THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s golf team, preseason ranked No. 11 in the Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll, opens its 2024 fall schedule Friday at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate at Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn., outside of Knoxville. The tournament kicks off a five-event fall slate that will take the Yellow Jackets to Tennessee, Illinois and Texas, with the final two events in the Atlanta area.
Head coach Bruce Heppler, beginning his 30th year at the helm of the Tech program, welcomes back four golfers who played significant roles in getting the Yellow Jackets to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship for the second straight year in 2024, including reigning NCAA Champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), who became Tech’s fourth national collegiate champion with his one-shot victory last May in Carlsbad, Calif.
The Jackets, who lost two-time first-team All-American Christo Lamprecht and five-year starter Bartley Forrester, also are ranked No. 13 in the Golfweek magazine preseason poll, and No. 20 by Golf Channel.
Tai, who has won three collegiate tournaments in two years, is on the Fall Watch List for the Fred Haskins Award and has been listed as a pre-season All-American by Golfweek magazine and Golf Channel. The junior was a first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association and a second-team choice by Golfweek magazine last spring, finishing ranked No. 38 in the Scoreboard NCAA individual rankings. He finished out of the top 25 only once in 12 events while playing No. 3 in the Tech lineup. The Singapore native enters the fall No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Tech also returns two other juniors in Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands), who redshirted last year, and Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), who played four rounds for the Jackets at the NCAA Championship in place of injured All-American Christo Lamprecht. Up-and-coming sophomores Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.), who each played 12 events as freshmen, are also back along with redshirt sophomore Brady Rackley IV (Atlanta, Ga.).
Heppler recruited a pair of freshmen from Sweden, Albert Hansson and Didrik Ringvall Bengtsson, giving the Jackets an eight-player roster. A heralded junior player who already has had some success on the amateur circuit, Hansson is ranked No. 27 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
TECH LINEUP – Kim won the Yellow Jackets’ 108-hole pre-season qualifying tournament, which included 54 holes at the Golf Club of Georgia, Tech’s home course, and 54 holes at The Farm Golf Club. Kim won the Golf Club of Georgia stage outright and tied Hansson for the win at The Farm, playing the six rounds 17-under-par. The sophomore played 34 stroke-play rounds as a freshman, compiling a 73.41 stroke average, and went 2-1-1 in match play.
Tai finished second at 4-under-par, followed by Hansson (-3) and Reuter (+1). Tran grabbed the fifth starting spot, and Rackley will compete as an individual. Tai posted a 70.74 stroke average last year in 35 rounds while posting four top-10 finishes. Tran played eight events and compiled a 73.54 average over 24 rounds.
Reuter returns from a redshirt year after playing 41 rounds in 14 events his first two years, compiling a 72.29 stroke average with a pair of top-10 finishes. Rackley went 2-over-par in his only stroke play event last year.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Visit Knoxville Collegiate is being held for the second time, and the Yellow Jackets are making their first appearance. Tennessee hosts the 16-team event, which will be contested over 54 holes beginning Friday and concluding Sunday at Tennessee National Golf Club, which plays to a par-70 and measures 7,280 yards.
Tee times begin at 8 a.m. Eastern time Friday and Saturday, with the final round at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
Participating teams include Charlotte, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, North Florida, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Tennessee (7), Tech (11) and Ole Miss (13) are listed among the top 25 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, while four other teams received votes.
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