Bermuda Run, N.C. – Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) led No. 22 Georgia Tech with a 1-under-par 70 second round, but the Yellow Jackets struggled on Tuesday, dropping to 14th place at the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional. Tech posted a 14-over-par 298 to slip six spots on the team leaderboard at the Bermuda Run Country Club.
Top-seeded, No. 3 Virginia maintains its lead with a 36-hole total of 27-under-par 541 and holds a six-stroke advantage over second place No. 15 Pepperdine (547, -21). Ben James (Virginia) leads the field individually at 13-under-par 129.
Wednesday’s final round will determine the five teams that advance to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 29 – June 3 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. Bermuda Run is one of six NCAA Regionals taking place around the country this week, with the top five teams after 54 holes advancing from each one to the NCAA Finals.
The Winston-Salem regional includes several familiar faces with No. 1 seeded Virginia (ACC champion), Wake Forest (host team) and NC State all selected to the regional. Amongst the field are eight teams ranked in the top 50 in the Scoreboard NCAA Golf rankings. In order of seed, the field also includes Ole Miss (10/SEC champion), Pepperdine (15/West Coast champion), Southern California (28), Wake Forest (32), Mississippi State (39), Little Rock (47/Ohio Valley champion), NC State (53), Kentucky (59), Houston (65), Richmond (121/Atlantic 10 champion), Navy (186/Patriot League champion) and Presbyterian (Big South champion).
The other regional sites and their top seeds are Auburn at Athens, Ga. (University of Georgia Golf Course), Texas at Bryan, Texas (Traditions Club), Florida at Columbus, Ohio (OSU Golf Course), Arkansas at Corvallis, Ore. (Trysting Tree Golf Club), and Oklahoma State at Marana, Ariz. (The Gallery Golf Club).
The final round of competition begins at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Georgia Tech will tee off hole 1 beginning at 9:20 a.m.
TECH LINEUP – It was an up-and-down round for all five Yellow Jackets on Tuesday. Tran, who carded Tech’s lowest round of the day, was even entering the final hole. With a birdie on 18, Tran finished 1-under for the day and is tied for 31st after two rounds at 142 (E).
Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) highlighted his round with an eagle on hole four, but lost momentum at the turn, moving to 2-over-par down the stretch. The sophomore birdied 17 to complete his 1-over-par 72 and is tied with Tran at 31st with a two-round total 142 (E).
Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) finished 6-over-par 77 and moved into a tie for 59th (148, +6), while Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) carded an 8-over-par 79, sliding into a tie for 63rd at 149 (+7).
Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) was 12-over on the day and did not count towards the team score. He is in 73rd at 157 (+15).
LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – No. 3 Virginia saw three subpar rounds, including the lowest individual round from Ben James, to post a 14-under-par 270 and holds its position atop the leaderboard with a 36-hole total 541 (-27). No. 15 Pepperdine is tied for second alongside No. 10 Ole Miss, which posted the lowest team round of the day at 15-under-par 269. The Waves and Rebels are six strokes off the lead at 547 (-21).
No. 39 Mississippi State holds fourth-place (550, -18), while No. 28 Southern California sits in fifth (557, -11). Three additional teams remain under-par after two rounds in NC State in sixth (562, -6), Wake Forest in seventh (564, -4) and Houston in eighth (565, -3).
With an 8-under-par 63 on Tuesday, Ben James (Virginia) holds a three-stroke lead in first place (129, -13). Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine) and Cameron Tankersley (Ole Miss) are tied for second at 10-under-par 132.
Aidan Tran recorded a 1-under-par 70 on Tuesday. (Photos by Sam Edwards)
TECH IN NCAA REGIONAL COMPETITION
The Yellow Jackets are competing in an NCAA regional for the 28th straight year and for the 35th time in the 37 years the NCAA has used a regional qualifying format for its championship. Tech has punched its ticket to the NCAA Championship final each of the last six years (the NCAA Championship and regionals were not conducted in 2020 due to COVID-19), sharing the regional title in 2022 in Columbus, Ohio and winning the 2023 regional in Salem, S.C., by eight strokes. Last season, Tech finished fifth in the Auburn regional to secure the last advancing spot to California.
Tech fell in a playoff to Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest last season by a single stroke for the right to advance to the final round of stroke play. Despite last year’s finish, Tech has a long history of success in the NCAA Championships, as the Yellow Jackets reached the finals in 2023 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the semifinals in 2024 in Carlsbad, Calif.
Tech has won seven regional tournaments overall, most recently in 2023. The NCAA began using regional qualifying tournaments in 1989, first with the 81 teams split among three sites (27 teams each), then among six sites with either 13 or 14 teams each beginning in 2009. Since the NCAA went to six regional sites in 2009, Tech has advanced to the championship finals 11 times.
Tech’s first four victories all occurred in 27-team regionals in 1991 (New Haven, Conn.), 1998 (Daufuskie Island, S.C.), 1999 (Providence, R.I.) and 2022 (Roswell, Ga., tied with Clemson). The 2014 win in Raleigh, the 2022 victory in Columbus and the 2023 win in Salem all occurred in a 13- or 14-team field.
Four Georgia Tech players have won individual titles at NCAA regionals, but the most recent has been Troy Matteson in 2003 at the Auburn University Club. The Yellow Jackets were runner-up in that regional.
EVENT DETAILS
EVENT DETAILS
NCAA Bermuda Run Regional
- Dates: May 18-20 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scores count for team score each day, top 5 teams advance to NCAA Championship)
- Venue: Bermuda Run Country Club, Bermuda Run, N.C. (par 71, 7,013 yards)
- Participating teams (14): Virginia (3/ACC champion), Ole Miss (10/SEC champion), Pepperdine (15/West Coast champion), Georgia Tech (22), Southern California (28), Wake Forest (32), Mississippi State (39), Little Rock (47/Ohio Valley champion), NC State (53), Kentucky (59), Houston (65), Richmond (121/Atlantic 10 champion), Navy (Patriot League champion), Presbyterian (Big South champion)
- Tech appearances (appearances): 35th (last in 2025)
- Best finish: 7 titles (most recent in 2023)
- Individual titles: 4 (most recent, Troy Matteson in 2023)
- Schedule (all times Eastern Daylight Time):
- Monday – Stroke play round 1 (7:30 a.m. from No. 1, 8 a.m. from No. 10)
- Tuesday – Stroke play round 2 (7:30 a.m. from No. 1, 8 a.m. from No. 10)
- Wednesday – Stroke play round 3 (7:30 a.m. from No. 1, 8 a.m. from No. 10)
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 31st year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 34 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
