Waimea, Hawai’i – Christo Lamprecht fired a 5-under-par 67 to lead five Georgia Tech golfers under par Thursday as the No. 17 Yellow Jackets posted a 14-under-par score of 274 and stand in fifth place after the opening round of the Amer Ari Intercollegiate.
In a 19-team field with eight teams among the nation’s top 25, the Jackets are six strokes off the pace of No. 3 Arizona State (-20). No. 4 Oklahoma State (-15) is tied for second place with No. 21 Washington and Texas Tech. Round 2 of the tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. EST Friday.
TECH LINEUP – Lamprecht, the Jackets’ stroke average leader in the fall (69.67) negotiated the par-72 Hapuna Golf Course without a bogey, recording birdies on three straight holes (9-10-11) in the middle of his round. The sophomore from George, South Africa is tied for sixth place individually, two strokes off the lead.
Freshman Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) carded seven birdies and three bogeys en route to a 4-under-par 68 and is tied for 13th place, while junior Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.) shot 3-under-par 69 (five birdies and two bogeys), tied for 23rd place. Senior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) and junior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) each carded 2-under-par 70, tied for 32nd place.
Senior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.), competing as an individual, shot 1-under-par 71 and is tied for 50th place in the 115-player field.
Sophomore Christo Lamprecht shot a bogey-free 67 Thursday and is tied for sixth place. (photo by Todd Drexler)
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Defending champion Arizona State, with two of the top three individuals on the leaderboard, went low with a 20-under-par total of 268 behind a 65 from Mason Anderson. The Sun Devils took five-stroke lead over three teams at 15-under-par 273 – No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Washington and Texas Tech.
Georgia Tech is alone in fifth place at 14-under-par 274, ahead of No. 7 Stanford (12-under-par 276) and No. 6 Pepperdine (10-under-par 278), the defending NCAA champion. San Jose State, TCU and North Carolina are tied for eighth place at 6-under-par 282.
Fourteen of the 19 teams are under par after the opening round.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Arizona State teammates Mason Anderson and James Leow opened the tournament with 7-under-par 65s to tie for first. Leow is competing as an individual. Sun Devil teammate Preston Summerhays carded a 6-under-par 66 to tie for third place with Thomas Hutchison of UC Davis and Baard Skogen of Texas Tech.
Georgia Tech’s Lamprecht is in a seven-player tie for sixth place at 5-under-par 67.
In all, 59 of the tournament’s 115 players played the opening round under par.
"It’s always a good day when you can get all six players under par. This is an incredible field to compete against, and it was a good start for us."
Head coach Bruce Heppler
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech has played in the Amer Ari Intercollegiate every year since 1999. The 31st annual event, which runs Thursday through Saturday, is a traditional collegiate 54-hole, 5-count-4 stroke-play tournament. The event this year will be contested on Hapuna Golf Course in Waimea (6,875 yards, par 72).
The Yellow Jackets have won this event five times, all between 2000 and 2007, and six Yellow Jackets have won or shared the individual title, including Matt Kuchar (shared title in 2000 and 2001), Carlton Forrester (shared title in 2000), Bryce Molder (shared title in 2001), Troy Matteson (2003) and Cameron Tringale (2007). Tech tied for third place last year in a reduced nine-team field.
The field includes (with Golfstat ranking) No. 3 Arizona State, No. 18 Auburn, Colorado, No. 20 Georgia Tech, Hawai’i, No. 4 Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, No. 6 Pepperdine, San Jose State, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, UC Davis, UCLA, UH Hilo and No. 21 Washington.
Ross Steelman is tied for 23rd place after firing a 69. (photo by Todd Drexler)
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 67 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.
