Jackets Remain Within Top 5 at NCAA Auburn Golf Regional

Auburn, Ala. – Hiroshi Tai (junior/Singapore) carded a 3-under-par 69 Tuesday to keep Georgia Tech’s golf team in position to advance, but the No. 5 seed Yellow Jackets posted an 8-over-par 296 and slipped to fifth place after 36 holes at the Auburn University Club.

The top five teams after Wednesday’s final round will advance to the NCAA Championship finals, and the Jackets, at 4-over-par for the tournament, stand three strokes clear of sixth-place Purdue (+7) heading into Wednesday’s action. Top-ranked Auburn (-19) has an 18-stroke lead in the team race, but only seven shots separate second-place Texas A&M (-1) and seventh place SMU (+8).

Tai played a nearly-clean round, with one bogey and four birdies at the Auburn University Club, and the defending NCAA individual champion is tied for sixth place individually at 4-under-par 140.

Nine teams are ranked among the top 50 in the Scoreboard NCAA Rankings, with five of those, including the Yellow Jackets, ranked among the top 25. Auburn University Club (par 72, 7,607 yards) is hosting the regional, a site where Tech finished second in 2003 when NCAA regionals were held at three locations and had 27 teams each.

The final round begins at 7:30 a.m. Central Daylight time Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets will start at the 10^th tee at 8 a.m. CDT paired with UCLA and Purdue.

Thirteen teams will compete over includes 54 holes of stroke play to determine five teams that will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 23-28 at the Omni LaCosta Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. Auburn is one of six NCAA regionals taking place around the country, with the top five teams after 54 holes advancing from each one to the NCAA Finals.

 

TECH LINEUP – Tai remained steady from start to finish Tuesday, but he was the only Yellow Jacket to break par. Freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) bogeyed two of his first four holes, then strung together 13 pars and sank a 25-foot putt at 18 for his only birdie to finish with a 73 (+1). He is tied for 23^rd place at 146 (+2).

Carson Kim (sophomore/Yorba Linda, Calif.), Tech’s leader in round 1 with a 70, and Benjamin Reuter (redshirt junior/Naarden, The Netherlands) each shot 77 (+5). Kale Fontenot (sophomore/Lafayette, La.) followed his opening 71 with a 78 Tuesday.

Kim (+3) is tied for 29^th place, while Reuter (+5) and Fontenot (+5) are tied foe 36^th place.

LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – Only two teams broke par Tuesday at the Auburn University Club, and the host Tigers posted a 6-under-par 282 total and finished 36 holes at 557 (-19). Texas A&M shot 1-under-par 287 Tuesday, and the No. 2-seed Aggies are in second place at 573 (-1), 18 strokes behind the Tigers.

New Mexico State, the 11^th seed, has played even-par golf both days and holds third place at 574 (even), followed by UCLA (+2), Tech (+4), Purdue (+7) and SMU (+8).

Kennesaw State’s Claes Borregard shot a 4-under-par 68 for the second straight day and took over the 36-hole lead at 8-under-par 136. Auburn’s Jackson Koivun is a stroke behind at 7-under 137, with his teammates Brendan Valdes and Carson Bacha tied for third at 6-under-par 138.

UCLA’s Omar Morales (-5) is alone in fifth place, followed by Tech’s Tai and New Mexico State’s Aidan Thomas tied at -4.

 

EVENT DETAILS

• Dates: May 12-14 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scores count for team score each day, top 5 teams advance to NCAA Championship)
• Venue: Auburn University Club, Auburn, Ala. (par 72, 7,607 yards)
• Participating teams (NCAA Scoreboard ranking): Auburn (1), Texas A&M (12), UCLA (13/Big Ten champion), SMU (24), Tech (25), Oregon (36), Purdue (37), Little Rock (48/Ohio Valley champion), TCU (50), College of Charleston (62), New Mexico State (63), Loyola Maryland (142/Patriot League champion) and USC Upstate (227/Big South champion)
• Tech appearances (last appearance): 34th (2024)
• Best finish: 7 titles (most recent in 2023)
• Individual titles: 4 (most recent, Troy Matteson in 2003)
• Schedule (all times Central Daylight Time):
  • Tuesday – Stroke play round 2 (7:30 a.m. from No. 1 and No. 10 holes)
  • Wednesday – Stroke play round 3 (7:30 a.m. from No. 1 and No. 10 holes)

TECH IN NCAA REGIONAL COMPETITION

Georgia Tech has advanced through an NCAA regional 28 times in 33 tries, and all but four times since the NCAA went to a six-regional qualifying format in 2009. Tech has won seven regional tournaments overall, two of them shared titles, most recently in 2023, when the Yellow Jackets won in Salem, S.C.

The NCAA began using regional qualifying tournaments in 1989, first with the 81 teams split among three sites (27 teams each), then among six sites with either 13 or 14 teams each beginning in 2009. Since the NCAA went to six regional sites in 2009, Tech has advanced to the championship finals 11 times. No NCAA championship events were held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Tech’s first four victories all occurred in 27-team regionals in 1991 (New Haven, Conn.), 1998 (Daufuskie Island, S.C.), 1999 (Providence, R.I.) and 2002 (Roswell, Ga., tied with Clemson). The 2014 win in Raleigh, the 2022 victory in Columbus and the 2023 win in Salem occurred in a 13- or 14-team field.

Four Georgia Tech players have won individual titles at NCAA regionals, but the most recent has been Troy Matteson in 2003, coincidentally at the Auburn University Club. The Yellow Jackets were the team runner-up in that regional.

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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 30^th 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.