Tech Seeks 19th ACC Golf Title This Weekend

Pairings and live scoring via Golfstat | ACC Men’s Golf Championship page

THE FLATS – Looking to defend its 2019 title and bid for the program’s 19^th championship, Georgia Tech’s golf team begins post-season competition this weekend with the 67th Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship, which will be conducted Friday through Monday at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course in Milton, Ga.

The Yellow Jackets have captured 10 of the last 14 championships, including the 2019 title at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C. It was the 18^th in program history, tying Wake Forest for the most in conference annals. The championship was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

At No. 28 in the current Golfstat national rankings, Georgia Tech sits behind Florida State (No. 2), Clemson (No. 4), Wake Forest (No. 6), NC State (No. 8), North Carolina (No. 16) and Notre Dame (No. 25), who along with Tech have combined for 14 tournament wins in what has been a very strong spring for the ACC. Louisville (No. 27), Virginia (No. 33) and Duke (No. 36) also reside among the top 50 teams in the nation. That’s 10 of the 12 teams that will be competing this weekend, none of whom played a fall season due to COVID.

Georgia Tech is the defending champion after claiming the 2019 ACC Championship at Old North State Club in New London, North Carolina with a tournament-record 37-under par 827. The Yellow Jackets posted a final round 281 (-7) to win their 18th title in program history and 10th in the last 14 years. The 2020 championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida State’s John Pak is the defending individual champion. He captured the 2019 individual title with a three-round total of 203 (-13) to edge Georgia Tech’s Andy Ogletree (-12).

 

Freshman Christo Lamprecht is Georgia Tech’s highest-ranked player and stroke average leader, with three top-10 finishes this spring. (photo by Clyde Click)

 

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The ACC Championship comes to the state of Georgia for the first time since 1997, when it was held at Whitewater Creek Country Club in Fayetteville, Ga., and is being held outside the state of North Carolina for just the seventh time in conference history. Since 1995, the tournament has been held at Old North State Club in New London, N.C., 22 times, with Georgia Tech winning the championship 12 times at that venue.

Beginning a four-year rotation to different sites within the ACC footprint, this year’s championship is being held at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course in Milton, Ga., a course that has hosted the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship in 2013 and the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional. The course also hosted the 2003 WGC-American Express Championship, won by Tiger Woods.

The course will play to a par of 70 and measure 7,319 yards for the ACC Championship, which will feature a new format over four days of competition (Friday through Monday), departing from the 54-hole, stroke-play format which has been used since 1980. All 12 competing teams (Miami, Pittsburgh and Syracuse do not sponsor men’s golf) will play 54 holes of stroke play, 36 holes Friday and 18 holes Saturday, with the standard low four rounds counting toward the team’s daily score each round. The top four teams after 54 holes will be seeded in a match play bracket, with the semi-final matches to take place Sunday, and the championship match Monday. Each match will be 18 holes and involve all five players from each team. The format is similar to the way the NCAA Championship has been conducted every year since 2009.

SPECTATOR INFORMATION – Fans are allowed to attend the 2021 ACC Championship at Crabapple, and admission is free during all four days. All spectators are required to wear masks when inside the clubhouse or pro shop, but not required when on the golf course. Play begins at 7:30 a.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. Saturday through Monday.

BROADCAST INFORMATION – The championship match on Monday will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra platform, available on the ESPN app, beginning at 9 a.m. A one-hour recap show of the entire championship will be aired at 7 p.m. Monday, May 3, on the ACC Network.

TEAM UPDATE –Georgia Tech’s quintet to compete in the ACC Championship has quite a different look from the 2019 championship team. Gone are two U.S. Amateur champions in Andy Ogletree and Tyler Strafaci, as well as a future Georgia Amateur champion in Luke Schniederjans. Tech’s returning players had combined to play only 160 collegiate rounds of golf.

Only senior Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.), a two-time All-ACC honoree, and junior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah), who had combined to play 118 of those 160 rounds, return to compete this weekend at Crabapple.

Freshman Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) has been a regular in the Yellow Jackets lineup since the first spring event in January, and head coach Bruce Heppler has rotated five other players through the two other spots in the lineup. Senior Will Dickson (Providence, R.I.) and junior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.) competed for the Yellow Jackets in their last event, a second-place finish at the Calusa Cup.

Redshirt sophomore Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), who owns the only collegiate victory (2020 Puerto Rico Classic) among the current members of the team, has seen action in five events this spring and will be the alternate in case one of the Yellow Jackets is sidelined.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, April 23

7:30 a.m.-9:18 a.m. First Round Stroke Play Tee Times (Split Tees)

Second Round Stroke Play (Split Tees)

Continuous play from first round. No re-pairing between rounds.

