Sept. 11, 2015
Rocky Face, Ga. – Jacob Joiner shot a 6-under-par 66 Friday to grab the first-round lead, and 12th-ranked Georgia Tech posted a 2-under-par 286 and leads a strong field after the opening round of the 27th Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga.
TEAM LEADERBOARD — With no returning All-Americans or All-ACC performers in its young lineup, Georgia Tech played solidly in its first fall round Friday, getting a pair of subpar rounds from Joiner, a sophomore from Leesburg, Ga., and Chris Petefish, a sophomore from Danville, Calif., who shot 71 (-1). Their scores were good enough to lift the Yellow Jackets into a two-stroke lead sixth-ranked South Carolina (288, even par), the defending Carpet Capital Collegiate champion. No. 23 Alabama shot 289 (+1) and is in third place, followed by defending NCAA Champion LSU at 291 (+3) and No. 16 Auburn at 294 (+6).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD — Joiner’s 66 staked the Tech sophomore to a three-stroke lead over a pair of Alabama players, Tom Lovelady and Davis Riley, and LSU’s Sam Burns, who each shot 69. Clemson’s Stephen Behr and Mississippi’s Forrest Gamble are tied for fifth after carding 70s, and Petefish is in a six-player tie for seventh place at 71.
TECH LINEUP — Joiner eagled both par 5’s on the back nine at The Farm, and added a pair of birdies in his bogey-free round, the second sub-70 score of his collegiate career (16 rounds). He shot a closing 65 to help Tech win the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational last fall. Petefish’s 71 included four birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey, and slotted him in a tie for seventh place individually. Junior Vincent Whaley shot 74, and James Clark 75 for the Yellow Jackets’ other two counting scores. Freshman Tyler Joiner shot 80, and junior Michael Hines, competing as an individual, carded a 78.
COACH Bruce Heppler SAYS — “We got off to a reasonably good start. The hole locations are really challenging, so we did a good job of getting into the right mindset. We were patient for the most part. Jacob played a pretty special round. His freshman year didn’t end well, and he struggled a little this summer, so I’m really happy to see him have a round like that. Chris played solidly all day. We kept playing, and it was a very good day for us. This is something we can build on.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The Carpet Capital Collegiate continues through Sunday at The Farm Golf Club, a 7,012-yard, par 72 layout designed by Tom Fazio near Dalton, Ga. The Yellow Jackets have been the institutional host of this event since its inception in 1989, winning seven times. Tech finished second last year to South Carolina after winning the event in 2013. The field maintains its predominantly ACC (Clemson, Tech, North Carolina) and SEC (Auburn, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee) flavor, and has six 2014 NCAA Championship teams in the 15-team field, including defending champion LSU.
TECH’S CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE HISTORY — Georgia Tech has won the Carpet Capital Collegiate seven times in its 26-year history, most recently in 2013, the most of any participant. Clemson has won four times, Alabama three. A Yellow Jacket has won medalist honors seven times, including Ollie Schniederjans the past two years. Current PGA Tour pros Stewart Cink, Chesson Hadley, Troy Matteson and Bryce Molder also have claimed victory at The Farm, with Molder taking the title three consecutive times between 1998 and 1999, when the event moved from the spring to the fall schedule.
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.
