THE FLATS – Georgia Tech has been seeded No. 13 for the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship finals and will be paired with No. 14 East Tennessee State and No. 15 California for the first two rounds when competition begins Friday at the Omni LaCosta Resort and Spa.
Appearing in the finals for the 33rd time in program history, and 32nd time since 1985, the Yellow Jackets, Buccaneers and Bears are in the final groups of the afternoon wave Friday, teeing off from the 10th hole at 4:50 p.m. Eastern time (1:50 p.m. local time). They are in the final groups of the morning wave for Saturday’s round 2, beginning at 11:30 a.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. local) from the first tee.
Head coach Bruce Heppler’s 29th Tech team returns three starters from a team that finished runner-up at the 2023 championship in Scottsdale, Ariz. Since the NCAA added match play to the format to determine its champion in 2009, the Yellow Jackets have advanced to match play five times and looks to return for the second straight year.
Tech enters the NCAA Championship having finished third at the ACC Championship last month before advancing through the Chapel Hill Regional. The Yellow Jackets have the ACC Player of the Year and the nation’s No. 5-ranked player in senior Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa), as well as two other players with NCAA Championship experience in senior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) and sophomore Hiroshi Tai (Singapore).
Thirty teams and six individuals will compete at the finals, which consists of three days of stroke play on Friday, May 24 through Sunday, May 26 (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 27 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, May 28, followed by finals on Wednesday, May 29.
The 2023 NCAA Championship was held at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Florida winning the team title, defeating Georgia Tech 3-1 in the final round of match play competition. Florida’s Fred Biondi won the individual title.
Golf Channel will provide live coverage of the final round of stroke play next Monday and all match play competition next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tech finished in fourth place at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional to earn its spot in Carlsbad. (photos by Andy Mead)
TECH IN THE NCAA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
- Georgia Tech has competed in the NCAA Golf Championship finals 32 times (counting 2024) since 1985. Only Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Texas and Florida have more appearances in that time frame.
- Tech is ranked No. 18 in the latest Scoreboard NCAA rankings, but was seeded No. 13 due to five teams ranked ahead of the Jackets not advancing from their regionals.
- Tech has advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship five times since the NCAA instituted the stroke-play/match-play format in 2009. Only Illinois, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Vanderbilt have more match play appearances.
- Tech has posted 17 top-8 finishes in the NCAA Championship, 12 of those since Bruce Heppler became the head coach. The Yellow Jackets have qualified for match play five times since the advent of the stroke-play/match-play format in 2009, finishing third in stroke play in 2010, second in 2011, second in 2013, fifth in 2014 and tied for fifth in 2023.
- Tech has been the runner-up in the NCAA Championship five times (1993, 2000, 2002 and 2005 before the introduction of match play, and again in 2023). Only Oklahoma State, which has 18, and Texas (6) have more.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and 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. Heppler is the 10th-longest-tenured head coach in Division I men’s golf. 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.
