May 13, 2003
ATLANTA — The 15th-ranked Georgia Tech golf team will open play in the NCAA East Regional on May 15 in Auburn, Ala. The Yellow Jackets will be making their 13th appearance in the event, which will be contested at the par-72, 7,259-yard layout of the Auburn University Club will take place through Saturday, May 17.
Tech, will begin play in the tournament at 12:33 p.m. ET, on Thursday, in threesomes with fourth-seeded Florida and fifth-seeded Auburn for the first round. Team scores will determine pairings and tee times for the final two rounds.
“We’re looking forward to getting to play at the regional,” said Tech head coach Bruce Heppler. “The only way to get to the NCAA Championship is to be in one of the regionals so that is always one of our goals. The field in Auburn is outstanding and you’re going to have to play well to be one of the top-10 teams to come out of there. We’ve played against a number of the top teams in the country throughout the year, so we know the level of play that it will take to be successful in the regional.
The Jackets, along with top-ranked Clemson are the defending champions of the tournament and have a total of four regional titles in their history. Georgia Tech won the event a year ago with a score of 291-287-298-876, while hosting the tourney at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek. The Yellow Jackets also won the regional in 1991, 1998 and 1999 and boasts individual medalists in 1991 (Chan Reeves), 1992 (Jimmy Johnston) and 1998 (Matt Kuchar).
Georgia Tech has been a part of strong fields in each of its 10 tournaments to date in 2003, and the NCAA East Regional will be no different, as the event will boast four of the nation’s top-five-ranked teams. Included in that group are; Clemson (No. 1), Wake Forest (No. 2), Augusta State (No. 4) and Florida (No. 5). Also in the field will be five of the top-20 teams in the nation and 11 of the top-25 individuals according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Golfweek has rated Tech’s schedule as the third toughest in the country.
The Yellow Jackets are currently ranked in the top 15 of all four major collegiate golf polls and finished in the top eight of their last three tournaments. Leading Tech into the regional will be senior All-ACC selection Troy Matteson, who is the defending NCAA Individual Champion. Matteson leads the team with a 71.00 stroke average, while sophomore All-ACC pick Nicholas Thompson is second on the team with his 72.48 scoring average. The remaining Tech individuals in the field will include sophomore Chan Wongluekiet, freshman Thomas Jordan and senior Adam Cranford.
Tee times for each round of the NCAA East Regional will begin at 8:12 a.m. ET. Live scoring of the event will be available at www.golfstatlive.com and a recap of Georgia Tech’s daily results will be posted at www.ramblinwreck.com.
