Alpharetta, Ga. – Benjamin Reuter fired a 3-under-par 69, and No. 9 Georgia Tech posted an even-par round of 288 Saturday to move up to 12th place after 36 holes at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational.
Tech also received a pair of even-par scores Saturday and remained at 8-over-par for the tournament, 24 strokes away from leader UCLA, which shot 8-under-par to overtake Virginia for the 36-hole lead. Reuter is the top Yellow Jacket on the leaderboard at 1-under-par 143, tied for 13th place.
Sunday’s final round begins at 8:30 a.m. from the first tee and 8:50 a.m. from the 10th tee. Admission is free.
Tech has a victory under its collective belt at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, where the Yellow Jackets bested No. 2 Arizona State by a stroke and a 15-team field that included 11 other top-25 teams, and a pair of eighth-place finishes at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate and the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational so far this fall.
The 14-team field includes four teams – Tech, Virginia (7) and Vanderbilt (10) – who advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship last May, and eight teams that competed in stroke play. Ten teams are currently ranked among the top-25 in the Scoreboard rankings.
TECH LINEUP – Starting on the 10th hole, Reuter played the back nine at the Lakeside Course in 3-under-par, then made eagle at the par-5 1st and birdie at the par-4 2nd to get to 6-under-par for his round. The redshirt junior from Naarden, The Netherlands double-bogeyed the 3rd and added one more bogey on the front nine to finish at 69. He is tied for 13th place after 36 holes.
Defending NCAA champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) and freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) each delivered even-par 72s to the Yellow Jackets’ effort, while sophomores Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) each carded 3-over-par 75s. Tai is tied for 33rd place with a 1-over-par total of 145 for 36 holes, while Hansson and Fontenot are tied for 46th place at 148 (+4).
Among Tech’s individuals, freshman Didrik Ringvall Bentsson (Stockholm, Sweden) posted the low round Saturday with a 2-under-par 70 and is tied for 22nd place individually at even-par 144. Junior Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) carded a 1-over 73, and Brady Rackley IV (Atlanta, Ga.) shot 76.
Benjamin Reuter is tied for 13th place at 1-under-par 143. (photo by Clyde Click)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – UCLA counted a pair of 68s from Baylor Larrabee and Luke Powell in putting together an 8-under-par round of 280, and moved into the lead after 36 holes at 16-under-par 560. First-round leader Virginia, with three players among the top 10 individuals after 36 holes, shot 7-under-par 281 Saturday and is one stroke back at 15-under-par 561, with Duke holding third place at 11-under-par 565.
Charlotte (568, -8), Southern California (573, -3), Vanderbilt and Clemson (both at 1-under-par 575) also are under par for 36 holes, while Pepperdine and Tennessee are tied for eighth place at even-par 576.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Charlotte’s Caden Baker followed his opening 66 with a 67 Saturday and remained on top of the leaderboard at 11-under-par 133. He has a three-stroke lead on Duke’s Ethan Evans, who shot 69 Saturday and has a tournament total of 136 (-8).
UCLA’s Omar Morales, Virginia’s Josh Duangmanee and Vanderbilt’s Wells Williams are tied for third place at 138 (-6), with the Cavaliers’ Bryan Lee (139, -5) and Ben James (140, -4) close behind.
Freshman Didrik Ringvall Bengtsson fired a 2-under-par 70 Saturday for the Jackets. (photo by Clyde Click)
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, formerly called the United States Collegiate Championship, is contested at the Yellow Jackets’ home club. The tournament is played exclusively on the 7,092-yard, par 72 Lakeside Course, 18 holes each day.
Eight of the 14 teams competing at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate played in NCAA Championship last spring, and three (Tech, Vanderbilt, Virginia) reached match play. Ten teams are currently ranked among the top 50 in the Scoreboard NCAA rankings.
The full field (with Scoreboard NCAA Golf ranking in parentheses) – Alabama (11), Charlotte (46), Clemson, Duke (44), East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech (9), Pepperdine (18), Southern California, Stanford (24), Tennessee (17), UCLA (39), Vanderbilt (10), Virginia (7), Washington.
TECH’S GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA COLLEGIATE HISTORY – Georgia Tech has won the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate twice in the event’s 17-year history, in 2010 and 2012. Three Tech players have won medalist honors. James White, who set tournament records for 18-hole score (62) and 54-hole score (204, broken in 2014), won in 2010, Ollie Schniederjans won in 2013, and Hiroshi Tai followed in 2022.
Clemson (2006, 2009), Oklahoma State (2013, 2017), Southern California (2008, 2019), Texas (2014, 2016) and Virginia (2016, 2023) also have won twice. The Cavaliers captured their second title last fall after sharing the 2016 title with the Longhorns. The tournament was not played in the fall of 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Yellow Jackets finished runner-up the last two years, and have finished in the top five 13 times in 17 years.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 30th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. 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. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
