Hansson Wins at Steelwood Collegiate Invitational

LOXLEY, Ala. – Carding the lowest round of the day, Georgia Tech’s Albert Hansson took home the individual title at the 2026 Steelwood Collegiate Invitational with a 54-hole total of 20-under-par 196. Hansson posted an 8-under-par 64 on Sunday to pull away with his second career victory, and first of the 2026-27 season, while Georgia Tech finished runner-up.

In the final tournament of the fall slate, the No. 13 Yellow Jackets battled for the tournament title, recording the best team round at 17-under-par, but came up just short by two strokes to No. 3 Auburn. Georgia Tech saw subpar rounds from four Yellow Jackets today, paced by Hansson’s 8-under-par, while Carson Baez (Davenport, Fla.) rebounded with his best round of the fall with a 6-under-par 66. Max Emberson (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Henry Robards (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) also entered the clubhouse in the red on Sunday, helping Tech to one of its lowest teams rounds of the fall season. Georgia Tech finished in second, just behind Auburn, at 40-under-par.

“Albert [Hansson] is truly deserving of this victory,” said head coach Ryan Hybl. “He is a tireless worker and is just getting started. The sky is the limit for Albert and I can’t wait to see what he does in the spring. As a team, having the best final round is how we always strive to end a tournament. We won the battle today and that is exciting for this group heading into the offseason.”

“It feels great to win again individually, but as a whole, the team has had a good fall season with so many new faces and Coach Hybl at the helm,” commented Hansson. “We will keep working and be ready for an even better spring season.”

Georgia Tech finished the fall season with three top-15 finishes this weekend. The Yellow Jackets return to the course at the Amer Ari Invitational, Feb. 4-6.

TECH LINEUP – Hansson capped his fall slate with a bogey-free round on Sunday, launching eight birdies on the day to move to 20-under-par 196 for the tournament. The junior Yellow Jacket, who won his first collegiate title last season at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, collected his second tournament victory by six strokes, saving his best round of the fall for today. Hansson posted rounds of 65-67-64 en route to claiming the individual title.

Emberson and Robards also took home top-15 finishes, posting 6-under-par 210s to tie for 13^th. Emberson, who shook off a slow start to the day, made the turn with back-to-back birdies and opened the back nine with an eagle on hole No. 10 and closed with another birdie on 18 for a 70. Robards capped the tournament with rounds of 67-72-71 for his first top-15 finish as a Yellow Jacket.

Making the biggest jump on the individual leaderboard by 28 spots, Baez rebounded with his best performance of the fall with a 6-under-par 66 on Sunday. Baez recorded birdies on holes No. 3 and 5 before eagles on No. 9 and No. 18. With a 2-under-par 214 tournament total, Baez finished tied for 34^th.  

Rounding out Tech’s lineup, Andrew Ferworn (Houston, Texas) finished tied for 41^st at 1-over-par 217.

TEAM LEADERBOARD – Entering the final round 12 strokes off the leader, Georgia Tech made a run for the top finish with its 17-under-par 271, pulling within two strokes of Auburn late in the round. But the Tigers narrowly held on for the team win, finishing with a 42-under-par 822.

No. 12 Texas A&M finished in third-place at 30-under-par 834 with No. 47 Rutgers and No. 46 Mississippi State tying for fourth at 845 (-19). Virginia Tech took home sixth (846, -18), while Kansas State and Virginia tied for 7^th (849, -15). Iowa State claimed ninth (853, -11) and Maryland completed the top-10 at 8-under-par 856. A total of 10 of the 15 teams finished the tournament under-par.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – A strong final round by Hansson led the Yellow Jacket to victory on Sunday. Hansson becomes the second Yellow Jacket to win this season as Emberson captured his first two tournaments of the season. It marks the first time since 2016-17 Georgia Tech has had three individual medalists when Luke Schniederjans (2) and Tyler Stafaci were victorious.

Aaron Pounds of Texas A&M finished second at 14-under-par 202, while Oliver Toyer (Kansas State) and Jager Pain (Virginia) tied for third at 13-under-par 203. Joshua Hill (South Alabama) and Cayden Pope (Auburn) tied for fifth at 12-under-par 204. A total of 36 golfers finished the tournament under-par.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech competed in the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational for the first time. The 54-hole tournament took place over two days with the teams playing two rounds on Saturday and the final round on Sunday.

South Alabama served as host to a 15-team field this weekend, which featured six teams ranked in the top 50 of the latest Scoreboard/Clippd NCAA rankings. The field contained No. 3 Auburn, No. 13 Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kennesaw State, Maryland, No. 45 Memphis, No. 46 Mississippi State, Nebraska, Rice, No. 47 Rutgers, South Alabama, No. 12 Texas A&M, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The Steelwood Collegiate was started in the fall of 2016 with the goal of helping local and regional charities while showcasing “tomorrow’s Tour Stars” at a premier college event. The Steelwood Golf Course was designed by former U.S. Open Champion Jerry Pate and ranked by GolfWeek as “One of the Top Five Private Golf Courses in Alabama” in 2019.

EVENT DETAILS

Steelwood Collegiate Invitational

• Dates: October 31 – November 1 (stroke play, 54 holes)
• Format: 36 holes Saturday, 18 holes Sunday
• Venue: Steelwood Country Club (par 72, 7,096 yards)
• Participating teams (15): 3 Auburn, No. 13 Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kennesaw State, Maryland, No. 45 Memphis, No. 46 Mississippi State, Nebraska, Rice, No. 47 Rutgers, South Alabama, No. 12 Texas A&M, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

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. In his first season as head coach, Hybl has guided the Yellow Jackets to two tournament victories. 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.