OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Freshman Max Emberson (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led Georgia Tech with rounds of 63 and 69 Friday and is tied for fourth place individually, while helping Georgia Tech to a 19-under-par showing and fifth-place standing after two rounds at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational.
While Georgia Tech completed its two rounds, play was called moments later due to darkness with several groups remaining on the course. Play will resume Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET with the completion of round 2. Once round 2 is complete, the final round will commence at 11 a.m. ET. Play was adjusted prior to the start of the tournament due to inclement weather in the forecast. Originally scheduled one round a day, teams played a continuous 36 holes on Friday.
“We started off the day very similar to the Folds of Honor Collegiate,” said head coach Ryan Hybl. “I was really excited about how we got going early on with great rounds from Andrew Ferworn, who had a bogey-free round, and Max Emberson, who brought it like he never left Folds of Honor. Albert Hansson continued his consistent play and it was nice to have Carson Baez step up with a good round this afternoon. But we gave up a few on some easier holes this afternoon. Tomorrow, hopefully the weather will hold out for another 18 holes and everything is still right in front of us.”
Coming off a season-opening win last week at Folds of Honor Collegiate, Georgia Tech stood in second place after a 15-under-par 265 in the morning round, and posted a 4-under-par 276 in the afternoon to dip to fifth place at Olympia Fields Country Club. The Jackets are seven strokes off the pace set by host Illinois (-26).
Of the 63 golfers who matched or beat par after Friday, Georgia Tech had four led by Emberson at 8-under-par after 36 holes.
TECH LINEUP – In the morning round, Emberson paced the Yellow Jackets with a 7-under-par 63 to hold a share of second place individually after the first 18 holes. Emberson, who recorded an eagle in each of his first three collegiate rounds last week, kept the streak alive with an eagle on hole No. 11 as the Thousand Oaks, Calif., native carded a flawless opening round with five birdies and the eagle. The freshman carded a 1-under-par 69 in the afternoon with four birdies and a bogey before finishing the round with a double-bogey on 18. After two rounds, Emberson is tied for fourth at 8-under-par 132, just three strokes off the individual leader.
Andrew Ferworn (Houston, Texas) stood in a tie for fourth after the morning, with a bogey-free 5-under-par 65 showing to get the tournament started. After opening the round with a pair of birdies on his first two holes, Ferworn added a trio of birdies on the back nine. The senior slipped back in the second round with a 5-over-par 75 and currently stands in a tie for 58th.
Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) opened with a 3-under-par 67 to stand in a tie for 14th after the morning. Even through 14, Hansson birdied 15 to move to 1-under and closed the first round with an eagle on 18 to cap his 3-under-par 67. In the second round, Hansson posted a 2-under-par 68 for a 5-under-par two-round total of 135 and is tied for 13th.
Carson Baez (Davenport, Fla.) turned in an even-par 70 opening round, but rebounded in the afternoon with a 3-under-par 67. Baez made the turn on four-straight birdies in the afternoon and closed the second round with a birdie on 18. He currently stands in a tie for 35th at 3-under-par 137.
Senior Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) opened with a 4-over-par 74 in the morning, not counting towards the team score, and carded a 2-over-par 72 in the afternoon. He is tied for 77th entering Saturday.
Tech in Fifth at OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational
No. 22 Georgia Tech completes two rounds; Emberson tied for fourth
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Sitting atop the leaderboard, and having completed two rounds, is host Illinois at 26-under-par 534. Illinois holds a narrow one-stroke lead over second-place Texas Tech (535, -25), while Arizona State, who held the lead after the first round, sits in third (473, -24), but did not finish the second round.
Oklahoma State completed two rounds and is in fourth (540, -20), followed by Georgia Tech (541, -19) and Alabama (542, -18). Pepperdine will complete the second round Saturday morning, but stands in seventh (533, -15), while Texas A&M holds eighth (546, -14) and Florida (547, -13) and UNLV (484, -13, second round unfinished) are tied for ninth.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Ben Gregg of Texas Tech leads the individual race at 11-under-par 129, but Max Herendeen of Illinois sits just one stroke back at 10-under-par 130. Oscar Couilleau of Arizona State, who is only through 12 of his second round, is in third (118, -9), while three golfers – Emberson, William Jennings (Alabama) and Connor Williams (Arizona State) – are tied for fourth (132, -8).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech is making its fifth appearance in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational with titles in 2024 and a share in 2019. Illinois hosts the 15-team event, which will be contested over 54 holes beginning Friday at Olympia Fields Country Club’s South course, which plays to a par-70 and measure 7,215 yards.
The 15-team field (with national ranking) includes Alabama (18), Arizona State (4), Baylor, Florida (1), Florida State (20), Georgia Tech (25), Illinois (12), LSU (9), Northwestern, Oklahoma State (3), Pepperdine (13), Stanford (19), Texas A&M (16), Texas Tech (5) and UNLV. Rankings based on the Bushnell/Golfweek Preseason Coaches poll released on August 29.
EVENT DETAILS
Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
- Dates: September 18-20 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Format: 36 continuous holes Friday, 18 Saturday and Sunday, if necessary
- Venue: Olympia Fields Country Club, South Course (par 70, 7,215 yards)
- Tech Appearances (best finish): 5 (sole title in 2024, co-medalists in 2019)
- Participating teams (15): Alabama, Arizona State, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, LSU, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Stanford, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UNLV
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.