Sep 8, 2013
Rocky Face, Ga. – Seth Reeves and Richard Werenski each fired 5-under-par 67s Sunday, leading 4th-ranked Georgia Tech to a 7-under-par total of 281 and a wire-to-wire victory at the Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club. Ollie Schniederjans shot a 73 Sunday and shared medalist honors with North Carolina’s Bailey Patrick.
Reeves and Werenski, seniors who went out second and third for Tech Sunday, set the tone for the Yellow Jackets after watching their team’s lead cut from four to two in the early going. Reeves played a clean round with no bogeys and five birdies, while Werenski got to 6-under-par Sunday before recording his only bogey at 17. Bo Andrews added a 74 for the Jackets fourth counting score.
Behind that senior duo and Schniederjans, who overcame an early double bogey to get to 2-under for his round, Tech expanded its lead over second-place Georgia to as many as nine strokes as the final groups began to finish. The Jackets finished 54 holes at 14-under 850, securing their seventh victory in the 25-year history of the Carpet Capital Collegiate and their first since the Tech team led by Matt Kuchar, Troy Matteson and Bryce Molder won three straight from 1999-2001.
The Bulldogs finished six shots back at 8-under 856 after posting a 5-under-par round of 283 Sunday. LSU (864, even par) was third, followed by Clemson (864, +1), North Carolina (874, +10), Auburn (875, +11), Wake Forest (880, +16), Middle Tennessee State (884, +20), Texas (887, +23), South Carolina (888, +24), North Florida (893, +29), Tennessee (893, +29), Kennesaw State (897, +33) and Chattanooga (899, +35).
Tech gave itself a big cushion from the start by opening the tournament Friday with an 8-under-par 280 and taking a 10-shot lead on the field. The Yellow Jackets overcame a 1-over 289 Saturday and slowly stretched out a four-shot lead they held at the beginning of Sunday’s round. The Friday start stood in stark contrast to last year’s event, when the Jackets failed to break 300 in their opening round and wound up finishing 11th.
“To get off to a start like we did this year was huge to where we ended up,” said Bruce Heppler, who presided over his 38th tournament victory in 18-plus years as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach. “It’s so much easier to do that than to try and chase all the time. Then you just hope somebody picks it up for you each day. Five of them have the ability to do that. That’s when you know you have a pretty good team, when you send two guys out early and they shoot 10-under on their own balls. It was nice to stand on the 16th tee and have everybody still in the game.”
Schniederjans led from the 16th hole of the opening round after firing a pair of 67s Friday and Saturday, and appeared to have his first collegiate victory all to himself coming to the 17th tee. But the junior from Powder Springs, Ga., double-bogeyed there and missed a short par putt at No. 18, settling for co-medalist honors with Patrick at 9-under-par 207.
Still, Schniederjans can claim his first collegiate victory, and every player in the Tech lineup now has at least one tournament title on the college and/or amateur level to his credit. He and Patrick were four strokes clear of LSU’s Stewart Jolly, who shot 71 Sunday to finish at 5-under-par 211.
“It was a special week for me,” said Schniederjans. “I played amazingly well the first two days, really clean, hit the ball well, putted well. I hit the ball well today but had a couple hiccups today on the greens. I threw some shots away today. But I’m glad the team played well and got the victory, and I’m happy to get my first win. It’s a great start to the season.”
Werenski earned the fifth top-10 finish of his career, tying for fifth place at 2-under 214, while Reeves finished alone in 11th place at 1-under 215, and Anders Albertson tied for 12th at even-par 216 after a closing 75.
The Yellow Jackets return to action Saturday with their first-ever appearance in the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel, Hill, N.C.
CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATEThe Farm Golf Club, Rocky Face, Ga.Final Results
TEAM STANDINGS 1 Georgia Tech 280 289 281 850 -14 2 Georgia 291 282 283 856 -8 3 LSU 297 287 280 864 E 4 Clemson 294 285 286 865 +1 5 North Carolina 290 288 296 874 +10 6 Auburn 299 287 289 875 +11 7 Wake Forest 301 295 284 880 +16 8 Middle Tennessee St. 298 297 289 884 +20 9 Texas 298 286 303 887 +23 10 South Carolina 302 289 297 888 +24 T11 North Florida 295 298 300 893 +29 T11 Tennessee 306 296 291 893 +29 13 Kennesaw State 297 299 301 897 +33 14 Chattanooga 306 296 297 899 +35
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS T1 Ollie Schniederjans, Georgia Tech 67 67 73 207 -9 T1 Bailey Patrick, North Carolina 68 69 70 207 -9 3 Stewart Jolly, LSU 72 68 71 211 -5 4 Joey Garber, Georgia 71 69 72 212 -4 T5 Michael Cromie, Georgia 72 68 74 214 -2 T5 Smylie Kaufman, LSU 74 73 67 214 -2 T5 Jake Mondy, Auburn 75 69 70 214 -2 T5 Cody Proveaux, Clemson 73 70 71 214 -2 T5 Will Starke, South Carolina 73 71 70 214 -2 T5 Richard Werenski, Georgia Tech 70 77 67 214 -2 11 Seth Reeves, Georgia Tech 74 74 67 215 -1 T12 Anders Albertson, Georgia Tech 70 71 75 216 E T12 Jimmy Beck, Kennesaw State 72 73 71 216 E T12 Thomas Birdsey, Wake Forest 77 70 69 216 E T12 Miller Capps, Clemson 75 71 70 216 E T12 Matt Gilchrest, Auburn 72 73 71 216 E T12 Austin Langdale, Clemson 71 73 72 216 E T12 Sam Straka, Georgia 75 70 71 216 E T58 Bo Andrews, Georgia Tech 73 81 74 226 +12
