Scottsdale, Ariz. – True freshman Hiroshi Tai sunk a huge birdie putt on the first playoff hole of his deciding match to lift No. 5-seeded Georgia Tech golf to a heart-stopping 3-2 win over Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship on Tuesday at Grayhawk Golf Club.
With the victory, Georgia Tech makes a quick turnaround to face Atlantic Coast Conference rival and top-seeded North Carolina in a national semifinal match, beginning at 4:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon. The winner will move on to face the winner of the other semifinal between No. 2-seeded Florida and No. 6 Florida State in Wednesday’s national championship match.
Tuesday morning’s quarterfinal came down to the epic duel between Tai and Pepperdine fifth-year senior Roberto Nieves. Tai was 3-down after just four holes, but came back to win five of the next seven to go 2-up with six to play. Nieves won two-straight to draw even, then the duo exchanged winning holes before halving the final three of regulation to send the match to a sudden death playoff. On the 19th hole of the match, Tai hit his approach shot to 15 feet on the par-4 10th, then drilled the match-winning birdie putt to send the Jackets to national semifinals. Tech’s semifinal berth is the second in school history and its first since its lone semifinal appearance in 2013 (match play was introduced at the NCAA Championship in 2009).
Senior Ross Steelman (d. William Mouw, 5&4) and fifth-year senior Bartley Forrester (d. Luke Gifford, 2&1) accounted for Tech’s other two points in the win over fourth-seeded Pepperdine.
Live television coverage of the national semifinals begins at 5 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.
NCAA Championship Quarterfinals
Photos by Tim Cowie and Todd Drexler
REMAINING MATCH PLAY SCHEDULE (Times Eastern)
Semifinals – Tuesday, May 30
- 3:45 p.m. – No. 2 Florida vs. No. 6 Florida State
- 4:35 p.m. – No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech
- GOLF Channel – 5 to 9 p.m. ET
Championship – Wednesday, May 31
- 4:35 p.m.
- GOLF Channel – 5 to 9 p.m. ET
TECH’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY – Georgia Tech has reached the NCAA Championship finals 32 times since 1985 (33 times in program history), which is tied for fifth most in that time period behind Oklahoma State (36), Arizona State (35), Florida (34) and Texas (34), three of whom are in the field in Scottsdale.
The Yellow Jackets have qualified for match play five times since the advent of the…
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