Jackets Finish 7th at Camp Creek Invitational

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Watersound, Fla. – Connor Howe and Luka Karaulic each carded 1-under-par 71s Tuesday, leading Georgia Tech to their best round of the tournament and a 7^th place finish at the Camp Creek Seminole Invitational in Watersound, Fla. Will Dickson and Ben Smith earned top-20 finishes individually.

TECH LINEUP – Tech posted its low round of the three days with only one double bogey or worse among its six players competing. As they did in Sunday’s opening round, the Yellow Jackets played holes 1 through 9 (Tech started on No. 10), much better than the back, with all six players under par. The four counters were 8-under-par collectively with only four bogeys after playing the back nine 8-over.

Karaulic, a sophomore from Dacula, Ga., matched his opening 71 with three birdies and one bogey on his card, while Howe, a junior from Ogden, Utah, birdied five holes to offset four bogeys. Dickson, a sophomore from Providence, R.I., and sophomore Andy Mao (Johns Creek, Ga.) each shot 73 to count toward the Jackets’ team score, while sophomore Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) carded a 74.

Dickson finished 54 holes at 215 (-1) to earn a tie for 15^th in his first start as a counting member of Tech’s lineup. Karaulic, making his collegiate debut, tied for 25^th individually at 219 (+3). Howe tied for 34^th at 221 (+5), Mao finished solo 43^rd at 222 (+6), while Forrester tied for 46^th at 225 (+9).

Smith, a junior from Novi, Mich., who didn’t make the lineup in qualifying but competed as an individual, earned a top-20 finish (T20) with a 1-over-par total of 217.

TEAM LEADERBOARD – Host Florida State roared back from fourth place after the opening day to tie No. 17 Wake Forest for first after 54 holes, when captured the team title on the second playoff hole, and placed all five starters among the top 10 individual finishers. The Seminoles shot rounds of 279-278 on Monday and Tuesday, a combined 19-under-par, and finished the tournament at 22-under-par 842. The Demon Deacons played steadily all weekend with rounds of 282-280-280 to tie the Seminoles before falling in the playoff.

No. 25 Clemson finished third at 845 (-19) after closing with a 7-under-par 281 Tuesday, while Duke took fourth at 854 (-10) after posting a 3-under 285 in the final round. North Carolina, 1-over-par Tuesday, held onto fifth place at 865 (+1).

Notre Dame got hot Tuesday with a 9-under-par round of 279 and grabbed sixth place at 867 (+3), with the Yellow Jackets in seventh at 871 (+7). Louisville (872, +8), Virginia (885, +21) and Virginia Tech (909, +45) rounded out the 10-team field.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Clemson’s Jacob Bridgeman opened the day with a six-shot lead and cruised to medalist honors after carding a 1-under-par 71 Tuesday. He finished the tournament at 15-under-par 201, five strokes ahead of North Carolina’s Peter Fountain, who shot 70 Tuesday and posted a 54-hole score of 206 (-10).

Connor Futrell, who shot 67 Tuesday, was FSU’s top finisher, tying Wake Forest’s Mark Power (68) for third place at 7-under-par 209. Demon Deacon teammates Michael Brennan and Parker Gillam each shot 70 Tuesday and tied for fifth place at 210 (-6). Seminoles John Pak and Vincent Norman finished tied for seventh place at 212 (-4).

Nineteen of the 60 competitors in the field finished under par.

Luke Karaulic tied for 25th place in his collegiate debut. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

Head coach Bruce Heppler

 

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Florida State hosts the 10-team event, 54 holes which runs through Tuesday. The site is Camp Creek Golf Club, a 7,159-yard, par-72 layout in Watersound, Fla., a beachside community 20 miles Northwest of Panama City Beach. The tournament is utilizing a split-tee format for all three rounds, concluding at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Participating teams include No. 25 Clemson, Florida State, No. 25 Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, No. 24 North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, Virginia Tech and No. 17 Wake Forest. Boston College and NC State are the only ACC programs not in the field at Camp Creek (Miami and Syracuse do not sponsor men’s golf). ACC teams were not allowed to participate in collegiate tournaments in the fall, so none appear in the current collegiate rankings.

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ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 26^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 64 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.