 tournaments in his tenure. Heppler is the 10th-longest-tenured head coach in Division I men’s golf. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 33 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
