Tech Golf Resumes Spring Slate at Ford CollegiateTech Golf Resumes Spring Slate at Ford Collegiate
Men's Golf

Tech Golf Resumes Spring Slate at Ford Collegiate

No. 23 Yellow Jackets appear for first time, five top-25 teams in field

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s 23rd-ranked golf team travels to the Georgia coast this week for its final regular-season spring event, competing for the first time in The Ford Collegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event will be contested Monday and Tuesday at The Ford Field & River Club in Richmond Hill, Ga.

The tournament features a 12-team field with 12 individuals also competing. Five teams ranked in the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Top-25 rankings and eight squads in the top 50. Richmond Hill is just South of Savannah.

Head coach Bruce Heppler’s team, which has one victory (Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational) from the fall on its resume this year, finished ninth out of 15 teams at its most recent tournament, the Pauma Valley Invitational in California. The Yellow Jackets also tied for fourth place at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City Beach, Fla., for its best finish this spring. Redshirt junior Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) has been the Yellow Jackets top finisher in three of the four spring events, with freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) leading Tech at Pauma Valley.

Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), who won the NCAA individual championship last May at LaCosta, and Reuter, who had a pair of top-10 finishes in the fall, are among five players who helped the Yellow Jackets advance to match play at the NCAA Championship each of the past two years. Also back are sophomores Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and junior Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.).

The tournament will utilize a split-tee start format each day, playing 36 holes Monday and 18 Tuesday, with competition beginning at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time each day. The individual champion of the 2025 Ford Collegiate will receive an exemption into the 2026 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Georgia. The Club Car Championship is one of the premier events on the Korn Ferry Tour each year.

reuterB_watersound-rd2-021825_48_obleyBenjamin Reuter - Georgia Tech golf at Watersound Invitational, Rounds 2-3, February 18, 2025, Shark's Tooth Golf Course, Watersound Club, Panama City Beach, Fla.

Benjamin Reuter, ranked No. 39 in the nation, has been Tech’s top finisher in three spring events. (photo by Ross Obley)

 

TECH LINEUP – Reuter and Tai lead the five-man lineup for the Yellow Jackets in the Ford Collegiate, joined by Fontenot, Kim and Hansson. Tran will compete as an individual.

Reuter has been Tech’s top player all year, posting a runner-up finish at Olympia Fields and two other top-10s, including a tie for fourth at the Watersound Invitational this spring. He is ranked No. 39 in the Scoreboard NCAA rankings. Tai, a pre-season All-American by Golfweek magazine and Golf Channel who competed in the Masters over the weekend, had three top-20 finishes this fall and is ranked No. 205 in the NCAA Scoreboard rankings. The junior won twice as a freshman prior to his NCAA Championship.

Hanson, ranked No. 128 nationally, finished 13th at Pauma Valley for his best showing of the spring, while Fontenot (No. 181 in the Scoreboard rankings) has a top finish of 30th place at Watersound, and Kim also tied for 22nd at Watersound.

Tech has a 59-52-5 head-to-head record through the Pauma Valley Invitational, needing to be at .500 or better after the ACC Championship in April to qualify for a bid to an NCAA Regional.

ford

EVENT DETAILS

The Ford Collegiate

  • Dates: April 14-15 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scores count for team score each round)
  • Format: 36 holes Monday and 18 Tuesday, begins 7:45 a.m. EDT each day from No. 1 and No. 10 holes
  • Venue: The Ford Field & River Club (par 70, 7,259 yards)
  • Participating teams (12): Auburn (No. 1), Augusta, Georgia (34), Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech (23), LSU (7), South Carolina (20), Tennessee (26), Texas (2), USF (30), Wisconsin, plus 12 individuals (72 players competing)
  • Tech appearances (last appearance): first appearance

 

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 30th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 33 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.