THE FLATS – In search of the 19th conference championship in program history, Georgia Tech’s golf team begins post-season competition this weekend with the 68th Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship, which will be conducted Friday through Monday (April 22-25) at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City, Fla.
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.
At No. 11 in the current Golfstat national rankings, Georgia Tech sits behind North Carolina (No. 5) and ahead of Notre Dame (No. 13), Wake Forest (No. 17), Clemson (No. 23), Florida State (No. 24) and NC State (No. 25). Tech’s four tournament wins this year lead the ACC, and the seven top-25 teams have combined for 16 tournament wins in what has been a very strong year for the conference. Louisville (No. 40) and Duke (No. 45) also reside among the top 50 teams in the nation. That’s nine of the 12 teams that will be competing this weekend.
The Yellow Jackets are the No. 2 seed based on Golfstat rankings and will be paired with top-seeded North Carolina and third-seeded Notre Dame for the first two rounds on Friday, which begins at 7:30 a.m. The groups involving Tech, UNC and Notre Dame begin play at 8:30 a.m. on the first tee. Saturday’s third round tees off at 9 a.m.
Clemson took the 2021 ACC Championship, outdueling North Carolina and Florida State in the match play tournament after finishing a distant second to the Tar Heels in 54 holes of stroke play. UNC freshman Peter Fountain was the individual medalist.
Christo Lamprecht is Georgia Tech’s highest ranked player nationally at No. 26 according to Golfstat.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The ACC Championship goes to 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.
Continuing a four-year rotation to different sites within the ACC footprint, this year’s championship is being held at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course at Watersound Club in Panama City, Fla. All 12 ACC golf teams got an early look at the venue in February when Florida State hosted the Watersound Invitational, which produced one of the Yellow Jackets’ four tournament victories this year. Last year’s championship was held at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course in Milton, Ga.
The course will play to a par of 72 and measure 7,202 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) will play 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 7:30 a.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. Saturday through Monday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION – 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.
TEAM UPDATE – With four starters back from the 2021 squad that finished 15th at the NCAA Championship and adding two key contributors who have formed the core of the 2021-22 team, Georgia Tech has won four tournaments in nine outings this year. Tech won the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and the Hamptons Intercollegiate in the fall, and added titles in the Watersound Invitational and The Calusa Cup this spring, elevating the Yellow Jackets to No. 11 in the Golfstat rankings and to No. 13 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index.
Tech owns a 23-18 mark head-to-head against the nation’s top 25 teams, according to Golfstat, and is 45-24-1 against teams in the top 50, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Index.
The Yellow Jackets rank among the nation’s top 10 in a number of statistical categories, according to Golfstat – No. 1 in stroke average (70.81) and first-round stroke average (70.45), No. 8 in last-round stroke average (71.05), No. 4 in par-4 scoring average (4.03), No. 5 in par-5 scoring average (4.93), No. 5 in aggregate comparison to par (-0.57) and No. 9 in total birdies (469).
Each of the Jackets except Reuter and Smith have at least two top-10 finishes this year, and three Tech players are listed among Golfstat’s top 75 players nationally. At No. 26, sophomore Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) holds the highest Golfstat ranking among the Yellow Jackets with five top-10 finishes this year following his tie for fourth at The Calusa Cup. Junior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.), ranked No. 78, captured a share of medalist honors at The Calusa Cup and has finished no lower than 18th in Tech’s last four events this spring. Junior Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.), like Forrester, has four top-10 finishes, two of them this spring, while junior Connor Howe (Ogden, Utah) has a pair of top-10 finishes in 2021-22.
All six Tech golfers who have played 21 rounds or more are averaging 72.19 strokes per round or better, led by Lamprecht’s 69.89. Tech may also have one of the tallest teams in collegiate golf, with Lamprecht at 6-foot-8, Forrester and Steelman at 6-5 each, freshman Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) at 6-3, Howe at 6-2 and senior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.) at 6-1.
Jackets at Practice for ACC Championship
TECH LINEUP – Christo Lamprecht, Bartley Forrester and Connor Howe have been a part of Georgia Tech’s starting lineup for all nine tournaments in 2021-22 and will lead the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship along with Ross Steelman and either Ben Smith or Benjamin Reuter. Steelman missed one event, The Goodwin in late March, due to mononucleosis, but has been a part of the starting five for each of the other eight tournaments. Smith and Reuter have essentially split manning the No. 5 spot for most of the events this year; Reuter will play No. 5 for Tech at the outset, with Smith ready as a substitute.
