Los Cabos, Mexico – Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) and Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) helped paced No. 17 Georgia Tech at the Cabo Collegiate on Sunday as first round action got underway. Reuter and Tran both recorded 3-under-par rounds of 68, leading the Yellow Jackets to a seventh-place standing, just three strokes off the lead.
Making their first appearance in the tournament, the Yellow Jackets shot a 1-under-par team total of 283 to stand in seventh-place after the first 18 holes. No. 11 Oklahoma State holds a narrow one-stroke lead in first place at 4-under-par 280.
The competitive field in Los Cabos features 10 programs ranked in the latest Scorecard rankings – No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 20 Stanford, No. 27 Arizona State and No. 36 Florida State. Cal, Houston, Loyola (Md.), Rice and UC Santa Barbara round out the field.
In addition to the team title, for the third year in a row – and fourth overall – the tournament will once again provide the individual champion exemption to play on the PGA TOUR. This year’s winner earns an exemption to play in the World Wide Technology Championship at Diamante Cabo San Lucas in November.
Round 2 begins at 10:30 a.m. EST on Monday with another shotgun start.
TECH LINEUP – Tied for sixth individually, Tran and Reuter played nearly flawless rounds Sunday, recording five birdies, along with two bogeys, on their cards for Tech’s low rounds of the day of 68 (-3).
Senior Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) carded an even-par 71 and is tied for 25th after an up-and-down round with six birdies, but also a pair of triples. Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) posted a five-over-par 76 to stand in a tie for 60th entering second round action. Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) shot a 77 (+6) and did not factor in the Jackets’ team score.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Three-time team tournament champion, No. 11 Oklahoma State fired a 4-under-par team total of 280 to hold the lead after Sunday. But six teams are in close contention for the lead, including the Yellow Jackets.
No. 7 Arizona State and No. 9 Arkansas are tied for second place at 3-under-par 281, while Ole Miss, California and Rice share third-place at 2-under-par 282. Georgia Tech sits in seventh, completing the seven teams that finished under par after the first round of competition.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – California’s Ziqin Zhou tops the individual leaderboard after the opening round with a 7-under-par 64, three strokes ahead of a quartet of golfers at 4-under-par 67 – Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, Rice’s Raines Watson, and Arkansas’ Thomas Curry and Gerardo Gomez.
Another five golfers, including two Yellow Jackets, are tied for sixth at 68 (-3) – Eric Lee (Oklahoma State), Nathan Wang (Stanford), Tran and Reuter (Georgia Tech) and Michael Mjaaseth (Arizona State).
After round one, only 24 players were able to break par, including Tran and Reuter.
EVENT DETAILS
CABO Collegiate
- Dates: March 1-3 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Format: 18 holes Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
- Venue: Twin Dolphin Club (par 71, 7,156 yards)
- Participating teams (15): Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Loyola (Md.), Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Rice, Stanford, Tennessee, UC Santa Barbara, Vanderbilt
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.
