Tyler Strafaci Wins Palmetto Amateur

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Aiken, S.C. –Georgia Tech senior golfer Tyler Strafaci captured his second amateur title in the span of seven days Saturday, firing a closing 1-under-par 69 to overtake the 54-hole leader and win the Palmetto Amateur.

The Davie, Fla., senior, who became the first Georgia Tech player to win the North & South Amateur last week at Pinehurst, N.C., became the first Yellow Jacket to etch his name on this trophy as well, finishing with a 72-hole total of 270 (-10) over the par-70 Palmetto Golf Club.

Saturday, Strafaci began the day one stroke behind Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, N.C., who fell back with a final-round 74. He held off the rest of the field by firing a 2-under 34 on the incoming nine holes, making birdie on 13 and 14 and then parring the final four holes.

For the week, Strafaci led the field in par-5 scoring at 8-under-par, and tied for third in most par-breaking holes with 19.

Meanwhile, his Tech teammate, Bartley Forrester, had his strongest showing of the summer by tying for seventh place, getting into contention with a third-round 65 and finishing 72 holes at 6-under-par 274. A redshirt sophomore from Gainesville, Ga., Forrester tied Strafaci with 19 par-breaking holes in the tournament. Forrester won the Puerto Rico Classic back in February while competing for the Yellow Jackets.

This weekend’s victory continues a strong 2020 for Strafaci, who rose to No. 15 in the Scratch Players Amateur ranking and No. 63 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking following his North & South triumph, and earned a spot in the U.S. Amateur Championship in August.

 

The senior will return to Tech to compete in 2020-21 after the NCAA ruled to allow spring sports student-athletes an extra year of eligibility after Covid-19 ended spring sports prematurely. He was a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award and was named a PING honorable mention All-American selection last spring by the Golf Coaches Association of America, finishing the spring ranked No. 52 in both Golfstat and the Golfweek/Sagarin Index. He posted three top-10 finishes last year, two of those in the top-5, and led the Yellow Jackets in subpar rounds (10) while posting the team’s third-best stroke average (71.94) and second-best head-to-head winning percentage (.746).

He has made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team twice in his career (no team was chosen this spring) and has earned PING All-East Region honors by the GCAA three times. He made the ACC All-Academic golf team in 2018 and 2019 (no team selected in 2020) and was named an All-America Scholar in 2019 by the GCAA.

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Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 25^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 64 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in program history, 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.