THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf team returns to action this weekend with a spring break trip out West, competing Thursday through Saturday at The Goodwin in Palo Alto, Calif.
With three victories in seven events during the 2021-22 year and coming off a fifth-place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate three weeks ago, the Yellow Jackets have moved up to No. 11 in this week’s Golfstat rankings, and No. 12 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index. Head coach Bruce Heppler’s Tech squad is one of three top-25 teams in the 28-team field that includes three teams three other teams in the Golfstat top 50.
The tournament culminates a spring break trip in which the Yellow Jackets have played Cypress Point Club and Monterey Peninsula Country Club, two courses on the rotation for the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the Tiger Woods-designed par-3 course at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – This is Georgia Tech’s second appearance at The Goodwin, named for legendary Cardinal head coach and the third time Yellow Jackets have played an event at the Stanford Golf Course (6,732 yards, par 70), having competed in an NCAA regional tournament there in 2017. The format is 54 holes, 18 each day beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time from both the first and 10th tees, with the low four individual scores of five each day counting toward the team total.
The field, larger than usual at 28 teams, includes six teams from East of the Mississippi River (Tech, Drexel, Florida Atlantic, Howard, Miami of Ohio. Rutgers and Wofford) and 12 teams from outside the Pacific time zone.
Tech, No. 8 Washington and No. 14 Stanford, the host, are the highest ranked teams in the field, which also includes Brigham Young, California, Cal Poly, Colorado, Denver, Drexel, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech, Hawaii-Hilo, Howard, Long Beach State, Miami (Ohio), Nevada, Northwestern, Oregon, Rutgers, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose State, SMU, Stanford, UC Davis, UCLA, Washington State and Wofford.
Host Stanford has won the tournament 16 times since the inaugural event in 1968. Past individual winners include major golf champions Tom Watson and Corey Pavin, as well as veteran PGA Tour pros like Duffy Waldorf and Billy Mayfair, and younger pros like Nick Taylor, Patrick Rodgers, Maverick McNealy and Brandon Wu.
The Yellow Jackets played the famed Cypress Point Club earlier this week.
TEAM UPDATE – Tech has four starters back from its 2020-21 squad which finished 15th at the NCAA Championship. Those four players – senior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.), juniors Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) and Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), and sophomore Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) – form the Yellow Jackets’ nucleus along with transfer Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.) and freshman Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands).
After winning the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and the Hamptons Intercollegiate in the fall, they opened the spring with a seventh-place showing at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Hawai’i and won the Watersound Invitational in Panama City Beach, Fla., against a field of 12 Atlantic Coast Conference teams and two Southeastern Conference stalwarts – Alabama and Arkansas.
Each of the Yellow Jackets except Reuter has at least two top-10 finishes this year, and three Tech players are listed among Golfstat’s top 75 players nationally. Steelman has finished in the top 10 of both spring events, including a runner-up finish at Watersound, has four top-10s in six events this year, and holds the highest Golfstat ranking (No. 65) among the Yellow Jackets. The junior leads the Jackets in stroke average with an even 70.00. Forrester (No. 159) has finished in the top-10 three times, including a tie for fourth last weekend at Watersound, and has averaged 70.94 over 18 rounds. Lamprecht (No. 71), with a 70.28 average and Howe (No. 75), averaging 70.50, each have two top-10 finishes.
TECH LINEUP – Due to the illness to junior Ross Steelman, Tech’s lineup undergoes its first significant change of the spring. Sophomore Christo Lamprecht and juniors Connor Howe and Bartley Forrester, all ranked among the Golfstat top 150, are joined by senior Ben Smith and freshman Benjamin Reuter in the lineup for The Goodwin, while junior Andy Mao (Johns Creek, Ga.) gets his first start of the spring as an individual after winning qualifying.
