Nov. 13, 2017
Alpharetta, Ga. – The Ramblin’ Wreck Cup, Georgia Tech’s annual fund-raising event for the Yellow Jackets’ golf program, attracted more than 130 golfers under crystal clear blue skies Monday afternoon at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga.
For the first time in the history of the event, both the Lakeside and the Creekside courses had to be utilized to accommodate the 33 foursomes that came to help support the Tech program. Each foursome features a current or a former Yellow Jacket player, and 13 Tech alumni playing professional golf along with the 12 current Jackets helped fill out those foursomes.
Tech’s #ProJackets attending Monday ranged from Vincent Whaley, who graduated last spring, all the way back to Larry Mize (1975-78), the 1987 Masters champion who has played the PGA Tour Champions for the last 10 years. Two current PGA Tour pros, Chesson Hadley and Cameron Tringale, flew directly from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where they played in last weekend’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Both players are en route to play in the RSM Classic this weekend in Sea Island, Ga.
“It’s simple. Georgia Tech is about tradition. The program is much bigger the one person,” said Tringale. “Coach Heppler has always impressed upon everyone that the guys who came before you lay the foundation, and we’re walking in the fruits of that. As a graduate and as a guy who plays golf for a living, it’s important to remember how big of a role this place played in my career, and to come back and show that to the kids now, and to the people who enabled so much of what we did, coming back is a small way to say thank you. It’s neat to have a Georgia Tech family out on tour. It’s such a unique experience to go to school here and to play golf here, so that once you’ve gotten out there and been through the wringer, there’s common ground that’s neat and special.”
“It’s being a part of the program,” said Hadley. “Other guys before have made it their duty to come back, and I certainly feel an obligation to do that. [Heppler] has been so good to me over the years, and to the program, I’m always going to make an effort to be here. I think that’s one of the reasons the program is so successful, that the players come back, and the boosters who support the program see that and like that. And we have great days like today. It’s good to see some of the boosters and teammates that I only get to see once a year.”
“This is great for the culture of the program,” said Roberto Castro, just a couple of days after he and his wife Katie celebrated the birth of their second child. “Why are the Patriots there every year, why is Alabama there every year, why is Georgia Tech golf there every year? Facilities help, and recruiting is important, but the overall culture is huge, and this is an important part of that. Tech alumni do such a wide variety of things, professionally, personally and philanthropically, so it’s good to be around the donors. And they’re not all Georgia Tech alumni. Seeing that wide breadth of people is valuable. We’ve never taken for granted all the things we have that make our program great and what the donors do to make that possible with the money that’s raised.”
Tech alumni and golf fans interested in participating in next year’s event can get more information by calling head coach Bruce Heppler in the golf office at 404-894-4423 or by e-mailing him at bheppler@athletics.gatech.edu.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 23rd under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 51 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 16 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GT_Golf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
