Emberson, Jackets Champions at Folds of Honor Collegiate

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – Freshman Max Emberson opened his collegiate career a champion and Georgia Tech golf swept the Folds of Honor Collegiate team and individual titles to open the 2026-27 season on Wednesday. Making their Folds of Honor Collegiate debut, the Yellow Jackets finished with an 18-under-par team total of 834 to open the Ryan Hybl era victorious. 

Georgia Tech claimed the team title with a stellar final 18 holes and three subpar rounds from Emberson, Carson Baez (Davenport, Fla.) and Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden). The Yellow Jackets worked through shifts in the leaderboard with Notre Dame and Texas, but always kept the victory within striking distance. Georgia Tech’s win marked the 52^nd tournament victory for Hybl.

“We have been building since June 4^th for this,” said Hybl. “I am so proud of our guys and their work this week. I can’t thank Folds of Honor and Colonel Rooney enough for everything they’ve done this week.”

Emberson finished his collegiate debut with an 11-under-par 202 to take home the individual trophy with a two-shot victory over second-place Daniel Bennett (Texas). Emberson opened the final round with two birdies and an eagle on his first six holes before a bogey on seven preceded nine consecutive pars as the Jacket made his way down the stretch. The Thousand Oaks, Calif., native birdied 17 to take a three-shot lead into the final hole and a par on 18 solidified the win for the freshman Yellow Jacket in his first collegiate start of his career.

Emberson becomes the first true freshman Yellow Jacket to win a multi-team tournament in their collegiate debut since Luke Schniederjans won the Carpet Capital Collegiate to open the 2016-17 season as an individual in his very first collegiate event. Emberson is also the first freshman since 2019-20 to win their first collegiate start as Bartley Forrester, a redshirt-freshman at the time, was co-medalist at the Puerto Rico Classic in his first start as a counting member of the Jackets in the second event of the spring season.

“Everyone in this tournament, we were playing for something bigger than ourselves this week,” commented Emberson on his post-match interview on the Golf Channel. “Representing the Folds of Honor and the past and present service members, so every time you hit a good or bad shot, [you] just had to remember that.”

Georgia Tech returns to action at Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, Sept. 18-20.

TECH LINEUP – Emberson’s 4-under-par 67 on Wednesday sealed a tournament 11-under-par 202 for the freshman. Emberson opened the tournament with a remarkable 8-under-par 63 before a 72 in the second round. The Jacket answered on Wednesday and opened his collegiate career with a first-place finish.

Baez rebounded on Wednesday with his best showing of the tournament, closing with a 2-under-par 69. After getting off to a shaky start, Baez made the turn with three-straight birdies and closed the round with three birdies over his final four holes, including 17 and 18. The junior finished tied for 25^th with a three-round total of 214 (+1).

A steady contributor this week, Hansson picked up his first top-10 win of the season, finishing tied for 6^th with a 5-under-par 208. After a 1-over front nine, the Jacket birdied holes 11 and 18 to finish the day 1-under.

Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) shot a 72 on Wednesday to finish tied for 31^st with a 3-over-par 216 in the tournament.

Andrew Ferworn (Houston, Texas) was Tech’s final countable score until an 8-shot 18 left the senior at 2-over-par for the day. Ferworn finished the tournament tied for 31^st at 216 (+3).

TEAM LEADERBOARD – Georgia Tech remained atop the team leaderboard the entire tournament, holding the lead after the first and second rounds, but it was a three-team race to the finish as Notre Dame and Texas put up solid numbers on Wednesday. The Fighting Irish and Longhorns finished runner-up, five strokes out of first at 13-under-par 839.

Cincinnati claimed fourth-place (842, -10) and Alabama took fifth (844, -8). A total of eight teams finished the tournament under-par.  

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Emberson claimed a two-stroke victory for the individual title with an 11-under-par 202. Bennett finished runner-up at 9-under-par 204, while William Baker (Kansas) claimed third-place (205, -8).

Vaughn Harber (Ohio State) finished fourth (206, -7) and Jacob Modleski (Notre Dame) took fifth (207, -6).

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Folds of Honor Collegiate was held for the fifth time with Georgia Tech making its debut appearance. Michigan State, Florida State, Golf Coaches Association of America and HNS Sports Group served as host partners with Folds of Honor for the annual event. No. 12 Texas, No. 16 Alabama, No. 17 Florida State and No. 28 Notre Dame joined the No. 22 Yellow Jackets in a variety of preseason polls. Alabama returned as the 2025 Folds of Honor Collegiate champions, while Alabama’s William Jennings took home the individual title last season.

EVENT DETAILS

Folds of Honor Collegiate

• Dates: September 7-9 (stroke play, 54 holes)
• Format: 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
• Venue: American Dunes Golf Club (par 71, 7,213 yards)
• Participating teams (14): Air Force, Alabama, Army West Point, Cincinnati, Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, Grand Valley State, Kansas, Michigan State, Navy, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas

 

Alexander-Tharpe Fund

The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team begins a new era under head coach Ryan Hybl, who was announced as the program’s sixth head coach in program history in May. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 34 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.