April 13, 2014
Columbus, Ohio – Ollie Schniederjans fired a 4-under-par 67 Sunday to tie for medalist honors, and Georgia Tech blew open a slim lead to claim its fourth tournament title of the year with an 18-stroke victory at the Robert Kepler Invitational.
With winds blowing from 25-35 miles per hour on the 7,455-yard, par 71 Scarlet Course at the Ohio State University Golf Club, the fourth-ranked Yellow Jackets proved more adept than the rest of the field in managing the conditions by posting a 2-over-par round of 286. All of the other teams were over par by double digits on Sunday.
Tech, which was 4-over-par and had a four-shot lead to start the day, completed 54 holes with a score of 858 (+6). UAB, ranked 18th nationally, shot 300 Sunday to maintain second place at 876 (+24), followed by Liberty (+25), UNLV (+27) and host Ohio State (+30). Six of the 15 teams in the tournament are ranked among the nation’s top 50.
The Jackets counted an even-par 71 Sunday from Richy Werenski, a 72 from Seth Reeves and a 76 from Anders Albertson.
“We wanted a test like this, and I’m proud of our guys for the way they dealt with the conditions and a tough golf course,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler, who has presided over 43 tournament victories since coming to the Flats in 1995. “Everybody did a lot of positive things this weekend.”
It was the second straight spring title and the fourth of the 2013-14 school year for Tech, which has not won this many tournaments since winningseven times in 2001-02. The margin of victory, 18 shots, was its second highest of the year behind the Yellow Jackets 20-stroke win at the Tar Heel Invitational in the fall.
Schniederjans was the only player in the field to break par Sunday, lifting himself into a tie with Ohio State’s Frederick Hammer (71) at 3-under-par 210. The junior from Powder Springs, Ga., began the day in a tie for ninth place and was even par through 11 holes when he reeled off a string of four consecutive birdies, then closed with pars at 16-17-18. He and Hammer were the only players under par for the tournament, and were four shots ahead of Reeves, who finished alone in third place at 214 (+1) for his third top-5 finish this year.
Schniederjans captured at least a share of his fourth medalist honor this year, joining David Duval (1992-93), Stewart Cink (1994-95) and Troy Matteson (2001-02) as the only Tech players to win as many as four times in one school year.
Bo Andrews, despite carding a 78 Sunday, finished in a tie for 14th place for his third top-20 finish of the spring, while Albertson and Werenski tied for 20th place at 222 (+9).
Tech is back in action Saturday when it hosts the Capital City Club Match Play Championship at the Crabapple Course in Milton, Ga., its last tune-up before the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship April 25-27 in New London, N.C.
ROBERT KEPLER INVITATIONALThe Ohio State University Golf Club - Scarlet CourseFinal Results
TEAM STANDINGS 1 Georgia Tech 281 291 286 858 +6 2 UAB 284 292 300 876 +24 3 Liberty 288 293 296 877 +25 4 UNLV 291 290 298 879 +27 5 Ohio State 294 291 297 882 +30 6 Missouri 298 290 296 884 +32 7 Kent State 287 296 303 886 +34 T8 Northwestern 297 291 304 892 +40 T8 Charlotte 290 301 301 892 +40 10 Oregon State 295 301 302 898 +46 11 Ball State 304 302 299 905 +53 12 Penn State 308 293 308 909 +57 13 Cleveland State 295 310 311 916 +64 14 Miami (OH) 308 309 303 920 +68 15 Eastern Michigan 301 303 322 926 +74
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS T1 Frederik Hammer Ohio State 70 69 71 210 -3 T1 Ollie Schniederjans Georgia Tech 70 73 67 210 -3 3 Seth Reeves Georgia Tech 70 72 72 214 +1 4 Niklas Lindstrom Liberty 73 70 72 215 +2 T5 AJ McInerney UNLV 72 71 73 216 +3 T5 Sebastian Bendsen Kent State 71 69 76 216 +3 T5 Chase Marinell Liberty 74 71 71 216 +3 T5 Paul Dunne UAB 71 74 71 216 +3 T5 Thomas Rowland Charlotte 72 72 72 216 +3 T10 Kurt Kitayama UNLV 71 71 75 217 +4 T10 Emilio Cuartero Missouri 75 71 71 217 +4 T10 Sam Love UAB 70 72 75 217 +4 13 Andrew Whalen Northwestern 71 69 78 218 +5 T14 Martin Rohwer UAB 71 73 75 219 +6 T14 Bo Andrews Georgia Tech 70 71 78 219 +6
GEORGIA TECH SCORES T1 Ollie Schniederjans (1) 70 73 67 210 3 Seth Reeves (2) 70 72 72 214 T14 Bo Andrews (4) 70 71 78 219 T20 Anders Albertson (3) 71 75 76 222 T20 Richard Werenski (5) 75 76 71 222
