San Francisco, Calif. – Christo Lamprecht shot 3-under-par 67 and Connor Howe added a 1-under-par 69, but 11th-ranked Georgia Tech could not keep pace with No 13 Oklahoma on the back nine Saturday at TPC Harding Park and finished second to the Sooners at The Goodwin.
After finishing as a runner-up four times this year, including three this spring, the Yellow Jackets entered Saturday’s final round with a one-shot lead and battled neck and neck with the Sooners over the first nine holes. But Oklahoma pushed ahead at the turn and held its lead, and Tech dropped five shots on the final hole to finish six strokes back.
The Jackets return to action April 21-24 at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in Pinehurst, N.C.
TECH LINEUP – Lamprecht, a junior from George, South Africa, and Howe, a senior from Ogden, Utah, posted the Yellow Jackets’ only subpar rounds Saturday at TPC Harding Park, hampering Tech’s chances to keep pace with Oklahoma. Senior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Fla.) shot 1-over-par 71, while senior Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.) and freshman Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) each shot 4-over-par 74.
Lamprecht put together a strong finish with three birdies in his last four holes to shoot 67 and post a 7-under-par total of 203 for the tournament, good for second place. The junior from George, South Africa has three runner-up finishes this spring and six top-10 finishes, including one victory, for 2022-23. Howe posted a 3-under-par total of 207 for the 54 holes and tied for seventh place, his second top-10 in Tech’s last two events.
Steelman and Forrester tied for 11th place at 209 (-1), while Tai tied for 88th place at 219 (+9). Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands), competing as an individual, tied for 32nd place at 212 (+2).
Connor Howe has finished in the top 10 in each of Tech’s last two tournaments. (photo by Ross Obley)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Oklahoma had the day’s best round, a 6-under-par 274, behind a 5-under-par 65 from Patrick Welch and a 3-under-par 67 from tournament medalist Ben Lorenz. The Sooners finished the tournament at 18-under-par 822, six strokes clear of Georgia Tech, which compiled a 54-hole total of 828 (-12).
No. 8 Stanford, the tournament host, took third place at 1-under-par 839, followed by San Francisco at 841 (+1), with California and San Diego tying for fifth place at 842 (+2).
Southern California (846, +6), Oregon and Santa Clara (each at 847, +7) and Washington (849, +9) rounded out the top 10 in the 28-team field.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Oklahoma’s Lorenz completed a wire-to-wire victory with a final-round 67 and a tournament total of 201 (-9), two shots ahead of Georgia Tech’s Lamprecht (203, -7). Washington’s Bo Peng (204, -6) and Colorado’s Dylan McDermott (205, -5) took third and fourth places.
Oklahoma’s Welch and California’s Sampson Zheng tied for fifth at 206 (-4), while the Yellow Jackets’ Howe (207, -3) tied for seventh place with three others.
Tech’s Forrester and Steelman were part of a five-player tie for 11th place at 209 (-1).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech made its third appearance at The Goodwin, named for legendary head coach who led the Cardinal program from 1987-2000. Stanford’s feature home tournament is being played to one of the country’s elite courses, with TPC Harding Park hosting the event for the second time in school history after serving as headquarters in 2018. TPC Harding Park has played host to numerous PGA Tour events, including the 2009 Presidents Cup and the 2020 PGA Championship. TPC Harding Park was set up as a 6,939-yard, par-70 layout.
Tech, No. 8 Stanford and No. 13 Oklahoma were the highest ranked teams in the 28-team field, which also includes Brigham Young, California, Cal Poly, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech, Howard, Lipscomb, Little Rock, Mercer, Nevada, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Southern California, SMU, UC Davis, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
The top 12 finishers this week will be given automatic invitations to the 2024 event.
Host Stanford has won the tournament 16 times since the inaugural event in 1968. Past individual winners include major golf champions Tom Watson and Corey Pavin, as well as veteran PGA Tour pros like Duffy Waldorf and Billy Mayfair, and younger pros like Nick Taylor, Patrick Rodgers, Maverick McNealy and Brandon Wu.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets 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 28th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 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. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
