THE FLATS – On the strength of five tournament victories, including an NCAA regional triumph, and a 12th-place finish in the NCAA Championship, Georgia Tech has finished the 2021-22 year ranked No. 10 in the nation in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index and No. 11 by Golfstat. It is the 19th time since 2000, when national rankings began to be kept, that the Yellow Jackets have finished in the top 10 of one or both rankings.
With four starters back from last year and adding two key contributors who formed the core of the 2021-22 team, head coach Bruce Heppler’s 27th Tech team won five times in 11 tournaments before the NCAA Championship, including a share of the title at the NCAA Columbus Regional. The Yellow Jackets won the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and the Hamptons Intercollegiate in the fall, earning a national ranking of No. 20 entering the spring. The Yellow Jackets added titles in the Watersound Invitational and The Calusa Cup in the spring before tying Oklahoma State for the NCAA regional title.
At the ACC Championship, Tech finished second in stroke play and advanced to the championship match, where they fell to Wake Forest, 3-2. The final and deciding individual match went to the 21st hole, where freshman Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) lost to Alex Fitzpatrick.
Three Tech players made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, including sophomore Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa), who earned six top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for third at the ACC Championship; junior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), who captured a share of medalist honors at The Calusa Cup, had four top-10 finishes and tied for 15th at the NCAA Championship, and junior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah), who delivered three top-10s in 2021-22, including a tie for seventh at the NCAA Columbus Regional. Lamprecht and Forrester additionally were named honorable mention All-Americans by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Junior Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.), who counted a runner-up performance at the NCAA Columbus Regional among his six-top-10 finishes, was named to the All-East Region team by the GCAA.
The Yellow Jackets earned their fifth victory of 2021-22 and the progream’s 31st NCAA Championship berth with a victory at the NCAA Columbus Regional. (photo by Ricky Bassman)
More accomplishments for the Yellow Jackets in 2021-22…
- Tech played in the NCAA Championship for the 30th time since 1985, a number eclipsed by only four other programs in Division I.
- Tech’s five tournament wins are fourth-most in program history.
- Tech’s team stroke average of 281.59 (-3.59 in relation to par) is the third-best in program history.
- All five Tech starters at the NCAA Championship had stroke averages of 72.00 or better, led by Lamprecht’s 70.22, which is the third-lowest season average in program history.
- Tech compiled a 36-32-2 mark head-to-head against the nation’s top 20 teams, according to Golfstat (34-30-2 against the top 25 according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Index), and was 77-35-6 against teams in the top 50, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Index.
- Tech’s five NCAA Championship starters combined for 20 top-10 finishes.
- Tech’s 27 par-or-better team rounds tied for most in program history.
- Tech’s 676 total birdies are the Jackets’ most since records have been kept (1999-00 to present).
FINAL PLAYER INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
| Player | Class | Events | Golfstat | Sagarin |
| Christo Lamprecht | So. | 12 | 27 | 27 |
| Bartley Forrester | Jr. | 12 | 81 | 69 |
| Connor Howe | Jr. | 12 | 85 | 86 |
| Ross Steelman | Jr. | 11 | 141 | 114 |
| Benjamin Reuter | Fr. | 10 | 283 | 202 |
| Ben Smith | Sr. | 8 | 416 | 326 |
| Note: 966 Division I players are ranked | ||||
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 A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and the Support The Swarm Fund, created to give fans an opportunity to help Georgia Tech athletics maintain its recent momentum through the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team has completed 26 years under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 70 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 30 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.
