THE FLATS – No. 21 Georgia Tech golf heads to the Sunshine State to begin its quest for its 20th all-time Atlantic Coast Conference championship this week when the 72nd ACC Men’s Golf Championship commences at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City, Fla.
Action gets underway on Thursday as 15 teams will compete for the prestigious title. The tournament format will include 54 holes of stroke play to determine eight teams that qualify for match play. Twelve teams enter the tournament ranked among the top 50 in the Scoreboard NCAA Rankings, with five of those, including the Yellow Jackets ranked in the top 25.
The ACC Championship returns to the state of Florida for the third time in the history of the championship, and will be played at the Shark’s Tooth Golf Club (par 72, 7,199 yards) for the second time (2022 was the first). Georgia Tech has had success in ACC Championships played in Florida, capturing the title in 2001 and finishing runner-up in 2022.
Georgia Tech, the No. 4 seed, will be paired with No. 24 Florida State and No. 27 Duke in the first round beginning at 9:22 a.m. from the 10th tee. Pairings were based on recent Scoreboard rankings released on April 15.
Head coach Bruce Heppler’s team, which picked up a victory this season at the Pauma Valley Invitational last month, is coming off a 5th-place finish at the Ford Collegiate to close out spring competition for its fourth top-5 finish of the season. The Yellow Jackets made significant improvement on the final day, jumping four spots on the team leaderboard with a three-round team total of 11-under-par 829.
The ACC Championship will utilize a split-tee start format each day of stroke play, playing 18 holes Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting at 8 a.m. Central Daylight Time (9 a.m. EDT). The top eight teams on the leaderboard on Saturday qualify for match play, with quarterfinal and semifinal matches taking place Sunday starting at 7:30 a.m. CT. The championship match will be played at 9 a.m. CT on Monday.
TECH LINEUP
Georgia Tech will travel the same starting five lineup to the Panhandle: Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden), Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) and Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.). Brady Rackley IV (Atlanta, Ga.) will serve as Tech’s alternate.
A trio of Yellow Jackets posted sub-par rounds on the final day of the Ford Collegiate to help Tech jump into the top 5 as Tai, Reuter and Hansson were all able to break par on the final round. With a 64 on the final day, Tai finished tied for sixth-place, just five strokes off the leader, for his third top-10 finish of the season.
Tran was just outside the top 25 at the Ford, tying for 26th behind a 1-under-par 209 showing. The senior has five top-25 finishes this season with his best showing coming at Tech’s home tournament, the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, where he tied for fourth alongside teammate, Tai.
Tech’s second top-25 finish came from Hansson who finished the Ford Collegiate with a 2-under-par 68. The sophomore, and reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, posted a 3-under-par 207 for the tournament to finish in a three-way tie for 21st.
Reuter posted his best finish of the season at the Amer Ari Invitational in February, tying for 24th as the redshirt-senior has recorded six top-50 finishes, most recently tying for 49th at the Ford Collegiate.
Rounding out Tech’s lineup, Fontenot is coming off a tie for 44th at the Ford Collegiate. The junior recorded his best finish of the season at the Fighting Illini Invitational in the fall, tying for 19th.
TECH’S ACC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Georgia Tech has won 19 ACC men’s golf championships, tying the Yellow Jackets with Wake Forest for the most titles in conference history. Tech’s titles have all come from 1985 to the present. Before the Demon Deacons outlasted the Jackets in the championship match in 2022, Wake Forest’s most recent title had occurred in 1989.
Tech has won the ACC Championship 11 times in the last 19 years, most recently in 2023. The 2020 ACC Tournament was not held after the 2020 spring season was cut short due to Covid-19.
Fourteen of Tech’s conference titles have come under head coach Bruce Heppler, 12 of those outright (1999, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2023) and two shared (2006, 2007).The Yellow Jackets have won five championships (1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) under previous head coach Puggy Blackmon.
Twelve of Tech’s ACC titles have been won at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C., site of the event 22 of the last 28 years. The others took place at Bryan Park Golf Course in Greensboro, N.C. (1985), Northgreen Country Club in Rocky Mount, N.C. (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994), Disney’s Magnolia Course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (2001) and the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, N.C. (2023).
Georgia Tech has produced 11 ACC individual champions, including Bob McDonnell (1985), David Duval (1991, 1993), Mikko Rantanen (1994), Bryce Molder (2000), Cameron Tringale (2006), Chesson Hadley (2010), Paul Haley II (2011), Anders Albertson (2013, 2015) and Ollie Schniederjans (2014). Albertson and Duval are among five ACC players to have won two championships.
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 74 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.
