Tech Set to Host Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate – Men’s Golf — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

THE FLATS – Looking for its first victory of the fall season and its third the history of its annual home event, Georgia Tech’s golf team returns to action this weekend, hosting the 17^th Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational Friday through Sunday at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta.

Tech comes into its third fall event ranked No. 3 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll and No. 12 in the current Golfweek/Sagarin ratings after finishing third at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and eighth at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational in its first two events.

Six teams in the 14-team field played in last year’s NCAA Championship, with three (Tech, Pepperdine and Virginia) advancing to match play. Like last fall, all 10 Georgia Tech players are competing in two teams at the Golf Club of Georgia this weekend, with the primary team composed of the top five players, and a B team composed of the rest. The B team also will compete for a team score.

After guiding the Yellow Jackets to the program’s 19^th Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship, head coach Bruce Heppler has three starters back for his 29^th season on The Flats, including seniors Bartley Forrester (Gainesville, Ga.) and Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) and sophomore Hiroshi Tai (Singapore), each of whom are ranked among the world’s top 100 amateur players. All three are in the Jackets’ “A” lineup this weekend as Tai looks to defend his individual title from 2022, and Lamprecht looks to build on a fall in which he has a victory and a runner-up finish.

The tournament will utilize a split-tee format each day, with competition beginning at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. for the final round Sunday. Tech’s A team is paired with Tennessee and UCLA for Friday’s opening round, and with Clemson and Pepperdine for Saturday’s second round, beginning each round from the first tee at 9:55 a.m. Pairings for the Sunday’s final round will be set based on the leaderboard through the conclusion of 36 holes.

Christo Lamprecht, the world’s top-ranked amateur, has one tournament victory and one runner-up finish in two fall events. (photo by Mario Terrana)

ROSTER OUTLOOK – Lamprecht, a first-team All-American in 2023, won The Amateur Championship and was low amateur at The Open Championship over the summer and has risen to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking following his victory at Olympia Fields….