Saturday, April 24

9-10:48 a.m. Third Round Stroke Play Tee Times (Split Tees)

• Individual Champion Awards Ceremony at Conclusion of Play at manual scoreboard; Semifinal Team Match Play Lineup Announcements

Sunday, April 25

9-10:48 a.m. Semifinal Match Play Tee Times (All off No. 1)

• Championship Team Match Play Lineup Announcements at Conclusion of Play at manual scoreboard

Monday, April 26

9-9:48 a.m. Championship Match Play Tee Times (All off No. 1)

• Team Champion Awards Ceremony at Conclusion of Play at manual scoreboard

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TECH LINEUP NOTES

Will Dickson – Has three top-20 finishes to his credit this spring after seeing action in just two events over his career previously at Tech … Tied for 15^th place most recently at the Calusa Cup, and is fifth on the team in stroke average (73.80) … Began to show promise last fall by finishing 13^th or higher in all four amateur events he played, including a fourth-place effort in the Orlando International Amateur in December … Was Tech’s top finisher in both January events (15^th at Camp Creek Invitational, 11^th at Southwestern Invitational).

Connor Howe – Has been a regular in the Tech lineup since his freshman year, currently middle-of-the-order in the lineup … Ranked No. 231 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index … Earned his first career top-10 finish with a tie for seventh at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate and has tied for 19^th at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate and finished 26^th at the Linger Longer Invitational since then … Has Tech’s third-lowest stroke average at 72.86 in a team-high 21 rounds this spring … Career stroke average of 72.76 over 66 rounds … Won the Southeastern Amateur last summer and tied for ninth at the Patriot All-America in December.

Christo Lamprecht – At 6-foot-8, he may be the tallest player ever in the Tech golf program … Sits No. 107 in the Golfstat rankings and No. 84 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, highest in both among the Jackets … Tops the team in stroke average at 71.89 in 18 rounds, and has three top-10 finishes, including a tie for third most recently at the Calusa Cup … Also tied for sixth at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate and fifth at the Linger Longer Invitational … No. 179 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, No. 127 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, and South Africa’s No. 2-ranked amateur … Ranks high nationally in subpar strokes per round (26^th) and par-4 scoring (38^th) … Ranks 12^th in eagles with five this spring … Enrolled at Tech for the fall but had to take all classes virtually from South Africa because COVID prevented his departure to come to Atlanta … Arrived in January too late to participate in team qualifying and missed the Jackets’ first tournament (Camp Creek Invitational), but has played in every event since.

Noah Norton – Two-time All-ACC honoree … Has top-10 finishes in three of six events, including a runner-up at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate and a tie for third in the Linger Longer Invitational, giving him 11 career top-10 finishes … Currently No. 2 on the team in scoring average (72.44) and ranks high nationally in most subpar holes (6^th), most subpar strokes per round (19^th) according to Golfstat … Career stroke average of 71.66 across 91 rounds, which would rank No. 8 in Tech history if his career were ended … Second among the Jackets in Golfstat (No. 189) and Golfweek/Sagarin (No. 139) rankings … Sits No. 44 in the PGA Tour University ranking, and No. 68 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking … Advanced to match play (round of 32) at the U.S. Amateur last summer and earned his way into two Korn Ferry Tour events, tying for eighth place at the Wichita Open.

Ben Smith – Has competed in three spring events, playing solidly in all three, including a tie for ninth place at the Calusa Cup in Tech’s most recent competition … Also posted a tie for 20^th finish at the Camp Creek Seminole Invitational and a tie for 32^nd at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate, playing as an individual … Owns team’s third-best stroke average at 73.33 across nine rounds … Former Michigan Amateur Champion has 21 collegiate rounds under his belt in two-plus years … Had three top-15 finish in fall GCAA Amateur events, tied for fifth at Orlando International Amateur and sixth at South Beach Amateur in December.

Bartley Forrester (alternate) – The only member of Tech’s current team to win a collegiate tournament, sharing medalist honors at the Puerto Rico Classic last February in his second career start … Had a solid summer in amateur competition, tying for seventh place at the Palmetto Amateur and 19^th at the Southeastern Amateur … Highest finish in five events this spring was a tie for 18^th at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate … Other finishes all between 27^th (Linger Longer Invitational) and 46^th (Camp Creek Invitational) … Has a 73.87 stroke average over 18 rounds.

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 Support The Swarm Fund, which helps Georgia Tech athletics offset the significant financial challenges associated with Covid-19, and 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 is in its 26^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 65 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.