Sept. 25, 2015
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Kingston Springs, Tenn. – James Clark fired rounds of 71-69 Friday and is in eighth place individually, while ninth-ranked Georgia Tech is 5-over-par and in seventh place after 36 holes at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup.
TEAM LEADERBOARD — Georgia Tech finds itself 12 shots off the pace of Virginia after 36 holes. The Cavaliers are at 7-under-par 561 after two excellent rounds of 280-281, six shots ahead of Vanderbilt (567, -1), which shot 279-288. Duke is in third place at even-par 568 after posting the day’s best score of any team (274) in the afternoon round. Top-ranked Florida State shot 6-over-par 290 in the afternoon and slipped to fourth place at 569 (+1). Florida and Georgia are tied for fifth place at 572 (+4), with the Yellow Jackets another shot in arrears at 570 (+5).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD — Alabama is in eighth place as a team, but Robby Shelton took a three-stroke lead individually heading into the final round, posting rounds of 67-67 for an 8-under-par total of 134. Florida State’s Hank Lebioda shot 68-69 and is in second place at 5-under 137. Ryan Orr of Florida, Jack Maguire of FSU and Jimmy Stanger of Virginia are tied for third at 4-under 138. Louisville’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist and Kentucky’s Tyler McDaniel are tied for sixth at 3-under 139.
Clark, a sophomore from Columbus, Ga., is in a five-player tie for eighth place at 2-under-par 140. Whaley is in a six-man tie for 16th at even-par 142, while Chris Petefish (145, +3) is tied for 29th and Michael Hines (146, +4) is tied for 36th. Jacob Joiner (151, +9) is tied for 45th.
TECH LINEUP — Clark’s 69 and Whaley’s second straight 71 led the Yellow Jackets to an afternoon score of 286 (+2), while Petefish and Hines each scored 73 to count. Tech shot 287 in the morning round, with Clark and Whaley each carding a 71, Petefish a 72 and Hines a 73. Joiner, who won the Carpet Capital Collegiate two weeks ago, did not count for the Jackets in either round.
COACH Bruce Heppler SAYS — “It was a positive day in a lot of ways. We made 19 birdies in the morning round, but had too many big scores. This afternoon we struggled to make birdies, but we stayed away from the big numbers. The course is a challenge, and our guys complete all 36 holes. We just need a couple of guys to get under par and give us some momentum. I’m looking forward to see how we handle tomorrow.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The DICK’S Sporting Good Collegiate Challenge Cup includes a 54-hole stroke-play tournament Friday and Saturday (final round set for Saturday), followed by an 18-hole match-play finale pitting the Atlantic Coast Conference teams against Southeastern Conference teams in the field to determine “Top Conference” honors. The 12-team field includes Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Virginia from the ACC, and Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt from the SEC. Ten of the 12 teams are listed in this week’s Golfweek/Sagarin Index top 50. The tournament is contested at the Golf Club of Tennessee in Franklin Springs, Tenn., outside of Nashville.
TECH’S TOURNAMENT HISTORY — In their first appearance in the event, the Yellow Jackets won the stroke-play portion last fall when senior Drew Czuchry holed a chip from the fringe of the 18th green. The stroke gave Tech a one-shot win over Vanderbilt and a 16-under-par tournament score of 848. Ollie Schniederjans (-8) finished third individually, while Czuchry (-4) tied for ninth, and Anders Albertson (-2) finished 13th. Tech and Vanderbilt tied their Sunday match, 2-2-1. James Clark (T23) and Vincent Whaley (T29) rounded out Tech’s starting five for the DICK’S Sporting Goods Challenge last fall and are back in the lineup for this weekend.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 21st year under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 16 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 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 (@GT_Golf). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
