CARLSBAD, Calif. – Georgia Tech, with All-American Christo Lamprecht replaced at the last minute because of a back injury, played solidly through the first 10 holes of the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship but struggled to get into trouble on the back nine at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, dropping to a tie for ninth after 36 holes.
Lamprecht, the No. 1 amateur in the world and ACC Player of the Year, who shot a 2-under-par 70 in Friday's opening round, sat out Saturday's match because back pain worsened before the Yellow Jackets' 8:30 a.m. tee time. Sophomore Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.), who has been Tech's reserve this postseason, filled in for Lamprecht but was unable to produce a score that counted for the Jackets.
Tech finished Saturday at 13-over 301 after finishing fourth among the field in Friday's opening round. Three birdies on the par-5 10th hole put the round at 1-under and moved into second place, but the Jackets were 12 strokes behind the field between the 12th and 17th holes, the most difficult on the golf course. They are tied with one of their playing partners in the first two rounds, East Tennessee State, at 17-over 593 and 16 strokes behind the pace of seventh-seeded Virginia in the championship.
Coach Bruce Heppler said after the round that unless there is a significant change in Lamprecht's condition on Sunday morning, it is unlikely he will be able to play in the third round. The third round begins at 9:40 a.m. EDT on Sunday, with Tech starting from the first tee at 7:35 a.m. and facing East Tennessee State and Florida State.
The 30-team field will be narrowed down to the top 15 teams and nine individuals at the end of Sunday's rounds. Those teams and individuals will compete in the fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday to determine the individual champions and the eight teams that will advance to the match play bracket. The 15th-place team after 36 holes is Stanford (+22).
Bartley Forrester Round 2 Highlights
Tech lineup – Senior Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) shot a 2-over 74, the lowest score for the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, while freshmen Cale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) each shot 75.
First-round leader Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), who shot 67 on Friday, finished 13 holes in 77 after a bogey, triple bogey and bogey streak from No. 14 to No. 16. The sophomore is tied for seventh individually at even-par 144 and leads the field in par-5 scores (-5) and birdies (10).
Tran, who played in six regular-season tournaments, five of them individually, held par after 11 holes but made three consecutive double bogeys on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes to finish with a score of 77.
Forrester is tied for 66th with 151 (+7) and Fontenot is tied for 99th with 153 (+9). Kim is tied for 110th with 154 (+10).
Three Jackets Selected for GCAA All-Region – Tech received good news Saturday as three of its players, Forrester, Lamprecht and Tye, were named to the All-East Region team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Bruce Heppler Post-Round 2 Interview
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Virginia (-1), Illinois (-1) and Vanderbilt (-2) all recorded their best rounds on Saturday and occupy the top three spots on the leaderboard. The Cavaliers (577, +1) lead the Fighting Illini (580, +4) by three strokes and the Commodores (583, +7) by six strokes after 36 holes.
Following them are Auburn (586, +10) and North Carolina (587, +11). Ohio State, Arizona and Florida State are tied for sixth place at 588 (+12), followed by Tech and ETSU at 593 (+17). Rounding out the top 15 after 36 holes are Baylor (+20), Tennessee, Texas, Florida (tied at +21) and Stanford (+22).
Individual Rankings – Stanford's Carl Villips (134, -7) led the individual competition by five strokes after 36 holes, following up on Saturday's opening 68 with a shot of 68. George Duangmany of the University of Virginia and Adam Wallin of Ohio State are tied for second at 142 (-2).
Illinois' Max Herendeen, Illinois' Jace Sammy and Auburn's Jackson Koiven are tied for fourth at 143 (-1), and Tech's Hiroshi Tai is in a group of eight players tied for seventh at even-par 142.
Round 2 Photo: Tim Cowie
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
Sunday, May 26 – Stroke Play Third Round, 9:40 AM EDT Monday, May 27 – Stroke Play Fourth Round, 1:00 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 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
