Alpharetta, Ga. – Christo Lamprecht, Ross Steelman and Benjamin Reuter each fired 2-under-par 70s Friday, and 13th-ranked Georgia Tech posted a 6-under-par total of 282 to take sixth place following the opening round of the 15th Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate at the Golf Club of Georgia.
Neither was the low Jacket of the day, however, after sophomore Aidan Kramer posted a 4-under-par 68 to lead Tech’s B team to a 13th-place standing (7-over-par 295) ahead of TCU and Colorado State.
The Yellow Jackets, six shots off the pace after the opening round, are looking for their third win of the fall after capturing the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and earning a share of the title at the Hamptons Intercollegiate. They begin round 2 at 9:55 a.m. Saturday along with Tennessee and Pepperdine.
TECH LINEUP – Lamprecht, a sophomore from George, South Africa, carded six birdies in his round of 70, while Steelman (junior, Columbia, Mo.) and Reuter (freshman, Naarden, The Netherlands) each had four birdies and two bogeys on their cards. They are tied for 14th place individually.
Junior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) came in at even-par 72 as the fourth Yellow Jacket counter, tied for 32nd place, while junior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) posted a 1-over-par 73, tied for 36th.
Kramer, a sophomore from Oviedo, Fla., recorded five birdies in his first 13 holes to get to 5-under-par, and bogeyed one over his last five to finish at 68 to lead Tech’s B team. He is tied for fifth place individually. His team also counted a 75s from Adam Bratton (sophomore, Newburgh, Ind.) and Luka Karaulic (junior, Dacula, Ga.), while Ben Smith (senior, Novi, Mich) and Andy Mao (junior, Johns Creek, Ga.) each shot 77.
Sophomore Aidan Kramer shot the low round of the day among the 10 Yellow Jackets with a 68, and is tied for fifth place.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Defending national champion Pepperdine and Texas A&M each shot 13-under-par 275 Friday and are tied at the top of the leaderboard. Joe Highsmth led the 15th-ranked Waves, who also counted a 69 and a 70, with the day’s low round of 63 (-9), while the 9th-ranked Aggies benefitted from a pair of 68s from their top two players, Sam Bennett and Walker Lee.
No. 16 East Tennessee State, led by Archie Davies 66, holds third place at 279 (-9), with Duke in fourth at 281 (-7). The Yellow Jackets are another shot behind at 282 (-6), with No. 18 Wake Forest in seventh at 283 (-5) and No. 6 Stanford in eighth at 286 (-2).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Highsmith, a senior for NCAA Champion Pepperdine, bogeyed his opening hole, then reeled off 10 birdies over the last 17 to post his 63, taking a one-stroke lead over Wake Forest senior Alex Fitzpatrick, who posted a 64 earlier in the day, making eagle on the first hole, then adding seven birdies.
Highsmith’s score was one off the tournament record of 62 shot by James White of Georgia Tech in 2010.
Archie Davies of East Tennessee State carded a 66 to take third, while Karl Vilips of Stanford is in fourth after posting a 67.
Tech’s Aidan Kramer is in a group of four players at 68, while Pepperdine’s Joey Vrzich leads a group of five players at 69.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, formerly called the United States Collegiate Championship, is contested at the Yellow Jackets’ home club. The tournament will be played exclusively on the 7,092-yard, par 72 Lakeside Course, 18 holes each day Friday through Sunday. Round 2 begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, and the final round at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
The event annually attracts one of the strongest fields in college golf, and this year it is as strong as ever with seven NCAA championship teams from last spring, including defending NCAA Champion Pepperdine, Clemson, East Tennessee State, TCU, Tennessee and Wake Forest as well as the Yellow Jackets.
The 15-team field includes 10 of the nation’s top 50 teams, according to the most recent rankings by Golfstat and the Golfweek/Sagarin Index. The complete field with Golfstat and Sagarin ranking in parentheses – Georgia Tech (13/15), Clemson (27/32), Colorado State, Duke, East Tennessee State (19/20), Pepperdine (17/11), Southern California, Stanford (4/4), Tennessee (21/17), Texas A&M (9/7), TCU (51/38), UCLA, Virginia (20/24), Wake Forest (16/13).
Among the individuals, the field includes the nation’s top-ranked individual in Virginia’s Chris Fosdick and 14 others ranked among the top 50 in the most recent Golfstat rankings.
All 10 Georgia Tech players are competing in two teams, with the primary team composed of the top five players, and a B team composed of the rest. The B team also is competing for a team score.
TECH’S GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA COLLEGIATE HISTORY – Georgia Tech has won the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate twice in the event’s 14-year history, in 2010 and 2012. James White, who set tournament records for 18-hole score (62) and 54-hole score (204, broken in 2014), won medalist honors in 2010, while Ollie Schniederjans won it in 2013 for Tech’s only individual titles. Clemson, Oklahoma State, Southern California and Texas also have won twice. The Tigers captured the inaugural title in 2006 and again in 2009, the Longhorns won in 2014 and shared the title with Virginia in 2016, the Cowboys won in 2013 and 2017, and the Trojans in 2008 and 2019. The tournament was not played in the fall of 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Yellow Jackets finished 10th in 2019, and have finished out of the top five just three times in 14 years.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets 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 27th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 66 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 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 (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
