Kohala Coast, Hawai’i – Led by freshman Kale Fontenot’s 7-under-par 65, Georgia Tech posted the third-lowest 18-hole score in program history Saturday, a 23-under-par 265, and finished in sixth place at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate.
Tech’s third-round score was the second-best in the field Saturday, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to pick up significant ground on the leaders as No. 2 North Carolina posted a 22-under-par round, No. 7 Arizona State shot 20-under, top-ranked Auburn posted a 15-under-par round, No. 22 Texas Tech was 20-under-par and No. 4 Washington was 19-under. The Jackets finished 17 strokes off the pace of the Tar Heels.
Senior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), fired his third straight 67 (-5) Saturday and tied for eighth place individually at 15-under-par 201.
Tech’s 50-under-par tournament score of 814 was the fifth-lowest score in relation to par on record for the program, six strokes off the record total of 56-under-par at this event in 2005, and was the seventh lowest stroke total in team history.
The Jackets return to action Feb. 19-21 at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City, Fla.
TECH LINEUP – Fontenot made eight birdies in the final round, including three in his final four holes, as the freshman posted the best round of his career to date and rose to a tie for 55th individually at 7-under-par 209.
Senior Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) fired a 6-under-par 66 Saturday that included seven birdies, and finished in a tie for 14th place at 14-under-par 202. Sophomore Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) and freshman Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) each carded 67s for the Yellow Jackets. Tai finished in a tie for 19th place at 13-under-par 203, while Kim tied for 78th at 213 (-3).
Senior Aidan Kramer (Oviedo, Fla.), competing as an individual, posted his third straight subpar round Saturday (3-under-par 69) and tied for 63rd place at 6-under-par 210.
Bartley Forrester (15-under-par 201) earned the eighth top-10 fonish of his career and second this year.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – No. 2 North Carolina had four players shoot at least 5-under par Saturday and posted a 22-under-par total of 266, allowing the Tar Heels to outlast No. 7 Arizona State by five strokes. UNC posted a 68-under-par tournament total of 796, with the Sun Devils finishing at 801 (-63).
Top-ranked Auburn (806, -58) finished in third place, while No. 4 Washington and No. 22 Texas Tech tied for fourth place at 8-7 (-57) and Tech came in sixth at 814 (-50).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Arizona State’s Wenyi Ding ran away with medalist honors, carding a 10-under-par 62 Saturday, the best individual round of the weekend, to complete 54 holes at 27-under-par 189. That was none shots better than Washington’s Finn Noelle and San Jose State’s Carl Corpus, who tied at 18-undr-par 198.
Auburn’s Jackson Koivin, North Carolina’s David Ford and Texas Tech’s Matthew Comegys tied for fourth place at 199 (-17), with the Tar Heels’ Dylan Menante alone in seventh place at 200 (-16).
Tech’s Forrester tied for eighth place with five other players at 201 (-15).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech has played in the Amer Ari Intercollegiate every year since 1999, with the exception of the 2015. The 33rd annual event is a traditional collegiate 54-hole, 5-count-4 stroke-play tournament, contested at the Mauna Lani Golf Resort (par-72 North Course) on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawai’i, the second time the event has been held at the venue.
The Yellow Jackets have won this event five times, all between 1999 and 2006, and six Yellow Jackets have won or shared the individual title, including Carlton Forrester (shared title in 1999), Matt Kuchar (shared title in 1999 and 2000), Bryce Molder (shared title in 2000), Troy Matteson (2002) and Cameron Tringale (2006). Tech finished in seventh place among 19 teams last year.
The 20-team field included nine teams ranked in the current NCAA Golf top-25, and 13 of the top 50, including (with ranking) top-ranked Auburn, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Washington, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 12 Florida State, No. 16 Texas, No. 18 Oregon, No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 31 UCLA, No. 42 Oklahoma State, No. 46 Oregon State, No. 49 San Jose State.
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 29th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, having won 72 tournaments in his tenure. Heppler is the 10th-longest-tenured head coach in Division I men’s golf. 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. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
