Sept. 26, 2002
ATLANTA — The Georgia Tech golf team will open its tournament schedule this weekend when it hosts the Carpet Capital Collegiate at the Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga., with 18 holes being played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The 54-hole event will be contested on The Farm’s par-72, 6,906-yard layout.
As has been the case for much of its history, the Carpet Capital Collegiate will feature one of the strongest fields of the fall, and possibly the entire season. Of the 18 teams in the field, 17 are ranked in the preseason top 25 by Golfweek, including seven of the top 10. Included in that group are top-ranked Clemson, third-ranked Florida, fourth-ranked Texas, fifth-ranked Wake Forest, sixth-ranked Georgia Tech, seventh-ranked Arizona and tenth-ranked NC State. Tech has defended its home turf in recent years, winning the last three Carpet Capital events, including a ten-stroke victory over Tennessee last year.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of the most successful season the program’s history, after recording seven team wins a year ago and claiming the NCAA individual title, with senior Troy Matteson picking up medalist honors. Tech returns three starters from a year ago, two of which will be competing this weekend, in Matteson and sophomore Nicholas Thompson heading up the lineup this weekend.
Joining that duo in the lineup will be senior Adam Cranford, who played in two events a year ago, including playing as an individual at the U.S. Collegiate Championships. The final two spots in the order will be filled by players making their collegiate tournament debuts, as sophomore Wren Fowler and redshirt freshman Mike Barbosa will don the Old Gold and White for the first time in their careers.
Live scoring of the tournament will be available at www.golfstatlive.com, while a recap of Georgia Tech’s results each day can be found at www.ramblinwreck.com.
