Panama City Beach, Fla. – Benjamin Reuter and Albert Hansson each shot even-par 72 Monday, and 14th-ranked Georgia Tech posted a 3-over-par team total of 291 and are in a tie for sixth place after the opening round of the Watersound Invitational.
Tech did not have a player break par in the opening round and sit 12 strokes behind leader and co-host Florida State, who shot 9-under-par 279. Reuter and Hansson are tied for 18th place individually.
Twelve teams are competing over three days (Monday through Wednesday) at the par-72 Shark’s Tooth Golf Course at the Watersound Club. This year’s field features eight teams nationally ranked in the Top 50, including six of the Top 25 – No. 11 Vanderbilt, No. 12 UCLA, No. 14 Tech, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 24 Alabama and No. 25 Notre Dame.
Tech, making its fifth appearance in this event, won the tournament in 2022 and has finished runner-up each of the last two years.
The tournament utilizes a split-tee start format each day, with round 2 beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, and round 3 at 8:30 a.m. EST Wednesday. The event began in 2021 as the Camp Creek Invitational and was the first tournament the Yellow Jackets played following the COVID-19 shutdown that scuttled the spring and fall seasons in 2020.
Benjamin Reuter recorded 4 birdies in his round of 72 Monday. (photo by Clyde Click)
TECH LINEUP – Reuter, a redshirt junior from Naarden, Fla., and Hansson, a freshman from Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, each carded four birdies in his card in the opening round. Hansson was 2-under-par at the turn, Reuter 1-under, before encountering some difficulties on the back nine at the Shark’s Tooth Course.
Sophomore Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) shot 73, and sophomore Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) delivered a 74 for Tech’s team total Monday, while junior Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) did not count with an 81. Kim is tied for 28th individually, while Fontenot is tied for 37th.
Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) shot a solid 73 competing as an individual and is tied for 28th, while freshman Didrik Ringvall Bengtsson (Stockholm, Sweden) posted a 78.
LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – Five of the 12 teams and 18 of the 77 players in the tournament hit red figures on a chilly and breezy day on the Gulf coast of Florida.
Gray Albright and Michael Mays of Florida State each fired 5-under-par 67s to share the first-round lead, powering the No. 33 Seminoles to a 10-under-par total of 278 and a three-stroke lead over No. 12 UCLA. The Bruins (281, -7) had three players – Omar Morales (69), Kyle An (70) and Pablo Ereno (70) – under par and placed among the top 10 individuals after the opening round.
No. 24 Alabama (-3) and Michigan State (-1) also posted subpar team rounds on Monday, with Clemson (+1) in fifth place.
EVENT DETAILS
Watersound Invitational
- Dates: February 17-19 (stroke play, 54 holes)
- Format: 18 holes Monday (10 a.m. EST), Tuesday (9 a.m.) and Wednesday (7:30 a.m.), split-tee format
- Venue: Shark’s Tooth Golf Course (par 72, 7,246 yards)
- Participating teams (12): Alabama (24), Clemson, Florida State (33), Georgia Tech (14), Kentucky, Michigan State, Mississippi State (18), Navy, NC State (42), Notre Dame (25), UCLA (12), Vanderbilt (11)
- Tech appearances (last appearance): 4 (Tech finished t-2nd in 2024)
- Best finish: won championship in 2022
- Individual titles: none
Round 1 in Photos
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 30th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 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.
