Georgia Tech #ProJackets Golf Report

Top photo by Clyde Click  |  Front page photo by Danny Karnik

THE FLATS – Roberto Castro has been deeply involved in the development of the TGL golf tour … Ollie Schniederjans will compete in 2025 on the Asian Tour and as a LIV Golf reserve … Matt Kuchar and Vince Whaley open 2025 PGA Tour season in Hawai’i … Five Jackets open Korn Ferry Tour season in the Bahamas … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.

FORMER TECH STAR ROBERTO CASTRO SEES FRUIT OF HIS TGL LABOR

The new TGL golf league is the first of its kind, and former Georgia Tech All-American and longtime PGA standout Roberto Castro has enjoyed a unique view of its development.

Castro is the director for CapTech Ventures, the league’s technology provider, and has seen the TGL go from a concept to reality. He worked with TMRW Sports to set up the cadence for the matches and repeatedly tested them to make sure they were accurate, interesting and worked within the time slot.

“It was really the perfect combination of my sports background, my Georgia Tech engineering degree and a couple of other things,” said Castro, who decided to walk away from competition after COVID-19 hit. “A lot of our team that has worked on the project are software developers, computer engineers, data engineers and data architects. And then it’s like, would you happen too be interested in former PGA Tour payer help on the game’s strategy side. It’s been an absolute blast.”

The league, which was conceptualized by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, made its debut last week. It combines traditional golf with the technology of indoor simulated golf. Castro has spent many hours of testing at the facility and was on site for the first match.

More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Heading to Palm Beach for the first-ever TGL match. A few thoughts:

I’ve been consistently amazed at the work and commitment required to bring something like TGL to life. I was frequently reminded of this John Collison post:

“As you become an adult, you realize that things…

— Roberto Castro (@cicioCASTRO) January 5, 2025

The August ’22 rendering for TGL –> how it looked on Night 1 pic.twitter.com/3bV6jEed4Q

— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) January 8, 2025

TECH ALL-AMERICAN SCHNIEDERJANS TO BECOME LIV GOLF RESERVE

US pro Ollie Schniederjans has confirmed where he will ply his trade in the 2025 season – and it won’t be on his regular circuit, the Korn Ferry Tour. Instead, he will be a LIV Golf reserve player, while he will also play on the Asian Tour.

The 31-year-old confirmed the news via X, writing: “Gearing up for 2025 and excited for the great opportunity to be a @livgolf_league reserve player and to play the @asiantourgolf international series this year!”

Schniederjans, who is rarely seen wearing a hat on the course, shot to prominence when he finished T12 at the 2015 Open, and turned professional soon after. However, any hopes the Georgia Tech graduate had of establishing himself on the PGA Tour have proved hard to realize.

The former World No.1 amateur earned his PGA Tour card after his maiden Korn Ferry Tour season (then the Web.com Tour), and held the status between 2017 and 2019. However, after finishing outside the top 150 in the FedEx Cup standings at the end of the 2018/19 season, he returned to the developmental circuit, where he has remained ever since.

More from Golf Monthly

Gearing up for 2025 and excited for the great opportunity to be a @livgolf_league reserve player and to play the @asiantourgolf international series this year! pic.twitter.com/ruAhQheLXK

— Ollie Schniederjans (@ollie_gt) January 10, 2025

KUCHAR RECIPIENT OF NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY AWARD

Matt Kuchar was a four-year letterwinner for Georgia Tech, winning seven collegiate tournaments and earning All-America honors three times from the Golf Coaches Association of America. The 1997 U.S. Amateur Championship winner, Kuchar was named the 1998 Fred Haskins Player of the Year and finished his career with 25 top-10 finishes, ranking him among the best in program history. Kuchar helped Georgia Tech capture the 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and reach the NCAA championship three times. He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. Kuchar has enjoyed an illustrious professional golf career, with nine PGA Tour victories and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics. A veteran with more than 560 PGA Tour appearances, Kuchar has amassed over $60 million in career earnings.

