Panama City, Fla. – Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) and Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) were both victorious on Sunday, but No. 21 Georgia Tech fell in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to No. 25 Florida State in the quarterfinal match of the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship.
Seeking a spot in the semifinals, the Yellow Jackets and Seminoles played a back-and-forth battle from start to finish. FSU won the first match from Jacky Whaley before Fontenot and Tai completed their matches on back-to-back holes to give Georgia Tech a 2-1 match lead down the stretch. But Florida State outlasted the Jackets on the final two matches at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club to overcome the deficit with Patrick McCann defeating Benjamin Reuter and Tyler Weaver sealing the victory over Aidan Tran.
Whaley captured the first match over Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden). Hansson never led in his match, but maintained close position on the back nine (Tech played off hole No. 10) before falling into a 2-hole deficit. Whaley took a 3-up lead on 8 to secure the early lead for Florida State.
Georgia Tech would get on the board with Fontenot, who played a steady match against Wilmer Edero. The junior overcame a two-hole deficit at the turn and would take a 1-up lead with a birdie on 8. Both Fontenot and Edero parred the final hole as the Jacket knotted the match at 1-1.
Tai gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead with a 2&1 win over Jack Bigham. Tai won the first hole and maintained the lead through the first four holes before Bigham won 14 to tie it back up. Bigham would take a one-hole lead twice, but could not sustain the advantage as Tai took hole 3 and would grab a 1-up lead when Bigham bogeyed 6. Tai birdied 7 to go 2-up before Bigham conceded on 8 to secure the win for Tai.
But Florida State led on the final two matches down the stretch, capturing both for the victory. McCann had a 1-up lead over Reuter entering hole 8 as the Jacket double-bogeyed the hole to tie the score at 2-2. Tran approached 8 in a two-hole deficit to Weaver and after an aggressive tee shot, parred 8 to secure the win for Florida State.
Georgia Tech now returns home to await selections for the NCAA regional tournaments, which will be announced live on Golf Channel at 2 p.m. on May 6. Regional tournaments will take place May 18-20 at six different sites around the country.
Kale Fontenot won his match against Wilmer Edero 1-up.
EVENT DETAILS
Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
- Dates: April 23-27 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scores count for team score each day, top 8 teams advance to match play)
- Venue: Shark’s Tooth Golf Club, Panama City, Fla. (par 72, 7,199 yards)
- Participating teams (15): Boston College, California (50), Clemson (32), Duke (27), Florida State (24), Georgia Tech (21), Louisville (35), NC State, North Carolina (9), Notre Dame (29), SMU (46), Stanford (18), Virginia (2), Virginia Tech, Wake Forest (31)
- Tech appearances (appearances): 47th (last in 2025)
- Best finish: 19 titles (most recent in 2023)
- Individual titles: 10 (most recent, Anders Alberton in 2015)
- Schedule (all times Central Daylight Time):
- Thursday – Stroke play round 1 (8 a.m. from No. 1 and No. 10 holes)
- Friday – Stroke play round 2 (8 a.m. from No. 1 and No. 10 holes)
- Saturday – Stroke play round 3 (8 a.m. from No. 1 and No. 10 holes)
- Sunday – Quarterfinal matches (7:30 a.m.) and semifinal matches (following quarterfinals)
- Monday – Championship match (9 a.m.)
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 31st year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 34 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
