Lamprecht 6th, Tech 11th at Southern Highlands

Las Vegas, Nev. – Christo Lamprecht shot 5-under-par 67 Sunday, one of only two subpar rounds on the day for Georgia Tech as the 8^th-ranked Yellow Jackets posted an even-par round of 288 to stand in 11^th place after the opening day at the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

Coming off a runner-up finish at the Watersound Invitational last week, Tech began Sunday’s play well, playing the front nine at Southern Highlands Golf Club four strokes under par, but was unable to maintain the pace as the Yellow Jackets find themselves 17 shots off the lead when round 2 begins at noon Eastern time Tuesday.

Tee times begin at 12 p.m. Eastern time each day, with groups teeing off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees.

TECH LINEUP – Lamprecht played bogey free golf for the first 17 holes of Sunday’s round, recording birdies on six holes, before bogeying the par-5 18^th. The junior from George, South Africa is three shots off the pace.

Freshman Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) delivered the other subpar round for Tech Sunday, a 1-under-par 71 that included one birdie and 17 pars on the 7,510-yard Southern Highland Golf Club. He is tied for 21^st place. Senior Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.) birdied two of his last three holes to post a 74, while senior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) shot 76.

Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) shot 77 did not count for the Jackets. Freshman Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), competing as an individual, shot 81.

Hiroshi Tai supplied Tech’s other subpar round Sunday, a 1-under-par 71. (photo by Ross Obley)

 

TEAM LEADERBOARD – No. 4 North Carolina, with four players under par, outpaced the field by seven strokes Sunday, posting a 17-under-par score of 271. No. 14 Pepperdine shot 10-under-par 278. Both teams benefitted from players carding 8-under-par 64 to tie for the lead.

No. 11 Texas and No. 16 Florida are tied for third place at 5-under-par 283, and No. 7 Illinois holds fifth place at 3-under-par 285. New Mexico and TCU are tied for sixth at 286 (-2), while No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas A&M and host UNLV are tied for eighth place t 287 (-1).

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – North Carolina’s Austin Greaser, Pepperdine’s Sam Choi and Florida’s Yuxin Lin are tied at the top of the leaderboard at 8-under-par 64. Texas’ Christian Maas and Oklahoma’s Jase Summy are two strokes back at 6-under-par 66.

Lamprecht (5-under-par 67) is tied for sixth place with UNLV’s Caden Fioroni, while the Tar Heels’ Dylan Menante and two others are tied for eighth at 4-under-par 69. Four other players are tied at 69, and 28 players altogether are under par after the opening round.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech is competing in the Southern Highlands Collegiate for the 19th time. The Yellow Jackets have won the event twice, in 2001 and 2002, but their fifth-place finish last spring is the best showing since then. Four Yellow Jackets, all of whom have competed on the PGA Tour, have captured medalist honors, beginning in 1992 when Stewart Cink and David Duval shared the title. Troy Matteson won a share of the title in 2002 with Florida’s Camilo Villegas, and Cameron Tringale win the tournament outright in 2009.

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 conducted at Southern Highlands Golf Club, which measures 7,510 yards (par 72), the longest layout on the Yellow Jackets’ schedule. The individual champion will receive an exemption into the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in October.

The field includes No. 4 North Carolina, No. 7 Illinois, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Florida, No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Texas, No. 25 San Diego State, Georgia, New Mexico, SMU, TCU, UCF and UNLV.

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Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 28^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 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.