Former @GTGolf golfer and #NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipient Matt Kuchar talks about how NCAA competition allowed him to chase his dreams! ⛳

🔗 https://t.co/ST6gXS8ckQ pic.twitter.com/HrMHCsuDiY

— NCAA (@NCAA) January 7, 2025

COMPETITION ROUND-UP

PGA TOUR

Matt Kuchar and Vince Whaley turned in solid performances in the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of 2025, the Sony Open in Hawai’i at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.

Kuchar began his 24th full season on the PGA Tour, competing in the Sony Open for the 20th time and looking for his second win in the event. He finished No. 109 in the FedExCup Fall standings and recorded one top-10 and 13 made cuts in 26 starts.

Whaley entered the 2024 the season on a Major Medical Extension with 18 starts available to earn 169.652 FedExCup points and match No. 125 from the 2022-23 FedExCup Fall and Eligibility Points List (Carl Yuan/439.740). He made 16 cuts in 25 starts to finish No. 103 in the FedExCup Fall standings. He recorded three top-10s, including a career-best runner-up result at the Barracuda Championship.

Leaderboard

*****

KORN FERRY TOUR

Five Georgia Tech alumni are kicking off the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season at the Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island. Paul Haley II spent last season on the PGA Tour but was unable to keep his card, while Seth Reeves, Ross Steelman and Richy Werenski all finished between No. 31 and 60 in Korn Ferry Tour points and kept their status for 2025.

Christo Lamprecht, who made just three cuts in 10 Korn Ferry Tour events in 2024, regained his status by tying for 19^th at the finals of the PGA Tour Qualifying School after making two cuts in fall events on the PGA Tour.

Korn Ferry Tour leaderboard

#PROJACKETS
Five Yellow Jackets are in the Bahamas for the start of the 2025 @KornFerryTour season.
Follow: https://t.co/Z8fdKfZTla#StingEm pic.twitter.com/SuwZ9xcybY

— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) January 13, 2025

UPCOMING EVENTS

• PGA Tour: The American Express • January 16-19, 2025 • Pete Dye Stadium Course • LaQuinta, Calif. • Purse: $8.8M • FedEx Cup points: 500
• Korn Ferry Tour:  The Bahamas Golf Classic (in progress) • January 14-17, 2025 • The Ocean Club Golf Course at Atlantis • Paradise Island, Bahamas • Purse: $1M • KFT points: 500
• PGA Tour Champions: Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalei • January 16-18, 2024 • Hualalei Golf Club • Ka’aupulehu-Kona, Hawai’i • Purse: $2M
• PGA Tour Americas: 93 Abierto del Centro • March 27-30, 2025 • Cordoba Golf Club • Cordoba, Argentina. • Purse: $225K
• Asian Tour: Smart Infinity Philipine Open • Jan. 23-26, 2025 • Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club • Philipines • Purse: $500K
• Asian Tour/International Series: International Series India • Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2025 • DLF Golf & Country Club • New Delhi, India • Purse: $2M
• LIV Golf Series: Riyadh • February 6-8, 2025 • Riyadh Golf Club • Saudi Arabia
• GPro Tour: Augustine Open • February 11-13, 2025 • The Palencia Club • St. Augustine, Fla.

#PROJACKETS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Fun day today #AboveTheClouds#SnowDay@The_McLemore

You gotta see it to believe it.

Come see us.

pic.twitter.com/BHQj4ZDetW

— Charlie Rymer (@CharlieRymerPGA) January 11, 2025

It’s been a couple years since I’ve posted on social media, but today is the perfect time to come back.

My little guy, Hampden, turns 4 today. We have had a great time celebrating and watching him open gifts.

Happy Birthday Hampden! pic.twitter.com/VsqZcXr04H

— Chesson Hadley (@chessonhadley) January 9, 2025