THE FLATS – Continuing to work toward another berth in the NCAA Championship, which this year will be held in the San Diego area, 13th-ranked Georgia Tech heads to nearby Chula Vista, Calif., Monday and Tuesday to take part in the RE Lamkin Invitational.
The Yellow Jackets, No. 13 in the Scoreboard collegiate rankings and No. 11 in the Bushnell/GCAA coaches poll, finished in sixth place against a stacked field at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Hawai’i to open the spring, and tied for second place against another strong field two weeks ago in the Watersound Invitational in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Sixteen teams will compete over two days (Monday and Tuesday) at San Diego Country Club. The teams will play 36 holes Monday in a shotgun start beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the final 18-hole round Tuesday starting at 11 a.m. EST from the first and 10th tees. Three of the competing teams are ranked in the current Scoreboard NCAA Golf Rankings – Washington (4), Georgia Tech (13) and New Mexico (19) – with five others listed in the top 50.
After guiding the Yellow Jackets to the program’s 19th Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship last spring, head coach Bruce Heppler returned three starters for his 29th season on The Flats, including seniors Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) and Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) and sophomore Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), each of whom are ranked among the world’s top 100 amateur players. They have formed the foundation of the Tech lineup throughout the 2023-24 academic year.
Christo Lamprecht ascended to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and PGA Tour University this week. (photo by Ross Obley)
TECH LINEUP – All three of Tech’s returning starters – Lamprecht, Forrester and Tai – are in the lineup for the Lamkin Invitational along with freshmen Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif), the same lineup that has competed at the Yellow Jackets’ first two events this spring.
Lamprecht is currently ranked the No. 1 amateur in the world and No. 1 in the PGA Tour University rankings, and No. 2 in the Scoreboard collegiate rankings. The 6-8 senior won twice in the fall, winning the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, and missed a third victory by one stroke at the Watersound Invitational two weeks ago. He owns a team-best 68.47 stroke average, which is on pace to set a Tech program record.
Forrester, ranked No. 136 in the Scoreboard rankings, led the Yellow Jackets Amer Ari Intercollegiate, tying for eighth place with a 15-under-par total of 201, the second-lowest 54-hole score of his career. He posted a top-10 finish at Olympia Fields and two top-20s in the fall. Tai, ranked No. 89, tied for 18th place at the Amer Ari and followed that with a tie for eighth at the Watersound Invitational.
Fontenot is No. 60 in the Scoreboard rankings after tying for 14th place at Watersound, and won the stroke play portion of the East Lake Cup in the fall. Kim tied for 56th at Watersound and 30th at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in the fall for his best finishes this year.
Sophomore Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), who played in two fall events and tied for 49th at the Golf Club of Georgia, is competing as an individual for the second straight event, having tied for 37th at Watersound.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech is in the RE Lamkin Invitational for the first time in the event’s 17-year history. The tournament follows the traditional collegiate 54-hole, 5-count-4, stroke-play format, with 36 holes Monday and 18 holes Tuesday. The event is contested at San Diego Country Club, a venue measuring 7,033 yards (par 72).
The 16-team field includes BYU (43), Cal Poly, Colorado (70), Colorado State (57), Fresno State (48), Georgia Tech (13), Hawai’i, LSU (29), Loyola Marymount (41), New Mexico (19), Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Diego State (31), Santa Clara, Washington (4) and Wyoming.
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.
