Oct. 16, 2014
Alpharetta, Ga. – Competing against a field with 10 of the nation’s top 25 teams, Georgia Tech returns to action this weekend by hosting the ninth annual United States Collegiate Championship Friday through Sunday at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga.
Official USCC site | Live scoring/Tee Times | Tech Fall Results/Stats
Head coach Bruce Heppler will utilize his fourth different lineup of the fall at its home event on the Golf Club of Georgia’s Lakeside Course (7,017 yards, par 72. The 54-hole event begins at 9 a.m. Friday, with the 79 competitors playing off both the first and 10th tees. Play continues with round two Saturday morning (9 a.m.) and concludes with the final round Sunday (8:30 a.m.). Admission is free for all three days.
Ten of the 15 teams in this year’s event are currently ranked among the top 25 of the most recent coaches poll, including No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 LSU, No. 9 UCLA, No. 13 Virginia, No. 16 Texas, No. 19 Auburn, No. 22 Oklahoma State and Washington (tied) and No. 23 Wake Forest. East Tennessee State, Iowa, Kent State and Texas A&M round out the 15-team field.
The Yellow Jackets have won the USCC twice in the last four years, scoring a 27-stroke victory in 2010, then rallying from an eight-shot deficit on the back nine to nip UCLA by one stroke in 2012. Last year, Oklahoma State held off another back-nine charge by the Jackets to win by one.
Seniors Ollie Schniederjans, Anders Albertson and Drew Czuchry, who have played in all three of Tech’s fall events, are in the Yellow Jackets’ travel squad this week along with freshmen Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.), making his collegiate debut, and Jacob Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.), who has qualified for his first event since the opening Carpet Capital Collegiate. They are paired with Washington and UCLA and tee off the first tee beginning at 9:50 a.m. Friday.
Schniederjans, the nation’s top-ranked amateur from Powder Springs, Ga., and the defending champion at the USCC, has a win, a runner-up and a third-place finish in three fall events for Tech, compiling a 68.22 scoring average with seven of nine rounds under 70. Albertson, a three-time All-ACC performer from Woodstock, Ga., has been solid with a pair of top-20 finishes and a 71.78 average. Czuchry, who had played in four events during his first three years at Tech, has a 72.44 average and one top-10 finish in three fall events.
The rest of the Yellow Jackets – sophomores Michael Hines (Acworth, Ga.) and Vincent Whaley (McKinney, Texas) and freshmen James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) and Michael Pisciotta (Alpharetta, Ga.) – will compete as individuals. They will play in twosomes off the No. 10 tee Friday beginning at 9:10 a.m.
Pairings for Saturday and Sunday will be based on team and individual scores, with the leaders teeing off last on No. 1.
[View the story “Practice Day at @TheUSCC” on Storify]
#PROJACKETS THIS WEEK
Six former Georgia Tec h players are in the field this week for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the second stop on the 2014-15 PGA Tour schedule. The event is being played at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nev.
Bryce Molder, who tied for third place in last week’s Frys.com Open, heads the Yellow Jacket contingent which includes Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley, Nicholas Thompson and Cameron Tringale. Molder got a head start on position in the FedEx Cup race with his high finish last weekend, while Matt Kuchar and Tringale each finished in the top 30 and Hadley tied for 57th.
Two other former Tech All-Americans, James White and Kyle Scott, are competing in the first stage of qualifying for the Web.com Tour this week. Both players shot opening round 67s Wednesday and are tied for third in the event at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. The top 31 players and ties after 54 holes will advance. Four other Tech alums – John-Tyler Griffin, Shun Yat Hak, Seth Reeves and Richard Werenski – have already advanced to the second stage.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 20th year under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 27 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.
