U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci reflects on his victory and the experience
Long successful on the amateur and collegiate levels, Tyler Strafaci boosted his profile on the amateur stage this summer with victories at the 120th United States Amateur Championship, the North & South Amateur and the Palmetto Amateur. The Davie, Fla., native has risen to No. 2 in the latest Scratch Players Amateur ranking and No. 32 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Strafaci’s victory on the heels of Andy Ogletree’s triumph in 2019 meant Georgia Tech became the first school to have teammates win U.S. Amateur titles in back-to-back years. Tech has had four U.S. Amateur champions, including Matt Kuchar in 1997 and the legendary Bobby Jones (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930).
The senior will return to Tech to compete in 2020-21 after the NCAA ruled to allow spring sports student-athletes an extra year of eligibility after Covid-19 ended spring sports prematurely. He was a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award and was named a PING honorable mention All-American selection last spring by the Golf Coaches Association of America, finishing the spring ranked No. 52 in both Golfstat and the Golfweek/Sagarin Index. He has made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team twice in his career (no team was chosen this spring) and has earned PING All-East Region honors by the GCAA three times. He made the ACC All-Academic golf team in 2018 and 2019 (no team selected in 2020) and was named an All-America Scholar in 2019 and n2020 by the GCAA.
Support the Swarm Fund
There are many unknowns as we approach the 2020-21 academic year, and with that uncharted territory comes significant financial challenges. To provide our outstanding fans with a way to help our student-athletes like Ty Strafaci thrive despite challenges in the short-term, and come out even stronger on the other side, we have established the Support The Swarm Fund. Donations to the Support The Swarm Fund will help us overcome the financial challenges presented by Covid-19.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team has completed 25 years under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 64 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.
