Sept. 19, 2003
ATLANTA – A field that includes all of the top-11 teams in the Golfweek Preseason Poll will be on hand when the Georgia Tech golf team travels to Hot Springs, Va., to compete in the Ping/Golfweek Preview on Sept. 22-23. The 54-hole event will be held at the site of the 2004 NCAA Championship, The Homestead’s par-70, 6,615-yard Cascades Course.
The Yellow Jackets, who are ranked 10th in the preseason, are coming off of a ninth-place finish at the Bank of Tennessee at The Ridges on Sept. 14. The other teams in the field that are ranked among the top 10 are: Clemson (No. 1), UCLA (No. 2), Florida (No. 3), Oklahoma State (No. 4), Georgia (No. 5), Arizona State (No. 6), Texas (No. 7), UNLV (No. 8), and Augusta State (No. 9). The rest of the teams in the event will include: Arizona (No. 11), North Carolina (No. 13), Wake Forest (No. 19), Auburn (No. 21) and host Virginia Tech.
Georgia Tech will have its second new lineup of the young season upon arriving in Virginia. The Yellow Jacket contingent will consist of juniors Nicholas Thompson and Chan Wongluekiet, along with sophomore Thomas Jordan and rookies Roberto Castro and Kevin Larsen. Larsen will be making his debut for Tech.
A week ago in Tennessee, Georgia Tech was led by Castro, who turned in a solid debut by tying for 12th place in a strong field. The Alpharetta, Ga., product recorded a 54-hole score of even-par 72-73-72-216. Castro was joined in the tournament’s top 20 by Wongluekiet, who finished tied for 18th at 2-over-par, 71-71-76-218.
The Ping/Golfweek Preview Invitational will get under way on Monday with 36 holes of play and conclude on Tuesday with the final 18 holes of competition. Live scoring of the event will be available at www.golfstatlive.com, with a recap of the Yellow Jackets’ results being posted at www.ramblinwreck.com.
-GT-
