Bruce Heppler Inducted into Georgia Golf Hall of Fame – Men’s Golf — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Johns Creek, Ga. – At the helm of Georgia Tech’s golf program for 13 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, 18 appearances in the NCAA Championship and 70 tournament titles overall, Bruce Heppler was one of four new members inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Friday night.

Heppler was enshrined in a ceremony at the Atlanta Athletic Club along with longtime club professional Tommy Brannen of Augusta, Ga., Georgia All-America golfer Terri Moody Hancock of Athens, Ga., and longtime advocate and contributor William Lewis of College Park, Ga. They bring the total number of Georgia Golf Hall of Fame members to 127.

“What a tremendous thrill to be honored in this way,” said Heppler. “To be recognized by the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame is even more meaningful when you think about the history, from the Jones family, the Masters, the Tour Championship and all the great players, coaches and teachers this state has produced, not to mention the tremendous college programs that exist in this state. It’s quite an honor. But this doesn’t happen without the hard work and support of countless people, from our players to our administrators and our donors, and I thank them for all they’ve done for our program.”

Heppler has guided the Yellow Jackets’ program to every NCAA Regional since 1998, and 19 times to the NCAA Championship finals, where four of those teams advanced to match play. Now in his 28^th year on The Flats, Heppler has guided teams to 13 ACC titles, most recently in 2019, and 70 tournament titles overall. Since 2000, Georgia Tech has finished outside the top 10 in national polls only four times.

Heppler has annually recruited and developed talented players from across the globe, and 14 of his players have competed on the PGA Tour, several of whom remain active today. Three of Heppler’s players – Matt Kuchar, Bryce Molder and Troy Matteson – have earned national player of the year honors, while 21 players have been named first-team All-America. The program has had at least two All-ACC honorees in 19 of the last 23 seasons and have had four members of the team honored four times, and five of Heppler’s players have been named ACC Player of the Year.

In addition, three of his Tech players – Kuchar in 1997, Andy Ogletree in 2019 and Tyler Strafaci in 2020 – have won the U.S. Amateur Championship. The victories by Ogletree and Strafaci made Georgia Tech the first school to have teammates win the national title in…