THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf team will travel to Arizona, Ohio and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, competing against strong fields in each of its four fall events, finishing off the slate with the 16th Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational Oct. 21-23 at its home course in Alpharetta, Ga.
Along the way, the Yellow Jackets, who return all five starters from a team that finished 12th at the 2022 NCAA Championship, will compete in the Arizona desert, where the NCAA Championship returns next May, a six-time major championship venue in Ohio, and the site of an annual PGA Tour stop before coming home to host many of the nation’s top teams on its home course.
Tech is competing for the fifth time at the Maui Jim, which includes 10 teams that advanced to the NCAA Championship. The event, won by the Yellow Jackets last September, is held at Mirabel Golf Club, located near the site of the NCAA Championship, Grayhawk Golf Club. This year’s winner receives an exemption to a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2023.
All 13 teams competing at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate played in NCAA regionals last spring, six advancing to the NCAA Championship, including 2021 national champion Pepperdine and perennial ACC powerhouses Clemson and Wake Forest, as well as traditionally-strong Western teams Southern California, Stanford, Texas A&M and UCLA.
In between are two events new for the Yellow Jackets, the Inverness Intercollegiate Sept. 26-27 at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, which has hosted four U.S. Open championships and two PGA Championships, and the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational Oct. 3-4 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, annual site of the PGA Tour’s Colonial Invitational. The Ben Hogan event will include 14 teams that competed in the 2022 NCAA Championship, including all eight that advanced to match play, while the field at Inverness includes four NCAA Championship participants.
“Playing at golf courses that provide a great challenge and competing against the best teams in college golf is something we want our players to experience every year,” said head coach Bruce Heppler, who in 27 seasons on The Flats has guided the Yellow Jackets to 70 tournament victories, 13 ACC Championships and 24 NCAA appearances. “This schedule allows our guys to experience different environments and course conditions, from desert golf to the Midwest to Texas. Maui Jim has been a good event for us, and since the NCAA Championship will be back there next May, it is a must. There’s a tremendous amount of history and tradition at Inverness and Colonial, not to mention a strong field in each of those events. And, of course, we’re proud of our home course (The Golf Club of Georgia) and being able to draw a national-caliber field with teams from all over the country here each fall.”
All five players who started for the Yellow Jackets in the postseason last spring and helped Tech win five tournaments – seniors Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) and Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.), junior Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) and sophomore Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) – return to compete in 2022-23. All but Reuter rank among the top 100 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, while Forrester, Howe and Lamprecht made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team.
FALL SCHEDULE DETAILS
Maui Jim Intercollegiate
- Dates: September 9-11 (18 holes each day)
- Venue: Mirabel Golf Club (7,081 yards, par 70), Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Participating teams (18): Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Florida State, Georgia State (host), Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina State, New Mexico, Oregon, San Diego State, Tennessee, UCLA, UNLV, Washington, Wake Forest
Inverness Intercollegiate
- Dates: September 26-27 (36 holes first day)
- Venue: Inverness Golf Club (7,730 yards, par 72), Toledo, Ohio
- Participating teams (16): Charlotte, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, USC, SMU, South Alabama, Texas Tech, Toledo (host), Virginia, Washington
Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational
- Dates: October 3-4 (36 holes first day)
- Venue: Colonial Country Club (7,209 yards, par 70), Fort Worth, Texas.
- Participating teams (16): Arizona State, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pepperdine, Stanford, Southern California, Texas, TCU (host), Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest
Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational
- Dates: October 21-23 (18 holes each day)
- Venue: Golf Club of Georgia, Lakeside Course (7,017 yards, par 72), Alpharetta, Ga.
- Participating teams (13): Alabama, Clemson, Duke, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech (host), Pepperdine, Southern California, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington
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 has completed 27 years under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 31 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.
