Columbus, Ohio – Ross Steelman and Benjamin Reuter each shot 1-over-par 72 Monday to pace Georgia Tech, and the 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets posted a 6-over-par total of 290 to tie for fifth place following the opening round of the NCAA Columbus Regional.
The top five teams on the leaderboard following Wednesday’s final round will advance to the NCAA Championship. Tech, the No. 2 seed in Columbus, is tied for that final qualifying spot with Ohio State, the host school and No. 6 seed, and No. 7 seed Duke. Top seed Oklahoma State is the only team under par, coming in at 4-under-par 280 Monday, followed by No. 5 seed East Tennessee State (286, +2), No. 10 seed San Francisco (288, +4) and No. 4 seed Clemson (289, +5).
Tech will tee off the first hole for round 2 Tuesday from 8:25 to 9:09 a.m., paired with No. 3 seed Arkansas (292, +8) and No. 11 seed Kentucky (294, +10), the eighth- and ninth-place teams on the leaderboard. Sunny skies with high temperatures in the low 70s are forecast.
The Yellow Jackets are playing in an NCAA regional for the 24th straight year and for the 31st time in the 33 years the NCAA has used a regional qualifying format for its championship (the NCAA Championship and regionals were not conducted in 2020 due to COVID-19). Tech has advanced to the finals in six of the nine years, including each of the last two, finishing fourth in 2019 (Pullman, Wash.) and third last spring (Tallahassee, Fla.).
Ross Steelman is tied for 14th place after shooting 72 Monday. (photos by Ricky Bassman)
TECH LINEUP – Round 1 was played in cool temperatures, starting an hour late because of overnight rains. Birdies were hard to come by on the Ohio State Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, which measures 7,422 yards and plays to a par of 71; the Yellow Jackets managed just 10 along with one eagle, but led the field in par-5 scoring (-6).
Steelman and Reuter are tied for 14th place with their 1-over-par scores. Steelman had three birdies and four bogeys on his card, while Reuter overcame an early double bogey to birdie three of his next four holes. Bartley Forrester and Connor Howe, each carding 2-over-par 73s Monday, are tied for 25th place in the 75-player field.
Christo Lamprecht shot a 78 Monday with a pair of double bogeys to begin the back nine and did not count for the Jackets.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Four Oklahoma State players either broke or matched par Monday, each of whom is in the top 10 individually, as the top-seeded Cowboys shot 4-under-par 280 and took a six-stroke lead over No. 5 seed East Tennessee State. The Cowboys led the field with 17 birdies collectively.
The next five teams, San Francisco, Clemson, Ohio State, Duke and Georgia Tech are within four strokes of each other heading into round 2 Tuesday.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Arkansas senior Julian Perico grabbed the early individual lead Monday with a 3-under-par 68. Three players – Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, ETSU’s Archie Davies and San Francisco’s Toby Briggs – are tied for second place one stroke back at 2-under-par 69.
The Cowboys’ Aman Gupta and Bo Jin are tied for fifth place with Kentucky’s Garrett Wood at 1-under-par 70. A fourth Oklahoma State player, Jonas Baumgartner, shot even-par 71 and is tied for eighth place with six others.
REGIONAL INFORMATION/FORMAT – Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals are competing for spots in the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship finals in six regional qualifying tournaments. The top five teams and one individual from each regional will advance to the finals (30 teams and six individuals total), which will be conducted May 27-June 1 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Each regional is a 54-hole, stroke-play event, three of which have 13 teams and 10 individuals, the other three 14 teams and five individuals, competing. Tech is part of a regional field that includes 13 teams and 10 individuals.
The Columbus regional in which Tech will compete includes eight teams that are ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation according to Golfstat. The nation’s No. 2-ranked team, Oklahoma State, is the top seed, followed by Tech (11), Arkansas (14), Clemson (23), East Tennessee State (31), host Ohio State (27), Duke (42), Northwestern (44), Florida Gulf Coast (51), San Francisco (61), Kentucky (65), Wright State (94) and Southern Illinois (152). East Tennessee State (Southern), Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) and Wright State (Horizon League) are automatic qualifiers after winning their conference tournaments.
Competition begins at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the OSU Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, which measures 7,422 yards and plays to a par of 71.
The top seeds in each regional are top-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., No. 2 Oklahoma State in Columbus, Ohio, No. 3 Vanderbilt in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., No. 4 Arizona State in Stockton, Calif., No. 5 North Carolina in New Haven, Conn., and No. 6 Pepperdine in Bryan, Texas.
Round 1 Gallery
Photos by Ricky Bassman
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.
