CARLSBAD, Calif. – Georgia Tech played a solid second straight day without world No. 1 Christo Lamprecht, shooting 4-over 292 on Sunday to stay in a tie for ninth place after 54 holes in the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The Yellow Jackets advance to Monday's final round of stroke play.
Sophomore Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) shot a bogey-free, two-under-par 70 and freshman Cale Fontenot (Lafayette, Louisiana) kept the team steady with a one-under-par 71, as the Yellow Jackets largely avoided the pitfalls of the rough road on holes 12 through 17 that marred Saturday's second round.
Teck finished the tournament with a score of 21-over 885, comfortably above the 54-hole cut line and just one stroke behind eighth place, who is seeking a spot in match play for the second straight year. His tournament total of 214 (-2) puts him just three strokes behind the individual leader heading into Monday's round.
“The guys played hard. They looked really good today,” coach Bruce Heppler said of the team's performance without their best player. “It was tough down the stretch and we missed some putts, but the guys played as well as anybody else. They've been really impressive. Now without (Lamprecht), we're going in with three guys who haven't been to the NCAA Tournament until the last two rounds. It doesn't really matter if (Lamprecht) shows up or not. We're going to give it our all.”
The 15 remaining teams and individuals will compete in the fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday at 1:30 pm EDT to determine the individual champions and the eight teams that will advance to the match play bracket. The Yellow Jackets will begin their round on the 10th tee at 1:41 pm EDT. Live coverage on Golf Channel will begin at 6 pm EDT.
When asked about Lamprecht's possible return on Monday, Heppler said: “I think he's feeling better. The cramps have gone away, but now he's just sore and stiff. We'll let him heal a little more and see if he's ready. He wants to play tomorrow. I saw him walking up the hill and he's not feeling well. He's just going to have to push through the pain.”
Hiroshi Tai's 70th match highlights
TECHNICAL LINEUP – Tye birdied the par-4 No. 10 and the par-5 No. 10 on Sunday to give him birdies in all three rounds. The sophomore used his favorite short game and lag putting to stay out of trouble from the 12th through 17th holes, then reached the par-5 18th in three strokes to finish with an easy par. He’s tied for fourth at 2-under 214 and has a good chance to earn medalist honors on Monday. He’s also tied for the tournament lead in par-5 scores (-6) and tied for second in birdies (12).
Fontenot played flawless golf over the first nine holes, birdieing the par-4 first, fourth and seventh holes. His first bogey was on the par-3 12th hole, where three of his teammates also bogeyed, and he also had a double bogey on the dangerous par-4 15th hole. But the freshman shot par-birdie-par for a 69 and tied for 64th individually.
Freshman Carson Kim (of Yorba Linda, Calif.) shot a 75 and senior Bartley Forrester (of Gainesville, Ga.) shot a 76 to add to the Jackets' team total, while sophomore Aidan Tran (of Fresno, Calif.) filled in for Lamprecht with a 77 for the second day in a row.
Interview with Hiroshi Tai after the 3rd round
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Illinois dominated the field on Sunday, overtaking Virginia (3-over-par) for the 36-hole lead with a 6-under-par 282. Illinois is the only under-par team at 2-under-par 862 through 54 holes and leads the Cavaliers (868, +4) by six strokes and Vanderbilt (873, +9) by 11 strokes heading into Monday's final round.
The remaining teams in the top eight are Florida State (+10), Ohio State (+13), North Carolina (+15), Auburn (+15) and defending champion Florida (+20). The Seminoles (-2) and Gators (-1) each finished below par in Sunday's round.
Tech and Arizona are tied for ninth with 885 (+21).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD — Ohio State's Adam Wallin (211, -5), who is in fifth place for the Buckeyes in the team race, shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday to take the individual lead at 3-under 213, two strokes ahead of Virginia's Ben James and Stanford's Carl Vilips.
Tech's Hiroshi Tai, Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent and University of Illinois' Max Herendeen were tied for fourth at 214 (-2), while five other competitors were tied for seventh at 215 (-1).
Villips, who led by five strokes after 36 holes, shot 76 on Sunday but will remain in contention for the individual title on Monday after his Cardinal team failed to qualify at 19-over par.
Round 3 Photos: Tim Cowie/Todd Drexler Photography
Tech's NCAA Championship History
Georgia Tech has made the 54-hole cut in each of the past three NCAA Championships and advanced to match play last year, where the Yellow Jackets beat Pepperdine and North Carolina before losing to Florida in the finals. In stroke play, Georgia Tech is ranked 15th in 2021, 12th in 2022 and second in 2023.
Lamprecht finished 44th, 32nd and 40th in three trips around Grayhawk, while Forester finished 75th, 15th and 55th. Tye is the only Yellow Jacket with NCAA championship experience, having finished 58th last year as a freshman.
Tech has reached the NCAA Championship Final 32 times since 1985 (33 in program history), fifth-most in that span behind Oklahoma State (37), Arizona State (35), Florida (35) and Texas (35).
The Yellow Jackets have qualified for match play five times since the stroke play/match play format was introduced in 2009, finishing third in stroke play in 2010, second in 2011, second in 2013, fifth in 2014 and tied for fifth in 2023.
Tech has been runner-up at the NCAA Championship five times (1993, before the introduction of match play, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2023). Only Oklahoma State (18) and Texas (6) have more runner-up finishes than Tech.
Tournament Information
The finals will consist of three days of stroke play (Friday through Sunday) to determine the top 15 teams and nine individuals not included in the teams that advanced, followed by a final day of 18-hole stroke play on Monday, May 27 to determine the top eight teams that advance to match play and the 72-hole individual champions. The team national champion will be determined in a match play format with the quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday, May 28 and the final on Wednesday, May 29.
The Golf Channel will broadcast live coverage of the NCAA Championships, from the final round of stroke play on Monday through every round of match play.
Tournament Schedule
Monday, May 27 – Stroke Play Fourth Round, 1:30 PM EDT Tuesday, May 28 – Match Play Quarterfinals, 9:20 AM EDT Tuesday, May 28 – Match Play Semifinals, 3:45 PM EDT Wednesday, May 29 – Championship Match, 4:35 PM EDT
Alexander Tharp Foundation
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is Georgia Tech's athletic fundraising arm, providing scholarships, operational and facilities support to the university's more than 400 student-athletes. Support the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which provides direct scholarships to Georgia Tech student-athletes, and help develop Yellow Jackets who will thrive academically and compete at the highest level of championships in collegiate sports. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
About Georgia Tech Golf
The Georgia Tech golf team is in its 29th year under Coach Bruce Heppler, who has won 72 championships during his tenure. Coach Heppler is the 10th longest tenured coach in Division I men's golf. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, appeared in 33 NCAA championships and finished as national runner-up five times. To connect with the Georgia Tech golf team on social media, like or follow our Facebook page. Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech Golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com
