Panama City Beach, Fla. – Christo Lamprecht posted the low round of the day, a 7-under-par 65, and moved into second place individually while pacing Georgia Tech to a 7-under-par score of 281 and second place after 36 holes at the Watersound Invitational.
Tied with Vanderbilt the top-ranked team in the country after the first 18 holes, the 12th-ranked Yellow Jackets posted another quality round but was unable to stay with the Commodores, who put together a 15-under-par round of 272 at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club and opened an eight-stroke lead on Tech. the Jackets are five strokes ahead of the third-place team, No. 11 Florida State with the final round of the 54-hole event set to begin at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
TECH LINEUP – Lamprecht, a junior from George, South Africa, matched his low round of the year with eight birdies against one bogey, which came on the fifth hole of his round. He has a 36-hole score of 134, 10-under-par and one shot off the lead in a bid to win his second tournament of the year (Inverness Intercollegiate in the fall).
Tech’s other counting scores Monday were a trio of even-par 72s from Bartley Forrester, Ross Steelman and Connor Howe. Steelman and Forrester are tied for 19th place individually at 1-under-par 143. Freshman Hiroshi Tai, who opened with a 68 Sunday, followed with a 74 Monday and is tied for 16th place at 2-under-par 142.
The Yellow Jackets continue to pace the field in scoring on par-5 holes (-17) and are second behind the Commodores in birdies (43).
Hiroshi Tai is tied for 16th pace at 2-under-par 142. (photo by Ross Obley)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Vanderbilt got a 6-under-par 66 from defending NCAA champion Gordon Sargent and three other subpar rounds in posting its 15-under-par round. The Commodores have a 36-hole total of 552 (-24), eight strokes ahead of the Yellow Jackets (560, -16).
Host Florida State matched Tech’s round Monday and remains in third place, five shots behind the Jackets at 565 (-11), followed by No. 17 Alabama (567, 9), No. 24 Mississippi State (573, -3) and NC State (575, -1) in red figures.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – FSU’s Frederik Kjettrup has put together rounds of 66-67 to take the 36-hole lead at 133 (-11), one stroke ahead of Lamprecht.
Seminole teammates Brett Roberts (67 Monday), Michael Mays (68 playing as an individual) and first-round leader Cole Sherwood (68 Monday) of Vanderbilt are tied for third place at 135 (-9), followed by Sargent (137, -7) and Alabama’s Thomas Ponder (138, -6).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech is in the Watersound Invitational for the third straight year, having won the 2022 tournament by five strokes over Alabama. The tournament follows the traditional collegiate 54-hole, 5-count-4, stroke-play format, with 18 holes each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The event is contested at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club, a venue measuring 7,246 yards (par 72) that served as the venue for the ACC Championship last April.
This tournament was held in mid-January in 2021, the Jackets’ first tournament in a packed spring schedule that followed an idle fall brought on by COVID. Tech finished seventh in a limited 10-team field that included all ACC teams.
The 11-team field includes six Atlantic Coast Conference teams in No. 40 Clemson, No. 11 Florida State, No. 12 Georgia Tech, NC State, No. 36 Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, the nation’s top-ranked team in Vanderbilt, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Alabama, No. 24 Mississippi State and Air Force.
Round 2 in Photos
Photos by Ross Obley
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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 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.
