Bermuda Run, N.C. – Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) led No. 22 Georgia Tech with a 1-under-par 70 second round, but the Yellow Jackets struggled on Tuesday, dropping to 14th place at the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional. Tech posted a 14-over-par 298 to slip six spots on the team leaderboard at the Bermuda Run Country Club.
Top-seeded, No. 3 Virginia maintains its lead with a 36-hole total of 27-under-par 541 and holds a six-stroke advantage over second place No. 15 Pepperdine (547, -21). Ben James (Virginia) leads the field individually at 13-under-par 129.
Wednesday’s final round will determine the five teams that advance to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 29 – June 3 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. Bermuda Run is one of six NCAA Regionals taking place around the country this week, with the top five teams after 54 holes advancing from each one to the NCAA Finals.
The Winston-Salem regional includes several familiar faces with No. 1 seeded Virginia (ACC champion), Wake Forest (host team) and NC State all selected to the regional. Amongst the field are eight teams ranked in the top 50 in the Scoreboard NCAA Golf rankings. In order of seed, the field also includes Ole Miss (10/SEC champion), Pepperdine (15/West Coast champion), Southern California (28), Wake Forest (32), Mississippi State (39), Little Rock (47/Ohio Valley champion), NC State (53), Kentucky (59), Houston (65), Richmond (121/Atlantic 10 champion), Navy (186/Patriot League champion) and Presbyterian (Big South champion).
The other regional sites and their top seeds are Auburn at Athens, Ga. (University of Georgia Golf Course), Texas at Bryan, Texas (Traditions Club), Florida at Columbus, Ohio (OSU Golf Course), Arkansas at Corvallis, Ore. (Trysting Tree Golf Club), and Oklahoma State at Marana, Ariz. (The Gallery Golf Club).
The final round of competition begins at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Georgia Tech will tee off hole 1 beginning at 9:20 a.m.
TECH LINEUP – It was an up-and-down round for all five Yellow Jackets on Tuesday. Tran, who carded Tech’s lowest round of the day, was even entering the final hole. With a birdie on 18, Tran finished 1-under for the day and is tied for 31st after two rounds at 142 (E).
Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) highlighted his round with an eagle on hole four, but lost momentum at the turn, moving to 2-over-par down the stretch. The sophomore birdied 17 to complete his 1-over-par 72 and is tied with Tran at 31st with a two-round total 142 (E).
Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) finished 6-over-par 77 and moved into a tie for 59th (148, +6), while Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) carded an 8-over-par 79, sliding into a tie for 63rd at 149 (+7).
Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) was 12-over on the day and did not count towards the team score. He is in 73rd at 157 (+15).
LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – No. 3 Virginia saw three subpar rounds, including the lowest individual round from Ben James, to post a 14-under-par 270 and holds its position atop the leaderboard with a 36-hole total 541 (-27). No. 15 Pepperdine is tied for second alongside No. 10 Ole Miss, which posted the lowest team round of the day at 15-under-par 269. The Waves and Rebels are six strokes off the lead at 547 (-21).
No. 39 Mississippi State holds fourth-place (550, -18), while No. 28 Southern California sits in fifth (557, -11). Three additional teams remain under-par after two rounds in NC State in sixth (562, -6), Wake Forest in seventh (564, -4) and Houston in eighth (565, -3).
With an 8-under-par 63 on Tuesday, Ben James (Virginia) holds a three-stroke lead in first place (129, -13). Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine) and Cameron Tankersley (Ole Miss) are tied for second at 10-under-par 132.