Christo Lamprecht (Sophomore, George, South Africa) – Tallest player ever in Tech program at 6-foot-8 … Three top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for second in Tech’s most recent tournament at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (205, -11) … Tied for 42nd at Tech’s spring opener (Amer Ari Intercollegiate) and 23rd at the Watersound Invitational … Tops among the Jacket regulars in stroke average at an even 70.00 … Currently ranked No. 50 in both Golfstat and the Golfweek/Sagarin Index … No. 79 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 68 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking … In the fall, was runner-up at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate with a program-record 54-hole score of 194 (-16), tied for 10th at the Windon Memorial and 14th at the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
Connor Howe (Junior, Ogden, Utah) – Two top-10 finishes this year, and four other finishes in the top 20 in seven events … Tied for 13th at the Watersound Invitational and 43rd at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate this spring … No. 2 on the team in stroke average at 70.48 across 21 rounds … Won the Patriot All-America Amateur tournament in December … Tied for 7th at the Windon Memorial Classic and the Hamptons Intercollegiate, and tied for 19th at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in the fall … Ranks No. 57 in the PGA Tour University ranking, No. 61 in Golfstat and No. 79 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, the highest rankings of his career … T-5 at the Southern Amateur, T-7 at the Monroe Invitational and T-11 at the Dogwood Invitational last summer … No. 83 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 43 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking.
Bartley Forrester (Junior, Gainesville, Ga.) – Having the best year of his career to this point, posting three top-10 finishes in seven events, including a tie for fourth at the Watersound Invitational … Tied for 18th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate … In the fall, tied for sixth place at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate competing as an individual (63 in the final round) and seventh at the Hamptons Intercollegiate … No. 149 in the Golfstat ranking and No. 113 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, the highest positions of his career, and is No. 247 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking … Stroke average is an even 70.86 over 21 rounds … Qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur and posted a T-20 at the Monroe Invitational last summer … Co-medalist the 2020 Puerto Rico Classic.
Andy Mao (Junior, Johns Creek, Ga.) – Played twice in the fall, tying for 63rd at the Windon Memorial Classic and 43rd at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate … Has a stroke average of 72.83 over six rounds … Has played in seven events during his Tech career, with a high finish of 18th to help Tech win the 2019 Carpet Capital Collegiate … Tied for third at the GCAA Amateur Series event in Loudon, Tenn., and tied for 20th at the Rice Planters Amateur last summer.
Benjamin Reuter (Freshman, Naarden, The Netherlands) – Tied for 30th in Tech’s spring opener in Hawai’i and 34th at the Watersound Invitational this spring … Sits No. 253 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index … Played three times in the fall, earning his best finish with a tie for 13th at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate … Also tied for 21st at the Hamptons Intercollegiate … Stroke average is 71.83 over 18 rounds … Won the Dutch National Championship and reached match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur last summer … Ranked No. 178 in World Amateur Golf Ranking, No. 113 in European Golf Ranking.
Ben Smith (Senior, Novi, Mich.) – Ranks No. 88 in the PGA Tour University ranking … Started well at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate (71-71 competing as an individual), but fell back in the final round … Posted a high finish last fall of T21 at the Hamptons Intercollegiate, and had a 72.17 stroke average over 12 rounds … T-8 at Monroe Invitational, T-10 at Northeast Amateur last summer … Tied for eighth at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, and tied for ninth at the Calusa Cup last spring.
"This tournament is a little different from Hawai’i in that you have a morning time and an afternoon time already set for the first two round, similar to the NCAA Championship. The only real challenge to that is the weather, but this is good because you don’t get to practice that in the regular season. It’s a shorter course, so there will be some irons off the tees on some par-4s. We figured out last year on the last day to try and back things up a little bit and not force things with drivers and 3-woods on some of these holes. It’ll be good to see with this team how we compare to a year ago and see what happens. Play around the greens will be much like it is in Arizona at the national championship.Our lineup will be different this week. Ross (Steelman) stayed home because he wasn’t feeling well, and the early diagnosis was mono. So we qualified and Andy Mao came out here with us. He hasn’t played since the Chicago event in the fall. Ben Smith is here as well. He’s played a lot of golf for us."
Head coach Bruce Heppler
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ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 27th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 68 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 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.
