THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf team, ranked No. 17 in the Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll, continues its 2024 fall schedule this weekend at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational. The 18th annual event will be contested Friday through Sunday at the Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia fields, Ill.
The 15-team field includes four teams – Tech (No. 11 in the pre-season), Florida State (No. 2), host Illinois (No. 9) and North Carolina (No. 5) – who advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship last May, and 11 teams that competed in stroke play. Also competing are eight other programs ranked among the top-25 in the pre-season Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll.
Head coach Bruce Heppler, beginning his 30th year at the helm of the Tech program, has returned four golfers who played significant roles in getting the Yellow Jackets to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship for the second straight year in 2024, including reigning NCAA Champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), who became Tech’s fourth national collegiate champion with his one-shot victory last May in Carlsbad, Calif.
The Jackets, who lost two-time first-team All-American Christo Lamprecht and five-year starter Bartley Forrester, also were ranked No. 13 in the Golfweek magazine preseason poll, and No. 20 by Golf Channel.
Sophomore Kale Fontenot, who played in 12 events as a freshman, is making his first start of the fall. (photo by Clyde Click)
TECH LINEUP – Tai, who has won three collegiate tournaments in two years, is on the Fall Watch List for the Fred Haskins Award and has been listed as a pre-season All-American by Golfweek magazine and Golf Channel, leads the five-man contingent for the Yellow Jackets this weekend. The junior from Singapore is currently No. 29 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Tai will be joined in the lineup this weekend by redshirt junior Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands), who has 16 collegiate events under his belt, sophomores Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.), who have played in 13 collegiate events each, and freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden).
Tai tied for 12th, and Hansson tied for 18th in the Yellow Jackets’ first fall event, the visit Knoxville Collegiate, two weeks ago. Reuter tied for 40th place, and Kim tied for 66th. Fontenot is making his first start of the fall after not qualifying for the travel team at Knoxville.
Only Fontenot, who posted his highest finish of the year (T-30th) and Kim (81st) are back from the team that finished third in last year’s event.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Yellow Jackets are competing in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational for the third time, having shared the 2019 title with Baylor and finishing third last fall. Illinois hosts the 15-team event, which will be contested over 54 holes beginning Friday and concluding Sunday at Olympia Fields Country Club’s North course, which plays to a par-70 and measures 7,353 yards.
Tee times begin at 9 a.m. Eastern time Friday and Saturday, with the final round at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
The 15-team field (with national ranking) includes Alabama (16), Arizona State (2), Baylor, Florida (10), Florida State (2), Georgia Tech (11), Illinois (9), Michigan, North Carolina (5), Northwestern, Oklahoma State (20), Stanford (23), Texas (8), Texas A&M (19) and Texas Tech (15).
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 is in its 30th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 72 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.
