Alpharetta, Ga. – Freshman Hiroshi Tai fired a 7-under-par 65 Friday to share the individual lead, and Georgia Tech shot a 12-under-par 276 to grab a share of the team lead after the opening round of the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational.
Looking for their first victory of the fall season and third the history of its annual home event, the 13th-ranked Yellow Jackets opened strong behind four subpar rounds on their home course, posting their lowest round in this event since 2018, when Tech shot 270 (-18) in the opening round on the way to a third-place finish.
Round 2 begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, with Tech teeing off the first hole at 9:55 a.m. The tournament concludes with the final round Sunday. Twice a winner of this event, the Yellow Jackets have not won it since 2012.
TECH LINEUP – Tai, a native of Singapore who attended high school in Windermere, Fla., recorded four of his birdies on par-4 holes, and birdied both par-5s on the back nine. He had a 15-foot eagle chance at 18 to take the outright lead, but the putt lipped out and he tapped in for birdie. Tai enrolled at Tech in January after serving a two-year military obligation in the Singapore Navy, and has qualified to play in all four fall events for the Jackets.
Christo Lamprecht and Bartley Forrester each shot 2-under-par 70, while Connor Howe added a 1-under-par 71 for Tech. Andy Mao posted an even-par 72 and did not count.
The Jackets led the field in par-5 scoring (-14) and in total birdies (24) for the round.
Tech’s B team, led by a 4-under-par 68 from Benjamin Reuter and a 3-under-par 69 from Ross Steelman, posted a 5-under-par round of 283 and sits in seventh place. The B group outscored No. 7 Virginia, No. 10 Tennessee and No. 6 Texas A&M. Reuter, a sophomore, is in a group of eight players tied for fourth place, while Steelman is one of seven competitors tied for 12th place. Aidan Kramer shot 72, and freshman Aidan Tran a 74 to aid the B team.
Freshman Hiroshi Tai chats about his opening round at Golf Club of Georgia
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Clemson made a late push Friday to match the Yellow Jackets at 12-under-par 276, three strokes ahead of No. 25 Pepperdine, which carded a 9-under-par 279. No. 5 Stanford and No. 12 Alabama, each of whom posted an 8-under-par total of 280, are tied for fourth.
Washington (282, -6), Georgia Tech’s B team (283, -5), No. 27 Wake Forest and No. 7 Virginia (284, -4) and No. 10 Tennessee (286, -2) round out the top 10 in the 14-team…
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