Olympia Fields, Ill. – All-American Christo Lamprecht got his senior year off to a hot start Friday, posting a 5-under-par 65 to lift the No. 4-ranked Georgia Tech golf team into second place after the opening round of the Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational.
Lamprecht is tied for the lead individually, while the Yellow Jackets, with a 3-under-par total of 277, are one stroke behind 11th-ranked Texas (276, -4) after the first day of competition in a tournament that included 11 teams that competed in last year’s NCAA Championship. The second round gets underway at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The 6-foot-8 Tech senior led a determined opening-day effort for the Yellow Jackets, who started slowly (1-over-par at the turn), but put up eight birdies collectively on the back nine at an Olympia Fields Country Club course that just a month ago hosted a FedEx Cup Playoff event on the PGA Tour.
TECH LINEUP – Lamprecht, who opened the fall season No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and in the PGA Tour University rankings, began his senior year with a stellar round, piecing together seven birdies against just two bogeys at the par-70 Olympia Fields. The George, South Africa senior closed with three birdies in his last five holes to take the clubhouse lead before Stanford’s Karl Vilips posted another 65 later in the afternoon.
Freshman Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) made a solid collegiate debut with a 1-under-par 69, recording two birdies against one bogey, and is tied for 10th place, while senior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) also was solid, one birdie and one bogey on the way to an even-par 70 and a tie for 15th place.
Senior Aidan Kramer (Oviedo, Fla.), making just his sixth career start for the Yellow Jackets, is tied for 42nd place after posting a 3-over-par 73, while freshman Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) carded a 78 (+8) and did not factor in the team total.
Kale Fontenot made his collegiate debut with a 1-under-par 69. (photo by Clyde Click)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Three Texas players broke par Friday to lead the 11th-ranked Longhorns to the top of the leaderboard, and their 4-under-par 276 total was one stroke better than the Yellow Jackets (277, -3), who benefitted from two subpar rounds and one even-par score. They were the only teams to break par Friday.
Top-ranked North Carolina, which fell to Tech in the NCAA Championship semifinals last May, settled into third place at 1-under-par 279. No. 5 Florida State (283, +3) holds fourth position, with No. 9 and host Illinois, No. 2 Arizona State and No. 13 Alabama tied for fifth at 285 (+5).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Lamprecht took his 65 into the clubhouse with several teams still on the course Friday afternoon before the Cardinal’s Vilips birdied three straight holes late in his round to post a matching score.
They were one stroke better than Texas sophomore Jacob Sosa and Florida State senior Gray Albright, each of whom carded a 4-under-par 66, while North Carolina’s Maxwell Ford shot 3-under-par 67 to take fifth place alone.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Yellow Jackets are competing in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational for the second time, having shared the 2019 title with Baylor. Illinois hosts the 15-team event, which will be contested over 54 holes beginning Friday and concluding Sunday at Olympia Fields Country Club’s North course, which plays to a par-70 and measures 7,310 yards.
Participating teams include Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Purdue, Stanford and Texas. Fourteen of the 15 teams are ranked or received votes in the first Golf Coaches Association of America poll. All 15 competed in 2023 NCAA regionals, 11 of the 15 advanced to the NCAA Championship, and seven of those reached match play (quarterfinalists Arizona State, Illinois, and Pepperdine; semifinalists Florida State and North Carolina; and finalists Florida and Georgia Tech).
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 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. 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.
