Bermuda Run, N.C. – Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) and Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) both carded subpar rounds to anchor the Yellow Jackets in the opening round of play at the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional on Monday as No. 22 Georgia Tech posted a team total 1-under-par 283 to stand in 8th place. Tech is one of 14 teams competing at the Bermuda Run Country Club for a spot in the NCAA Championship.
Top-seeded, No. 3 Virginia leads the field after 18 holes with a 13-under-par 271 first round and holds a two-stroke advantage over second-place No. 15 Pepperdine (273, -11). Two golfers – Ben James (Virginia) and Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine) – hold the individual lead at 5-under-par 66.
The Winston-Salem regional features 14 teams competing over 54 holes of stroke play to determine five teams that will 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).
Georgia Tech will begin round 2 at 8:25 a.m. off hole No. 1. The Yellow Jackets will be paired with Houston and Kentucky on Tuesday. Virginia, Pepperdine and Wake Forest open round 2 at 7:30 a.m.
Hiroshi Tai carded a 1-under-par 70 and stands tied for 19th after 18 holes. (Andy Mead photos)
TECH LINEUP – Hansson played the back nine (Tech’s front nine) even before carding birdies on holes 4 and 6 to move to 2-under. The sophomore bogeyed 8 to finish the day with a 70 and stands in a tie for 19th, alongside teammate Tai who also carded a 1-under-par 70 in the opening round. Standing at 1-over through hole 14, Tai finished birdie-birdie-birdie-par to make the turn at 2-under. He played the front nine 1-over to finish with a 70. Hansson and Tai were two of only 27 golfers in the 75-player field to post subpar rounds on Monday.
Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) shook off a slow start on the back nine to finish even for the day. Following his opening two holes, Fontenot parred the next 10 before an eagle on hole 4 highlighted his round. The junior birdied his final hole to finish at even-par 71 and enters the second round tied for 28th.
With a 1-over-par 72, Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) is tied for 36th after the first 18 holes. Tran posted a pair of birdies on holes 17 and 8 to highlight his opening round. Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) carded a 3-over-par 74 and did not count towards the team score. He is tied for 59th.
LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – No. 3 Virginia opened the regional with all five players breaking par on Monday as the Cavaliers sit atop the team leaderboard with a 13-under-par 271. No. 15 Pepperdine sits two strokes out of first after seeing three subpar rounds on Monday. The Waves posted a 11-under-par 273, while four teams, including host Wake Forest, are tied for third at 278 (-6). Joining Wake Forest in third place are No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 39 Mississippi State and No. 28 Southern California.
Kentucky claims seventh-place with a 4-under-par 280, while Georgia Tech rounds out the teams under-par after 18 holes at 1-under 283.
Ben James (Virginia) and Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine) hold the individual lead at 5-under-par 66. But six golfers are one stroke back at 65 to stand tied for 3rd. Another three golfers, including two from Virginia, complete the top 10 in a tie for 9th at 68.
Albert Hansson also carded a 1-under-par 70 on Monday.
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.
