Tech Golf in 11th Place at Southern Highlands

LAS VEGAS – Aidan Tran posted a 1-over-par 73, pacing 16^th-ranked Georgia Tech to a 14-over-par total of 302 for the round as brisk and windy conditions reigned for the second straight day at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The Yellow Jackets slipped to 11^th place after 36 holes.

Tech has a 36-hole total of 605, 29 shots over par and 26 behind top-ranked Auburn, who held up against the conditions and course difficulty and is the only team in the tournament under par. Sophomore Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.), who is competing as an individual while his teammates battle for position on the team leaderboard, posted his second straight 74 and is tied for 16^th place individually at 148 (+4).

The event features a 15-team field, including nine teams ranked in the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Top-25 rankings and 13 squads in the top 50. Tech, making its 20th appearance in this event, won the tournament in 2001 and 2002 and tied for sixth place in its last visit in 2023.

The final round of the tournament begins at 12 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday from the first and 10^th tees.

Benjamin Reuter is tied for 31st place individually. (photo by Ross Obley)

 

TECH LINEUP – Starting on the first tee Monday at Southern Highlands Golf Club, the Yellow Jackets again encountered trouble on the back nine at Southern Highlands Golf Club, carding more birdies than the front side, but also more bogeys and higher.

Tran, a junior from Fresno, Calif., played the front nine 1-under-par and handled the back better than his teammates in posting a 73 in Monday’s second round. Kale Fontenot (sophomore/Lafayette, La.) shot a 75, Benjamin Reuter (redshirt junior, Naarden, The Netherlands) posted a 76, and Hiroshi Tai (junior/Singapore) carded a 78 to count for the Yellow Jackets, while Albert Hansson (freshman/Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) posted a 79.

After 36 holes, Reuter is tied for 31^st at 150 (+6), and Fontenot is tied for 49^th at 153 (+9). Tran, Tai and Hansson are tied for 54^th place at 154 (+10).

LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – Auburn, the defending NCAA Champion and the No. 1 team in the land, was the only team under par in Sunday’s opening round, and matched that Monday with a 1-under-par 287. The Tigers (574, -2 for the tournament) opened a 3-stroke lead over host UNLV (577, +1).

Rounding out the top five are No. 24 Pepperdine (587, +11), New Mexico (588, +12), No. 9 Virginia and No. 4 Oklahoma (tied at 582, +16).

UNLV’s Caden Fioroni fired a second straight 5-under 67 for a 36-hole total of 10-under-par 134, and has a 5-shot lead over Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert, who shot 69 Monday and has a 5-under-par tournament total of 139. Virginia’s Ben James (69 Monday) has third place at 142 (-3), and Pepperdine’s William Walsh is in fourth at 143 (-1). They are the only players among the 84 in the field who are under par for 36 holes.

Aidan Tran posted Tech’s best round of the day with a 73. (photo by Ross Obley)

 

EVENT DETAILS

Southern Highlands Collegiate

• Dates: March 2-4 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scorer count for team score each round)
• Format: 18 holes each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, begins 12 p.m. EST each day from No. 1 and No. 10 holes
• Venue: Southern Highlands Golf Club (par 72, 7,510 yards)
• Participating teams (15): 2 Auburn, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 18 SMU, No. 22 San Diego State, No. 24 Pepperdine, No. 26 Texas A&M, No. 30 Georgia, No. 31 UNLV, No. 50 USC, New Mexico and Washington
• Tech appearances (last appearance): 20^th appearance (tied for 6^th place in 2023)
• Best finish: won championship in 2001 and 2002
• Individual titles: Stewart Cink and David Duval (co-medalists in 1992), Troy Matteson (co-medalist in 2002), Cameron Tringale (2009)

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