CARLSBAD, Calif. – Hiroshi Tai shot a 5-under 67 to take the opening lead and Georgia Tech moved into fourth place with a 4-over 292 total after the first 18 holes of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship on Friday at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
Tye birdied the seventh hole on the par-72 North Course on Friday, then reeled off five birdies in six straight holes midway through the round. Then a birdie on the ninth and final hole put the Tech sophomore from Singapore in the lead after 18 holes, while senior Christo Lamprecht was tied for fifth with a 2-under 70. The 13th-seeded Yellow Jackets are just two strokes off the 2-over pace of Virginia and Arizona, who both finished at 290.
“We all know this course is really tough. You have to hit good tee shots in good places and the hazards can come into play on some holes,” Ty said. “Yesterday I figured out which holes I could play more aggressively and which holes I could get a par on. I played that way all day and didn't make any changes.”
The second round will begin at 9:40 a.m. EDT on Saturday, with Tech teeing off at 11:30 a.m. (first hole) and again facing No. 14 seed East Tennessee State University and No. 15 seed California University. Tee times and pairings for the remaining stroke play rounds will be determined by team standings on the leaderboard.
Thirty teams will play 54 holes from Friday through Sunday, narrowing the field down to 15 for a final round of stroke play on Monday to determine an individual champion. The top eight teams after 72 holes will advance to a match play bracket to determine a team champion.
Hiroki Tai highlights from the first round of the NCAA Championships
Tech Lineup – Tech took advantage of starting the round on the par 5s, with Ty, Cale Fontenot and Bartley Forrester scoring birdies on the 10th hole to put the Yellow Jackets near the lead from the start. The Jackets finished 6-under par on the par 5 holes on Friday, tying Auburn University and Ohio State for the best score of the day, with a total of 15 birdies, one shy of the field best.
Tye found his groove heading into the final holes of the back nine, scoring birdies on the 17th, 18th, 1st, 2nd and 4th holes to move to the top of the leaderboard.
“I made some good swings off the tee and put myself in good position on the fairway,” he explained. “I hit some wedge shots on 17, 1, 2 and 4 and hit some pretty good shots, so it worked out.”
After ending his streak with a bogey on the fifth hole, Tye maintained his lead with some excellent short game play, hitting up and down off the green to keep par on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes. On the ninth hole, he hit his tee shot down the middle of the fairway and got his approach within three feet of the hole for birdie and sole possession of the lead.
“I tried to hit every shot the same, but it was definitely nerve-wracking,” Ty added. “The rough is tough, especially around the greens. The up-and-down holes on No. 6, 7 and 8 were really good. I hit some really good chip shots and made some relatively short putts for par.”
Lamprecht (Sr./George, South Africa) made a double bogey on the third hole before rattling off five birdies on the remaining holes to help the Jackets close in on the lead, three of which came in a clean first nine holes, to finish with a 70 and move into a tie for fifth place, five strokes behind the leader.
Tech also led the way on Friday with shots of 77 from Forrester (senior/Gainesville, Ga.) and 78 from Fontenot (freshman/Lafayette, La.) and a 79 from freshman Carson Kim, who was playing in his first NCAA Championship less than 90 minutes from his hometown of Yorba Linda.
Post-round interview with Hiroshi Tai
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Despite the challenges of the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course (7,538 yards/par 72), all 30 teams posted scores of par or better after the first 18 holes, with Arizona and Virginia topping the team leaderboard at the end of the first round.
Arizona and Virginia tied for third at 2-over-par 290, while North Carolina tied for third at 3-over-par 291. They took advantage of playing in the afternoon because the course was damp from morning rain. Georgia Tech (292, +4), Illinois and Auburn (293, +5 each) also played in the afternoon and beat Ohio State's 6-over-par 294, which led the morning wave.
Individual Rankings – Individual performances were strong on Friday, with 12 players finishing under par, led by Georgia Tech’s Tie, who birdied the final hole (starting the back nine) to take sole lead by one stroke over Ohio State’s Adam Wallin.
Wallin had the best round of the morning group with a 4-under 68. Starting on the 10th tee, Wallin opened his round with consecutive birdies and played the first nine holes in 3-under 33. He birdied the eighth hole to get to 5-under, but finished with a bogey on the ninth hole.
Stanford senior Carl Villips and University of Florida senior John Dubois are both two strokes back of the tie after shooting a 3-under 69 through the first 18 holes. Lamprecht, Baylor's Johnny Keefer and Arizona's Tiger Christensen all shot 70 to fall three strokes back.
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 top five teams and one other individual from each of the six regional venues (a total of 30 teams and six individuals, totaling 156 competitors) will advance to the finals, which will be held May 24-29 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. The championships are hosted by the University of Texas at Austin.
The finals will consist of three days of stroke play (54 holes) from Friday, May 24 through Sunday, May 26, after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not included in the advancing teams will be determined, followed by 18 holes of stroke play on the final day on Monday, May 27 to determine the top eight teams that advance to match play and the 72-hole individual champions. The team national champions will be determined in a match play format consisting of 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
Saturday, May 25 – Stroke Play Second Round, 9:40 AM EDTSunday, May 26 – Stroke Play Third Round, 9:40 AM EDTMonday, May 27 – Stroke Play Fourth Round, 1:00 PM EDTTuesday, May 28 – Match Play Quarterfinals, 9:20 AM EDTTuesday, May 28 – Match Play Semifinals, 3:45 PM EDTWednesday, May 29 – Championship Match, 4:35 PM EDT
Alexander Tharp Foundation
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is Georgia Tech's athletics 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 to 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
