ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Aidan Tran and Hiroshi Tai both logged subpar rounds on Friday, pacing the No. 18 Yellow Jackets to a tie for 6th place with a team total of 3-under-par 285 after the opening round of the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational.
Tran and Tai were two of only 28 players in the 75-player field to break par on Georgia Tech’s home course, and both sit in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard. Top-ranked Virginia holds the team lead after 18 holes at 16-under-par 272, a five-stroke lead over second-place Duke.
This year’s Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational marks the 19th edition of the tournament and features another competitive 14-team field. The strong field of competition includes five teams that played in the 2025 NCAA Championship, six ranked in the latest Scorecard NCAA Golf Rankings and six in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll. Twelve teams are currently ranked among the top-50 in the Scoreboard rankings.
Saturday’s second round begins at 9 a.m. from the first tee and 9:20 a.m. from the 10th tee.
TECH LINEUP – Tran recorded six birdies in his opening round action, as well as two bogeys, to post a 4-under-par round of 68. The senior is tied for sixth, while Tai is tied for 15th after posting five birdies and three bogeys in his opening round 70.
Kale Fontenot followed with a 1-over-par 73 to sit in a tie for 39th, while Albert Hansson is tied for 50th after a 2-over-par 74 round. Benjamin Reuter shot an 8-over-par 80 and did not factor into the team’s score.
Tech also saw scores from Rawson Hardy and Brady Rackley IV as individuals. Hardy posted a 1-over-par 73 and is tied for 39th, while Rackley shot a 10-over-par 82 and sits in 73rd.
Round 1 Photo Gallery
TEAM LEADERBOARD – No.1 Virginia saw three eagles on the day and had four Cavaliers post subpar rounds to finish with a team score of 272 (-16). Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Duke finished with three subpar scores to post a team score of 277 (-11), sitting five strokes off the lead.
No. 14 Pepperdine sits in third place at 278 (-10), while Charlotte claims fourth at 279 (-9) and USC rounds out the top five at 282 (-6).
Georgia Tech sits in a four-way tie for sixth place with UCLA, Florida State and Washington, all at 285 (-3).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Two of Scoreboard NCAA Golf Rankings’ top-five ranked individuals claim the top two spots on the individual leaderboard after the first round. Duke’s Bryan Kim recorded the lowest round of the day behind an eagle and seven birdies, as well as two bogeys, for a 7-under-par 65. Kim holds a one-stroke lead over Pepperdine’s Mahanth Chirravuri and USC’s Jose Antonio Safa, who both shot 6-under-par rounds of 66.
Stanford’s Edan Cui and Virginia’s Paul Chang are tied for fourth place at 67 (-5), while four players are tied for sixth place at 68 (-4), including Tran, Ethan Evans (Duke), Michael Lee (Virginia) and Ben James (Virginia).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, formerly called the United States Collegiate Championship, is contested at the Yellow Jackets’ home club. The tournament will be played exclusively on the 6,993-yard, par 72 Lakeside Course, 18 holes each day Friday through Sunday. Competition begins at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Admission is free all three days.
Five of the 14 teams competing at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate played in NCAA Championship last spring. Six teams are currently ranked among the top 25 in the Scoreboard NCAA rankings.
The full field (with Scoreboard NCAA Golf ranking in parentheses) – Boston College, Clemson (27), Charlotte (24), Duke (29), Florida State (46), Georgia Tech (18), Loyola Marymount (61), Pepperdine (14), Stanford (44), UCLA (15), USC (26), Utah (9), Virginia (1), Washington (34).
TECH’S GOLF CLUB OF GEORGIA COLLEGIATE HISTORY – Georgia Tech has won the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate twice in the event’s 18-year history, in 2010 and 2012. Three Tech players have won medalist honors. James White, who set tournament records for 18-hole score (62) and 54-hole score (204, broken in 2014), won in 2010, Ollie Schniederjans won in 2013, and Hiroshi Tai followed in 2022.
Clemson (2006, 2009), Oklahoma State (2013, 2017), Southern California (2008, 2019), Texas (2014, 2016) and Virginia (2016, 2023) also have won twice. The Cavaliers captured their second title in 2023 after sharing the 2016 title with the Longhorns. Duke was crowned champion last year with Ethan Evans taking the individual title. The tournament was not played in the fall of 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Yellow Jackets rallied to finish seventh last year, and have finished in the top five 13 times in 18 years.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and 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 31st year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 34 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
