Oct. 19, 2014
GT Photo Gallery | Complete Results
Alpharetta, Ga. – Freshman Chris Petefish shot a 4-under-par 68, and Ollie Schniederjans added a 69 Sunday, leading Georgia Tech to a final-round 281 (-7) total and a seventh-place tie at the United States Collegiate Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia.
The 15th-ranked Yellow Jackets also counted a 71 (-1) from freshman Jacob Joiner and a 73 (+1) from senior Anders Albertson on Sunday, improving their position by five places. Tech completed a gallant rally from its opening-round struggles Friday by playing the weekend rounds at 10-under-par and finish 54 holes at 862 (-2).
“We’ve got guys on this team who have never played before, and they’re not going to be good every day. That’s something they have to grow into,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “They’re not ready to play well every single round. Everybody had some good stuff going on individually this weekend. The last two days were really good. They showed some resolve and realized that it’s a 54-hole tournament and continued to play. At the end of the day, this is a world-class field, and you have to play really well to win the tournament. We shot ourselves in the foot the first day, but the last two days were really positive.”
Virginia and Texas, who stood 1-2 on the leaderboard the entire weekend, withstood challenges from Texas A&M, Wake Forest and LSU Sunday to make it a two-horse race on the back nine. Texas emerged a one-stroke victor at 21-under-par 843, while Virginia finished at 20-under-par 844. The two teams were tied as their last two groups played the final hole, and the Longhorns’ Gavin Hall made birdie to give his team a one-stroke advantage. Virginia’s Denny McCarthy and Texas’ Kramer Hickok each parred the last hole.
Schniederjans rallied from an opening-round 73 to finish 68-69 on the weekend and finished in a sixth-place tie individually at 210 (-6). Virginia’s Derek Bard and Denny McCarthy battled each other down the stretch for medalist honors, and Bard (201, -15) pulled away on the back nine to defeat his teammate by six shots. Hall, with a closing 67, tied for third with Clemson’s Cody Proveaux and Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan at 7-under-par 209.
Heppler found encouragement from the play of the Jackets’ four individuals this weekend. Sophomore Michael Hines shot 71 Sunday and finished the tournament at 1-under-par 215 and in a tie for 19th place, a career-high finish. Freshman James Clark also carded a 71 Sunday and finished at 217 (+1) and tied for 25th. Vincent Whaley closed with a 69 Sunday to tie for 44th.
“Those young guys had some really good rounds today,” said Heppler. “Eventually, you hope you can put it all together and build some consistency as the year goes along. You forget that the three guys who left after last year played 50 or 60 tournament amongst them, and these guys have played five or six. It’s part of growing up.”
Tech returns to action the first weekend of November at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational in Princeville, Hawai’i.
UNITED STATES COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPGolf Club of Georgia, Alpharetta, Ga.Final Results
Team Standings 1 Texas 278 288 277 843 -21 2 Virginia 272 295 277 844 -20 3 LSU 296 279 282 857 -7 4 Wake Forest 288 284 286 858 -6 5 UCLA 287 294 279 860 -4 6 Auburn 286 289 286 861 -3 T7 Georgia Tech 296 285 281 862 -2 T7 Washington 290 290 282 862 -2 9 Texas A&M 281 289 293 863 -1 10 Clemson 294 290 284 868 +4 11 Iowa 291 289 289 869 +5 12 East Tennessee St. 286 292 297 875 +11 13 Stanford 283 293 300 876 +12 14 Oklahoma State 290 286 304 880 +16 15 Kent State 304 296 292 892 +28 Individual Leaders 1 Derek Bard Virginia 66 71 64 201 -15 2 Denny McCarthy Virginia 63 72 72 207 -9 T3 Cody Proveaux Clemson 73 67 69 209 -7 T3 Cheng-Tsung Pan Washington 67 75 67 209 -7 T3 Gavin Hall Texas 67 75 67 209 -7 T6 Ollie Schniederjans Georgia Tech 73 68 69 210 -6 T6 Scottie Scheffler Texas 68 75 67 210 -6 T8 Eric Ricard LSU 74 68 69 211 -5 T8 Greg Yates Texas A&M 72 73 66 211 -5 T8 Jonathan Garrick UCLA 69 75 67 211 -5
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.
