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Scottsdale, Ariz. – Freshman Christo Lamprecht fired a 1-under-par 69 Friday in his first NCAA Championship round of golf, leading the No. 22-seed Yellow Jackets to an opening score of 289 (+9), tied for 17th place after the first round of the Men’s Division I Golf Championship Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Yellow Jackets, playing in the NCAA Championship finals for the 30th time, are seeking the first-ever championship and their fifth trip to match play. Under cloudless skies with a light breeze and morning temperatures in the low 90s, Grayhawk was challenging and its greens were firm, and only three teams – Texas Tech, Sam Houston State and Pepperdine – were able to finish under par. Lamprecht, Tech’s top-ranked player at No. 73 in the Golfstat rankings, was the only Yellow Jacket able to break par but was among the individual leaders at the close of the round.
At the end of the day, Tech sits three strokes out of eighth place (the 30-team field will be cut to 15 teams Sunday, following 54 holes of play, and the top eight after 72 holes advance to match play).
TECH LINEUP – As the Jackets began round 1 at the 10th hole, Lamprecht birdied No. 11 but bogeyed three of his next six holes to finish his first nine at 2-over-par. But the George, South Africa native found his rhythm on the front nine at Grayhawk, making birdie at the par-4 first, sixth and ninth holes, as well as the par-3 fifth. Lamprecht stood tied for 11th played when the morning wave finished their rounds, and wound up tied for 17th at the end of the day.
Senior Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.) had a steady round going, parring 15 of his first 17 holes, with one birdie and one bogey, until closing with a double bogey at 9 for a 72 (+2), tied for 55th place. Junior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.) and sophomore Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) each shot 74 (+4) toward the Jackets’ team total, while junior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) posted a 75 (+5).
Notable: Lamprecht has broken par in eight of his last nine rounds dating back to the Calusa Cup in early April (the one round was a 72 at the ACC Championship on a par-70 course) … Only two freshmen – Bo Jin of Oklahoma State and Ting-Wei Hsieh of Sam Houston State – are ahead of Lamprecht on the leaderboard … Lamprecht drove the green on the 348-yard par-4 6th hole and two-putted for birdie … Birdies were tough to come by, and Tech recorded just 12 among its five players (Oklahoma State led the field with 18 on Friday) … Tech played the two par-5 holes in 4-under-par (four birdies, no bogeys).
Scenes from Friday's Opening Round
Photos by Tim Cowie
TEAM LEADERBOARD – No. 19 seed Texas Tech, with a 4-under-par 276, and No. 24 Sam Houston State, at 2-under-par 278, both played in the morning wave, and their scores stood up through the afternoon, finishing the round 1-2 on the leaderboard. The Red Raiders had three players under par, led by a 68 from No. 1 player Ludwig Aberg. The Bearkats rode the strength of a pair of 67s from their top player, William Holcomb IV, and their No. 5 player, Ting-Wei Hsieh.
Ninth-seeded Pepperdine was the only other team to break par Friday, posting a 1-under 279 for third place behind William Mouw’s 68 and Joey Vrzich’s 69. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, the No. 2 and 3 seeds, came in at even-par 280 and are tied for fourth, followed by top-seed Florida State in sixth place at 281 (+1) and No. 10 seed Arizona State at 283 (+3).
Only three strokes separate eighth and 18th places. Oregon State and San Diego State are tied for eighth place at 286 (+6), while five teams, including No. 4 Clemson and No. 7 Wake Forest, are tied for 10th at 287 (+7). Sixth-seeded North Carolina and No. 18 Florida are tied for 15th place at 288 (+8), with the Yellow Jackets and Louisville at 289 (+9).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Purdue’s Cole Bradley, in the field as an individual, posted a bogey-free 66 to take the opening-round lead by one stroke over Holcomb, Hsieh and Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin, all at 67.
Aberg was among a large group of 12 players tied for fifth place after posting 2-under-par 68, and the Yellow Jackets’ Lamprecht was among 10 players another stroke back at 69. A total of 26 players among the 156 in the field broke par Friday at Grayhawk.
Post-Round Audio
Head coach Bruce Heppler following Tech’s opening round at the NCAA Championship
Freshman Christo Lamprecht following his first NCAA Championship round
TECH’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY – Georgia Tech has reached the NCAA Championship finals 29 times since 1985 (30 times in program history), which is tied for fifth most in that time period behind Oklahoma State (35), Arizona State (33), Florida (32) and Texas (32). Tech has posted nine top-8 finishes in the last 15 tries.
The Yellow Jackets have qualified for match play four times since the advent of the stroke-play/match-play format in 2009, finishing third in 2010, second in 2011, second in 2013, fifth in 2014. Tech did not advance out of its regional in 2012, 2016, 2017 or 2018.
CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION/FORMAT – Finals play consists of three days of stroke play on Friday, May 28 thru Sunday, May 30 (54 holes), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on Monday, May 31 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, June 1, followed by finals on Wednesday, June 2.
The entire championship is conducted on the Raptor course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., which measures 7,289 yards and plays to a par of 70. This is the first of three straight years that the Grayhawk will host the NCAA Championship.
- Saturday, May 29 – Second round of stroke play competition (Tech begins at 3:25 p.m. ET)
- Sunday, May 30 – Third round of stroke play competition (tee times based on 36-hole scores)
- Monday, May 31 – Final round of stroke play competition (tee times based on 54-hole scores)
- Tuesday, June 1 – Quarterfinals and semifinals of team match play
- Wednesday, June 2 – Championship match to determine team champion
TELEVISION – Golf Channel will air live coverage of the final round of stroke play Monday, May 31 (5-9 p.m. Eastern time), the team quarterfinals (12-3:30 p.m. ET) and semifinals (5-9 p.m. ET) on Tuesday June 2, and the team championship match Wednesday, June 2 (5-9 p.m. ET).
Opening tee shots of every Tech player from round 1 at the NCAA Championship
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Support The Swarm Fund, which helps Georgia Tech athletics offset the significant financial challenges associated with Covid-19, and 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 26th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 65 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 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 (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
