Panama City, Fla. – Led by Christo Lamprecht’s 6-under-par 66, all five Georgia Tech players broke par in Friday afternoon’s second round, fueling the 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 15-under-par score of 273 and a move into second place after 36 holes at the 68th Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship.
Ross Steelman, Connor Howe and Bartley Forrester each posted 3-under-par 69, and the Jackets dropped a 2-under-par 70 by freshman Benjamin Reuter as Tech turned in the afternoon’s best score, firmly establishing their place among the top four teams on the leaderboard. The top four teams following Saturday’s third and final round of stroke play will qualify for the match play portion of the championship, which begins Sunday at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course.
Seeking the 19th conference championship in program history, Georgia Tech is 10 strokes behind 36-hole leader North Carolina (547, -29), five strokes ahead of third-place Virginia (562, -14) and eight ahead of No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 24 Florida State, who are tied for fourth place at 565 (-11). Lamprecht and Steelman are both among the top 10 individuals on the leaderboard, tied for fourth and seventh places, respectively.
Round 3 gets underway at 9 a.m. Saturday. Tech’s players are paired with those from North Carolina and Virginia, and their groups begin at 10 a.m. from the first tee.
The Yellow Jackets have captured 10 of the last 15 championships, most recently winning the 2019 title at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C. It was the 18th in program history, tying Wake Forest for the most in conference annals. The championship was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19. Tech finished fifth last year, the first ACC Championship played under the new stroke play/match play format. The Yellow Jackets fell one stroke shy of advancing to match play at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course in Milton, Ga.
Christo Lamprecht (-7) is two strokes off the lead in the race for medalist honors.
TECH LINEUP – Tech’s afternoon 273 was the fifth-lowest score the Yellow Jackets have ever posted in an ACC Tournament round, and better than they were able to post in any of the three rounds of the Watersound Invitational in February that was played on the same golf course.
The Jackets began the morning round slowly but began to heat up over the closing holes, carding six birdies over 16, 17 and 18 to post a 4-under-par total of 284. Tech collected 26 birdies and an eagle in fashioning the 15-under-par score in the afternoon.
Lamprecht posted rounds of 71-66 and is tied for fourth place at 137 (-7), two strokes out of the lead. Steelman shot a pair of 69s and is tied for seventh place at 138 (-6). Reuter is in a tie for 17th place at 141 (-3) after turning in scores of 71-70, while Howe (142, -2) is tied for 24th place, and Forrester (143, -1) is tied for 28th.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – After a blistering first round that included all five players shooting in the 60s, North Carolina held steady in the second round to lead by 10 strokes after day one. The Tar Heels fired a 19-under-par 269 in round one – the third-lowest round in ACC Championship history – and finished the day with a second round 278 for a 547 (-28) total.
Georgia Tech, which carded a 284 (-4) in the first round, roared back in round two with a 15-under-par 273 and is in second place at 20-under-par. Virginia (-14) is third, followed by Notre Dame (-11) and Florida State (-11) tied for fourth.
The top four teams from stroke play will advance to Sunday’s match play semifinals. Louisville (-9) and Wake Forest (-9) are tied for sixth, Clemson (-7) and NC State (-7) are tied for eighth, Virginia Tech (-3) is 10th, Boston College (+4) is 11th and Duke (+7) is 12th.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Clemson’s Jacob Bridgeman (-9) and North Carolina’s Peter Fountain (-9) are tied for the individual lead, which will be decided Saturday. Bridgeman, the ACC’s top-ranked player, shot rounds of 69 and 66, while Fountain, last year’s individual medalist, fired rounds of 68 and 67. North Carolina’s Ryan Gerard is third at 8-under-par after firing rounds of 67 and 68. Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht (-7), Notre Dame’s Palmer Jackson (-7) and Virginia’s Devin Patel (-7) are tied for fourth.
"The guys showed a lot of grit and resolve today. I'm very proud of their effort. Tomorrow we need to get after it again to give us a chance to advance."
Head coach Bruce Heppler
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The ACC Championship is being conducted the state of Florida for just the second time, and first time since 2001, when it was held at Disney’s Magnolia Course in Lake Buena Vista Fla. It is being held outside the state of North Carolina for just the eighth time in conference history. Since 1995, the tournament has been held at Old North State Club in New London, N.C., 22 times, with Georgia Tech winning the championship 12 times at that venue.
The course plays to a par of 72 and measures 7,246 yards for the ACC Championship, which is being conducted for the second time under a new stroke play/match play format Friday through Monday. The championship used the traditional 54-hole, stroke-play format from 1980 to 2019 (the championship was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19). All 12 competing teams (Miami, Pittsburgh and Syracuse do not sponsor men’s golf) compete at 54 holes of stroke play, 36 holes Friday and 18 holes Saturday, with the standard low four rounds counting toward the team’s daily score each round. The top four teams after 54 holes are seeded in a match play bracket, with the semi-final matches to take place Sunday, and the championship match Monday. Each match will be 18 holes and involve all five players from each team. The format is similar to the way the NCAA Championship has been conducted every year since 2009. Play begins at 9 a.m. Saturday through Monday.
The ACC Championship field includes seven of the top 30 teams in the country, including No. 7 North Carolina, No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 15 Wake Forest, No. 23 Clemson, No. 24 Florida State and No. 26 NC State.
The championship match on Monday will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra platform, available on the ESPN app, beginning at 9 a.m. A one-hour recap show of the entire championship will be aired at 7 p.m. Monday, May 3, on the ACC Network.
Round 1/2 in Photos
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets 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 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.
