Luke Schniederjans (Danny Karnik/Georgia Tech Athletics)
It wasn’t so much that Georgia Tech pulled away in its home opener at the Farm Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., it was that no other team could catch the home team, let alone overtake it. The Yellow Jackets claimed a 20-shot victory at the Carpet Capital Collegiate as the only team under par in the season-opening event.
It’s the 10th time in program history that Georgia Tech has won this title. The home team also claimed the individual medalist in Luke Schniederjans, who finished 54 holes at 9 under. Senior teammate Tyler Strafaci was runner-up, five shots back.
“I think (Luke) just stayed within himself. I think his challenge sometimes is he’s really talented and he tries to do too much, maybe tries to hit too many high-quality shots,” Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler said of Schniederjans, who won this title as a freshman. "I think he just managed himself and controlled his ball and putted really well."
Schniederjans also won the Puerto Rico Classic later in his freshman season, but had not won another college event until this weekend.
Heppler liked the fight he saw in his team on Sunday, especially the chase that Strafaci made behind Schniederjans.
“It’s an individual sport until it’s all over and we add it up as a team. I was really happy with the way (Tyler) chased him, he was aggressive. He made a nice eagle on 12 to get close,” Heppler said. “That’s what you want, you want guys competing against each other. . . . Those guys carried us, as seniors should.”
Freshman Andy Mao of Johns Creek, Ga., posted a top-20 finish in his collegiate debut, tying for 18th at 4 over. Redshirt sophomore Ben Smith of Novi, Mich., tied for 48th place at 13 over. Noah Norton had to sit out the final two days of the event with back spasms, which meant that Georgia Tech won the title even without the luxury of a drop score.
Overall, Georgia Tech finished at 3 under after backing up a bit on Sunday with a 4-over team score, its highest of the week.
Georgia Tech won even without recent U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who spent the weekend in Hoylake, England representing the U.S. in the Walker Cup. Ogletree contributed 1 1/2 points to a U.S. victory on Sunday.
North Florida, with many new faces in the lineup, held its position in second place. The Ospreys went 12 over on Sunday to finish at 17 over for the tournament. Charlotte and East Tennessee State joined them at that number.
Those two teams tied for the best round of the day with team totals of even-par 288.
Quotes and information from Georgia Tech Athletics used in this report
ABOUT THE Carpet Capital Collegiate
54-hole men's college tournament hosted by
Georgia Tech University at The Farm Golf Club.
The 7,012-yard, par-72 layout was designed by
Tom Fazio and is near Dalton, Ga., just over 90
miles north of the Georgia Tech campus. The
host Yellow Jackets have been the institutional
host of this event since its inception in 1989. The
field
typically maintains a predominantly ACC and
SEC flavor, with other nearby schools
participating, as well.
View Complete Tournament Information