Oct. 24, 2004
ATLANTA – Third-ranked Georgia Tech headlines a group of eight of the nation’s top 25 teams who are competing in the first annual Isleworth Collegiate Invitational Monday and Tuesday at the prestigious Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla.
Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 11 Texas, No. 22 Augusta State, No. 24 Wake Forest and No. 25 Florida are all scheduled to compete, while Clemson, UCF and North Carolina are in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 50. Led by nine-time champion Oklahoma State, a total of 19 national championships are represented by the schools in the field, including four-time champion Florida and three-time champion Wake Forest.
The Yellow Jackets boast four of the nation’s top 40 golfers, according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, led by sophomore Roberto Castro (Alpharetta, Ga.), wh is at No. 14 following top-10 finishes in each of Tech’s first two fall events. Senior Chan Song (Orlando, Fla.), at No. 17, and junior Mike Barbosa (St. Petersburg, Fla.), at No. 33, each have one top-10 and one top-20 finish to his credit this fall, while senior Nicholas Thompson (Coral Springs, Fla.), who tied for third at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate last week, is ranked No. 40.
Castro has a stroke average of 69.83, while Song, Barbosa and Thompson all are under 71 over six rounds. Thomas Jordan, a junior from Sea Island, Ga., with a stroke average of 72.83, rounds out the Tech five who will play in the event.
Head coach Bruce Heppler’s team has finished second, four shots off the pace, in both events it has played this fall. The Jackets were tied for the lead after 36 holes at the Jerry Pate event, but Augusta State surged to the title on the final day, and fell short to Oklahoma State at the Golfweek Preview.
This is the first official competitive event to be played at Isleworth Country Club, a 7,544-yard, par 72 layout which is home to PGA Tour stars Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara, John Cook, and others. The Arnold Palmer design recently underwent an extensive renovation that included the lengthening of many holes, making it the longest and toughest course in Florida.
The teams will play a practice round Sunday Oct. 24 in preparation for the event and then play 36 holes Monday followed by an 18-hole final round Tuesday. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort will serve as team headquarters for the event and the Central Florida Sports Commission will also aid in the running of the event.
