Atlanta, Ga. – Aidan Tran, Albert Hansson, Kale Fontenot and Hiroshi Tai all scored victories in tight matches, and delivered a 4-0 victory for No. 14 Georgia Tech over Ohio State in a semifinal match Tuesday at the East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club.
The Yellow Jackets earned a spot in Wednesday’s championship match against defending NCAA Champion Auburn, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. In a rematch of last spring’s NCAA Championship match won by Auburn, the 4th-ranked Tigers won the other semifinal match Tuesday, 3-1 over Florida State. The Buckeyes and Seminoles will meet in a consolation match beginning at 10:50 a.m.
Golf Channel and Peacock will have live coverage of the championship matches in both the men’s and women’s competition from 3-6 p.m.
Tran, a junior from Fresno, Calif., played the lead match for the Yellow Jackets against Joe Wilson IV and earned Tech’s first point on the final hole. Neither player led by more than one hole throughout, but Tran erased a one-hole deficit by carding back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th holes, and held on for the victory with a par at 18. Wilson lipped out a short par putt that would have sent the match to extra holes after Tran had gotten up-and-down from behind the green to save his par.
“It was a great match, a lot of holes won and lost back and forth,” said Tran. “I think we both hit the ball really well off the tee, so it was just a matter of who could hit it closer and make more putts. Overall, solid. I just happened to make one more putt than he did and that was the match.”
Almost simultaneously, Hanson, a freshman from Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, finished off the Buckeyes’ Topher Reed, 2&1, when Reed bogeyed the 17th hole. In Tech’s third match, Fontenot never trailed and came to the final hole 1-up on Vaughn Harber, and both players converted short birdie putts, giving the Yellow Jackets’ their clinching point.
“I think that was a huge factor (never trailing),” said Fontenot. “I was playing a young guy, not a lot of experience, and me on the other hand having a little bit of experience, so I think that helped out. Just hitting first on every tee shot, just getting the ball in play was just pretty big. We’re ready to play tomorrow, we’re going to bring it. Just real excited to do this on our home course.”
Tai, who held a three-hole lead against Tyler Sabo after 15, closed out his match at the 17th with a par for a 2&1 win, and Tech led 4-0.
In the anchor match, Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) trailed for most of his 15 holes against medalist Jack Vojtko before the contest was halted with the Buckeye sophomore leading by one.
“Well, something we’ve always wanted to do. You know, last year you make it, and it’s at another golf course,” said head coach Bruce Heppler on advancing to the championship match on Tech’s home course. “We’ve been part of this place for over 25 years and, so it’s really special.”
Aidan Tran closes out Ohio State's Joe Wilson IV for Tech's first point.
The East Lake Cup brings together the 2024 NCAA Championship semifinal teams for a three-day stroke and match play competition. Tech won the top seed Monday by firing an 8-under-par 280 to outlast Auburn and Florida State by one stroke.
Tech finished third in stroke play last year when the East Lake Cup was held at Atlanta Athletic Club, lost to North Carolina in their semifinal match and defeated Florida in the third-place match. Fontenot, a freshman at the time, won medalist honors.
MATCH SUMMARY
Georgia Tech 4, Ohio State 1
- Aidan Tran (GT) def. Joe Wilson IV (OSU), 1-up
- Albert Hansson (GT) def. Topher Reed (OSU), 2&1
- Kale Fontenot (GT) def. Vaughn Harber (OSU), 1-up
- Hiroshi Tai (GT), def. Tyler Sabo (OSU), 2&1
- Benjamin Reuter (GT) and Jack Vojtko (OSU), match unfinished
Kale Fontenot pitches up to the 18th green to set up his closing birdie. (photo by Mike Stamus)
EAST LAKE CUP INFORMATION – The 10th annual East Lake Cup runs through Wednesday at East Lake Golf Club, which hosts the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs on the PGA Tour each year. The competition includes each of the four men’s and women’s semifinal teams from the previous year’s NCAA Championship competing at both stroke play and match play. East Lake Golf Club will measure 7,195 yards and play to a par of 72.
Golf Channel and Peacock provide live coverage of the competition from 3-6 p.m. each day.
Men’s teams: Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State; Women’s teams: LSU, Oregon, Southern California, UCLA
Format – The tournament format features 18 holes of stroke play to determine an individual male and female champion, and to set seedings for team match play. There will then be two rounds of match play to determine a team champion, along with a consolation match to determine third place.
Aidan Tran talks about his birdies at 13 and 14 that swung the leadoff match in his favor. #StingEm pic.twitter.com/B9q64Fu8Us
— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) October 29, 2024
Watch @KaleFontenot talk about his victory Tuesday vs Ohio State in the semifinals of the @eastlakecup pic.twitter.com/G0rClWjNuL
— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) October 29, 2024
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.
