Tech in 3rd After 36 Holes at NCAA Regional Golf

Leaderboard via Golfstat | Tournament information

Tallahassee, Fla. – Ben Smith paced Georgia Tech with a 3-under-par 69 Tuesday and is tied for third place individually, and the Yellow Jackets shot 2-under-par 286 in round 2 and sit in third place after 36 holes in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional at Seminole Legacy Golf Club.

Bidding to reach the NCAA Championship finals for the 30^th time in team history (29 of those since 1985), Tech is 11 shots out of the lead, but 10 shots clear of sixth-place TCU with a 13-under-par tournament total of 563 (-13). The top five finishers, and the top individual not on those teams, will advance from this regional to the championship, which begins May 28 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Tech will begin the final round of the regional at 8 a.m. Tuesday from the No. 1 tee, again paired with Florida State and Liberty.

TECH LINEUP – Tech benefitted from having three subpar rounds Tuesday, Smith’s 69, a 70 from Connor Howe and a 71 from Christo Lamprecht. But the Yellow Jackets had to count a 4-over-par 76 from Noah Norton and slipped behind Liberty, who shot the best round of the day at 11-under 277, into third place.

Smith followed up his opening 68 by carding just one bogey with four birdies Tuesday, and has just three bogeys in 36 holes. The junior from Novi, Mich., is tied for third place at 7-under-par 137, four strokes off the lead.

Howe, a junior from Ogden, Utah, followed his opening 71 with four birdies to offset a pair of bogeys for a second-round 70, and is tied for 14^th place individually at 3-under par 141. Lamprecht, a freshman from George, South Africa, who opened with a 68 Monday, shot 4-under-par on the front nine Tuesday before settling back to a 1-under 71. He is tied for ninth place at 5-under-par 139.

Norton, the senior from Chico, Calif., who opened with a 70 Monday, fell back to a tie for 35^th place at 146 (+2), while senior Will Dickson (Providence, R.I.) did not count after carding a 77.

TEAM LEADERBOARD – Top-seed and host team Florida State, boosted by a 67 from All-American John Pak and three 68s, stood at 21-under-par through 14 holes but stumbled coming home, finishing the round at 17-under-ar 271. The No. 2-ranked Seminoles are six shots ahead of the Yellow Jackets (277, -11).

Liberty, the Atlantic Sun Conference champion, posted a 5-under-par 283 on the strength of a 65 from its top player, Kieran Vincent, and has third place. Ohio State is in fourth place after posting a 4-under-par 284, while No. 2 seed Georgia is in fifth place at 3-under-par 285.

Kansas and Davidson are tied for sixth place at even-par 288, while Indiana and LSU are tied for eighth place at 290 (+2).

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – The Flames’ Vincent recorded six birdies, an eagle and a bogey on the way to his 65, two strokes better than Georgia’s Davis Thompson, the Seminoles’ Pak and Jacksonville’s Michael Sakane, each of whom shot 3-under-par 67.

Tech’s Lamprecht and Smith are in a group of five players at 68 (-4) tied for fifth place, while Johnny Travale of Central Florida and Keller Harper of Furman each carded 3-under-par 69 to tie for 10^th. Norton is among seven competitors tied for 12^th at 70 (-2).

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION/FORMAT – Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals are competing for spots in the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship finals in six regional qualifying tournaments. The top five teams and one individual from each regional will advance to the finals, which will be conducted May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., which has a field of 30 teams and six individuals.

Each regional is a 54-hole, stroke-play event with 13 teams and 10 individuals, or 14 teams and five individuals, competing. Tech is part of a regional field that includes 14 teams and five individuals.

The Tallahassee regional in which Tech will compete includes eight teams that are ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation according to Golfstat. In order of seed, the field includes Florida State (No. 2), Georgia (11), Liberty (16), LSU (23), Georgia Tech (27), Georgia Southern (32), TCU (43) and Indiana (46).

The Yellow Jackets are playing in an NCAA regional for the 23rd straight year and for the 30th time in the 32 years the NCAA has used a regional qualifying format for its championship (the NCAA Championship and regionals were not conducted last spring due to COVID-19).

The other five regional sites are: Albuquerque, N.M. (UNM Championship Course, host: New Mexico); Kingston Springs, Tenn. (Golf Club of Tennessee, host: Vanderbilt); Stillwater, Okla. (Karsten Creek Golf Club, host: Oklahoma State); Cle Elum, Wash. (Tumble Creek Golf Club, host: Washington); and Noblesville, Ind. (Sagamore Golf Club, host: Ball State).

Ben Smith is tied for third place, just four shots off the lead, after 36 holes.

 

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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.