Golf Finishes Runner-Up in NCAA Championship – Men’s Golf — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Scottsdale, Ariz. – Georgia Tech golf finished NCAA Championship runner-up after battling No. 2-seeded Florida in the national championship match Wednesday afternoon, falling 3-1, at the Grayhawk Golf Club.

Florida won the first pairing of the match (Yuxin Lin d. Christo Lamprecht, 4&3) before the Yellow Jackets gained momentum, taking the lead in the four remaining matches. But the Gators grinded it out down the stretch to pull away. Connor Howe battled, but fell to John DuBois, 1-up, to give the Gators a 2-0 match lead.

Bartley Forrester put Georgia Tech on the scoreboard, grinding out a win over Matthew Kress in 20 holes. Forrester had a chance to put it away, needing a birdie on 17, but couldn’t finish it out as Kress forced extra holes. On the 20^th hole, Kress overshot the fairway, setting Forrester up to seal the win. The senior from Gainesville, Ga., won all three of his matches in the NCAA Championship.

Georgia Tech, which entered the championship as the No. 11 seed and finished fifth in the stroke play portion, would need to win the final two matches to rally for the national championship, but came up just short of the first title in program history. The 2023 NCAA individual champion, Fred Biondi closed out the victory for the Gators, defeating Hiroshi Tai, 1-up. Tai had clinched Tech’s win over Pepperdine in the quarterfinals.

.@GTGolf‘s Bartley Forrester defeats Matthew Kress in 20 holes to get Georgia Tech a point on the board vs. Florida. 🤝

📺: #NCAAGolf National Championship | Golf Channel & @peacock pic.twitter.com/4RFAB8XP1X

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 1, 2023

An incredible break off the flagstick for @GTGolf‘s Bartley Forrester! 😅

📺: #NCAAGolf National Championship | Golf Channel & @peacock pic.twitter.com/1DPmDSfbwY

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 1, 2023

.@GTGolf‘s Hiroshi Tai rolls it in for birdie to go 1UP over individual champion Fred Biondi. 👀

📺: #NCAAGolf National Championship | Golf Channel & @peacock pic.twitter.com/yRYmYlQ8cw

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 31, 2023

Proud of @GTGolf Coach Heppler! pic.twitter.com/N8fqxG836Z

— Ángel Cabrera (@CabreraAngel) May 31, 2023

Georgia Tech’s Head Coach Bruce Heppler:

On the turning point in the match:

“I think it kind of flipped on 17 and 18. It took matches to the pipe all the way to the end and they [Florida] made some birdies on 17 and we didn’t, and that was really the difference. Great team. Salute to them, they played well. We…