Bartley Forrester (Junior, Gainesville, Ga.) – Having the best year of his career to this point, posting four top-10 finishes and two other top-20s in nine events … Captured his second collegiate win at The Calusa Cup, earning co-medalist honors (211, -5) … Three events prior to that included a tie for 15th at The Goodwin (205, -5), tie for 18th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (211, -5) and a tie for fourth at the Watersound Invitational (212, -4) … In the fall, tied for sixth place at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate competing as an individual (63 in the final round) and seventh at the Hamptons Intercollegiate … No. 78 in the Golfstat ranking and No. 67 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, the highest positions of his career … Holds a 9-14-2 head-to-head record against the nation’s top 20 players as ranked by Golfstat … Stroke average is 70.52 over 27 rounds … No. 171 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, No. 148 in the Scratch Players Amateur Ranking, rising more than 100 spots over the course of the spring … Qualified for the 2021 U.S. Amateur and posted a T-20 at the Monroe Invitational last summer … Co-medalist the 2020 Puerto Rico Classic … His uncle, Carlton Forrester, played at Tech from 1996-2000, had one collegiate title and earned All-ACC honors in 1999.
Connor Howe (Junior, Ogden, Utah) – Two top-10 finishes this year, and five additional finishes in the top 20 in nine events … Tied for 13th at The Calusa Cup and Watersound Invitational and 18th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate for his top finishes this spring … No. 3 on the team in stroke average at 70.74 across 27 rounds … Holds a 10-15 head-to-head record against the nation’s top 20 collegiate golfers as ranked by Golfstat … Ranked fourth in the nation in par-5 scoring (4.44), according to Golfstat … Ranked No. 48 in the PGA Tour University ranking, No. 82 by Golfstat and No. 75 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, the highest rankings of his career … Tied for 7th at the Windon Memorial Classic and the Hamptons Intercollegiate, and tied for 19th at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate in the fall … Won the Patriot All-America Amateur tournament in December … T-5 at the Southern Amateur, T-7 at the Monroe Invitational and T-11 at the Dogwood Invitational last summer … No. 88 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 57 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking.
Christo Lamprecht (Sophomore, George, South Africa) – Believed to be the tallest player ever in Tech program at 6-foot-8 … Five top-10 finishes this year in nine events, including ties for fourth at The Calusa Cup (214, -2), eighth (203, -7) at The Goodwin and second at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (205, -11) in Tech’s last three events … Tied for 42nd at Tech’s spring opener (Amer Ari Intercollegiate) and 23rd at the Watersound Invitational … Tops among the Jacket regulars in stroke average at an even 69.89 over 27 rounds … Ranks No. 6 nationally in par-4 scoring (3.93), and eighth in first-round average (68.63, according to Golfstat … Currently Tech’s highest-ranked player in the nation – No. 26 by Golfstat and No. 31 the Golfweek/Sagarin Index … Holds a 10-12-3 head-to-head record against the nation’s top 20 collegiate golfers as ranked by Golfstat … In the fall, was runner-up at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate with a program-record 54-hole score of 194 (-16), tied for 10th at the Windon Memorial and 14th at the Hamptons Intercollegiate … No. 71 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 55 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking … Named to compete with the International team in the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup.
Benjamin Reuter (Freshman, Naarden, The Netherlands) – Tied for 30th in Tech’s spring opener in Hawai’i and 34th at the Watersound Invitational for his top finishes this spring … Sits No. 253 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index … Played three times in the fall, earning his best finish with a tie for 13th at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate … Also tied for 21st at the Hamptons Intercollegiate … Stroke average is 71.86 over 21 rounds … Won the Dutch National Championship and reached match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur last summer … Ranked No. 200 in World Amateur Golf Ranking, No. 150 in European Golf Ranking.
Ben Smith (Senior, Novi, Mich.) – Ranks No. 66 in the PGA Tour University ranking, No. 282 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, No. 277 in the Scratch Players Amateur Ranking … Played three times this spring, tying for 11th (218, +2) most recently against a stacked field to help Tech win The Calusa Cup … Tied for 40th in a large field at The Goodwin (210, even) … Started well at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate (71-71 competing as an individual), but fell back in the final round … Posted a high finish last fall of T-21 at the Hamptons Intercollegiate … Has compiled a 72.19 stroke average over a career-high 21 rounds … T-8 at Monroe Invitational, T-10 at Northeast Amateur last summer … Tied for eighth at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, and tied for ninth at the Calusa Cup last spring.
Ross Steelman (Junior, Columbia, Mo.) – Has four top-10 finishes in eight starts this year, including a runner-up showing at the Watersound Invitational and a tie for eighth place at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate in the spring … Missed The Goodwin due to a bout with mononucleosis … Fourth among the Jacket regulars in stroke average at 71.83 over 24 rounds … Tied for ninth place at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate and was runner-up at the Hamptons Intercollegiate in the fall … Currently ranked No. 154 in Golfstat and No. 149 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index … Also No. 38 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 50 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking … Second-team All-Southeastern Conference last spring, ranked No. 28 national ranking in Golfstat … Tied for third at the 2021 NCAA Noblesville Regional, has two victories in his collegiate career … Reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur last summer, along with a T-3 at the Monroe Invitational, T-11 at the Northeast Amateur.
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.
