Sept. 26, 2015
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Kingston Springs, Tenn. – Vincent Whaley shot a 4-under-par 67 for the best individual round of the day, but it was not enough to lift Georgia Tech as the ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets finished in a tie for seventh place at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup.
Tech tied for the position with Florida at 15-over-par 867, and the two teams will face each other at match play Sunday in the conference challenge portion of the tournament.
TEAM LEADERBOARD — Vanderbilt came from six strokes behind in the final round to tie Virginia at the end of 54 holes, then pulled out the team title in a playoff. The Commodores shot 2-under-par 282 Saturday and caught the front-running Cavaliers, who shot 4-over 288. The teams tied with 54-hole totals of 849 (-3), nine shots clear of top-ranked Florida State, which shot 5-over 289 Saturday for a 6-over-par total of 858. Georgia (+4 Saturday) finished fourth at 860 (+8), followed by Duke and Kentucky (each at 863, +11).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD — Alabama’s Robby Shelton shot even-par 71 and maintained his three-shot margin, earning medalist honors with an 8-under-par total of 205. Florida State’s Hank Lebioda matched Shelton’s 71 Saturday and finished at 5-under-par 208. Whaley’s 67 was the best individual round of the day and lifted the Tech junior into a tie for third place at 4-under 209 with Louisville’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist. Jack Maquire of FSU, Derek Bard of Virginia and Tyler McDaniel of Kentucky tied for fifth at 3-under 210. Four other players finished under par for 54 holes.
TECH LINEUP — Whaley shot his best round of the fall, and his best since firing a 67 in the second round on his way to co-medalist honors at last spring’s Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. The McKinney, Texas, junior played bogey-free golf with four birdies, two on each side.
Chris Petefish shot 73 Saturday and finished in a tie for 29th place at 218 (+5). Michael Hines shot a 75 and Jacob Joiner a 79 to count Saturday for the Yellow Jackets. Hines finished in a tie for 36th place at 221 (+8) with James Clark (81 Saturday), while Joiner tied for 55th at 230 (+17).
COACH Bruce Heppler SAYS — “Vince had a really great round today, and a solid tournament. Overall, our guys have to learn how to deal with adversity and disappointment during the round. The only they learn that is to keep sticking their noses in the fight. We have to figure out how not to get TKO’d.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The DICK’S Sporting Good Collegiate Challenge Cup includes a 54-hole stroke-play tournament Friday and Saturday, followed by an 18-hole match-play finale, set for Sunday, which pits 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.
