THE FLATS – AJGA All-American Kale Fontenot of Lafayette, La., has signed a national letter-of-intent to join Georgia Tech’s golf team, head coach Bruce Heppler announced.
Fontenot earned honorable mention All-America honors by the American Junior Golf Association in early November following a 2022 year in which he captured one tournament victory and a pair of runner-up finishes in junior golf events. Fontenot is listed No. 31 in the Rolex AJGA Boys Rankings. He also is ranked No. 32 overall in the Junior Golf Scoreboard (No. 25 in the class of 2023), and No. 66 in the Golfweek Boys Rankings (No. 31 in the class of 2023).
“I’m really excited to have Kale join our program,” said Heppler. “A year ago, at the beginning of the summer at a big AJGA event, he stood out to us from the beginning when we saw him. He’s physically gifted and has great rhythm in his swing. He got along really well with our guys on his official visit, and they felt like he was one of the most mature kids that had visited. He committed soon after that, and he’s done nothing but get better. His play in the bigger junior events has really improved.”
In six junior golf events in 2022, Fontenot notched runner-up finishes at the Stewart Cink Championship in Birmingham, Ala., and the 50th Southern Junior Championship in Charleston, S.C. He also tied for 15th at The PING Invitational in Stillwater, Okla., 16th at the Sam Burns at The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga., and 24th at the Insperity Invitational/Patrick Reed AJGA Junior Championship at The Woodlands, Texas. He qualified to play in the 2022 U.S. Amateur championship as the medalist at his qualifier in Shreveport, La.
Fontenot won the Louisiana Junior Amateur Championship in 2021 and 2022, and he helped Ascension Episcopal High School to the 2021 and 2022 Division III state titles in Louisiana, finishing third individually in each championship.
Georgia Tech commit Kale Fontenot @GTGolf pic.twitter.com/0YdIXrp6Iy
— Louisiana Golf Assn. (@LGA1920) July 6, 2022
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 28th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 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.
