Atlanta, Ga. – Benjamin Reuter and Albert Hansson scored individual match victories, and No. 14 Georgia Tech took defending NCAA champion Auburn down to the final match before falling, 3-2, Wednesday in the championship match at the East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club.
The first three matches out on the course went the distance, with Auburn winning two of those. The final two matches concluded at the 17th hole.
Tech’s Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), playing the lead match, led by as many as two holes on the front side at East Lake. But the Yellow Jackets junior saw the tide turn at the turn, as Auburn’s Ryan Eshleman birdied the eighth and parred the ninth to grab the lead, and he held his advantage through the finish in a 1-up victory.
Right behind him, freshman Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) did just the opposite against Brendan Valdes, trailing on the front nine and taking his first lead with a birdie at the 10th. He maintained his hold through the end and closed out Valdes, 2-up, after the Auburn senior put his second shot into the pond on the 18th fairway.
Auburn regained the lead in the next match after Tech’s Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) battled back from a 3-hole deficit to tie Carson Bacha at 16, only to see Bacha birdie 17 and 18 to take a 2-up victory.
Reuter led from the start in his match against Josiah Gilbert, and went 4-up with an emphatic birdie at the par-3 9th. After four straight bogeys reduced his lead in half, the redshirt junior from Naarden, The Netherlands birdied the 14th to go 3-up and finished his 2&1 win despite a bogey at 17, knotting the overall match at 2-2.
That left the contest in the hands of defending NCAA champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) for Tech and the reigning consensus national player of the year Jackson Koivun of Auburn. The Yellow Jacket junior birdied the opening hole and held his lead through three holes. But he lipped out a putt to win the 4th, and another to lose the 5th, and never led again. Tai birdied the par-5 6th to pull even, and the match remained tied through 10 before his bogey at 11 gave Koivun the lead for good. The Tiger sophomore never led by more than two holes, but his birdie at the par-3 15th gave him the necessary cushion to take a 2&1 win.
Freshman Albert Hansson won both of his matches at the East Lake Cup after carding a 69 to finish third in stroke play. (photo by Clyde Click)
Florida State won the third-place match Wednesday, 3 ½-1 ½, over Ohio State.
The East Lake Cup brings together the 2024 NCAA Championship semifinal teams for a three-day stroke and match play competition. Tech won the top seed Monday by firing an 8-under-par 280 to outlast Auburn and Florida State by one stroke, then shut out Ohio State, 4-0, in the semifinal round of match play.
Tech finished third in stroke play last year when the East Lake Cup was held at Atlanta Athletic Club, lost to North Carolina in their semifinal match and defeated Florida in the third-place match. Fontenot, a freshman at the time, won medalist honors.
The Jackets have concluded their fall season and return to action in February at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Hawai’i.
MATCH SUMMARY
Auburn 3, Georgia Tech 2
- Ryan Eshleman (A) def. Aidan Tran (GT), 1-up
- Albert Hansson (GT) def. Brendan Valdes (A), 2-up
- Carson Bacha (A) def. Kale Fontenot (GT), 2-up
- Benjamin Reuter (GT) def. Josiah Gilbert (A), 2&1
- Jackson Koivun (A) def. Hiroshi Tai (GT), 2&1
Championship Match Photos
EAST LAKE CUP INFORMATION – The 10th annual East Lake Cup is contested at East Lake Golf Club, which hosts the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs on the PGA Tour each year. The competition includes each of the four men’s and women’s semifinal teams from the previous year’s NCAA Championship competing at both stroke play and match play. East Lake Golf Club measures 7,195 yards and play to a par of 72 for the event. Golf Channel and Peacock provide live coverage of the competition.
Men’s teams: Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State; Women’s teams: LSU, Oregon, Southern California, UCLA
Format – The tournament format features 18 holes of stroke play to determine an individual male and female champion, and to set seedings for team match play. There will then be two rounds of match play to determine a team champion, along with a consolation match to determine third place.
Benjamin Reuter gets amped with a birdie to go 4UP through nine. 😤 @GTGolf
📺 Golf Channel | #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/Hh71tExknF
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 30, 2024
Albert Hansson sinks it from long range on 15 to take a 1UP lead. 💪 @GTGolf
📺 Golf Channel | #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/rwkeUr03Jz
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 30, 2024
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 30th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 33 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.
