The 2011 NCAA golf championship featured two Georgia teams in the finals, but both are in rebuilding mode this year.
Meanwhile, a third Georgia team that made it to match play in the NCAA Championship appears capable of making another run at a national title with a roster replete with home-grown talent.
Two-time defending champion Augusta State lost its entire 2011 starting lineup, and struggled for most of the Fall season with an all-new cast. Georgia graduated three players who are now playing on either the PGA or Nationwide Tours, but did return some talent, including the 2011 British Amateur champion.
Georgia Tech was eliminated in match play for the second straight year by Augusta, and also lost some key players, returning just two of five starters. But the Yellow Jackets will field a talented if young squad, with at least three or four in-state golfers likely to be in the lineup each time Tech tees it up this Spring.
Augusta State gave Georgia a third team capable of competing at the national level, and that role could be filled this year by Kennesaw State. The Owls features a strong 1-2 punch and a solid group of home state golfers behind them who helped lead the squad to back-to-back victories to wrap up the Fall schedule.
Georgia Tech has been a long time contender for an NCAA title, but the Jackets have never been able to quite break through, even with the likes of David Duval, Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar and Bryce Molder on the roster.
Tech loses three of its top players off last year’s team, which led after two rounds in stroke play qualifying last year at nationals before finishing second. All three finished in the top 30 individually, but the Jackets have an abundance of talent to replace them.
The top returnee for Tech is Acworth senior James White, who earned All-America honors last year with eight top-10 finishes in his last nine starts, including two wins and a runner-up showing.
White opened the 2012 Spring season with a tie for 4th in Hawaii, with Tech placing 4th in the team competition at 19-under 845, 11 strokes behind Texas. Joining White in the top 10 was sophomore Bo Andrews, who was 6th at 209, one stroke behind White.
The other returning starter for Tech is sophomore Richy Werenski, whose lone strong showing in the Fall was an 8th place finish in Macon’s Brickyard Collegiate, which Tech won. Tech had a chance to close out the Fall with consecutive wins, but let a lead slip away in the final round of the U.S. Collegiate Championship at Golf Club of Georgia.
Duluth’s Seth Reeves played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in 2010-11, but has emerged as a starter as a sophomore, with his Fall season highlighted by a tie for 2nd in Macon.
Also tying for 2nd in the Brickyard collegiate was Woodstock’s Anders Albertson, one of two highly touted Georgia freshmen expected to be key parts of Tech’s teams through 2015. Albertson was 3rd in his college debut in the Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm, and led the team in scoring average in the Fall.
Ollie Schniederjans, White’s high school teammate at Harrison, was 11th in his first collegiate start and added a T6 as an individual at the Brickyard, but was unable to crack the starting lineup in Tech’s Spring opener in Hawaii.
Tech’s fifth Georgia player is sophomore Drew Czuchry of Auburn, who transferred after beginning his college career at Akron. Czuchry made two Fall starts but will be hard-pressed to break into a lineup that has nine players competing for five starting slots.
After playing three times in the state last Fall, Tech has no tournaments in Georgia this Spring, competing in Tallahassee in March and in Tampa during Masters week.
Georgia finished 8th or better in the NCAA Championship three of the last four years with Harris English, Russell Henley and Hudson Swafford in the lineup. All three graduated after stellar careers in Athens, but the cupboard is not completely bare.
Junior Bryden Macpherson, the 2011 British Amateur champion, has taken over as the team’s No. 1 player, and placed 3rd, 2nd, 12th and 8th in his four Fall starts. Macpherson was unbeaten in three matches in the NCAA Championship, with Albany junior T.J. Mitchell the team’s other returning starter.
Mitchell closed out the Fall by earning medalist honors in a tournament on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, posting a winning score of 15-under 201. The Bulldogs finished 2nd, 4th and 1st in their last three Fall starts, but their two best finishes were against lesser fields.
The Bulldogs have a number of players competing for spots in the lineup, among them Augusta sophomore Brian Carter and twin brothers Sepp and Sam Straka from Valdosta. Carter had top-20 finishes in both the Brickyard Collegiate and Outer Banks event.
Sophomore Keith Mitchell (no relation to T.J.) was 3rd in the Outer Banks, with freshman Nicholas Reach and sophomore Michael Cromie also making multiple Fall starts. Michigan transfer Joey Garber is eligible for the Spring schedule, providing even more competition for a deep if inexperienced team.
The Bulldogs will play in the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation March 24-25, the SEC Championship at Sea Island GC April 20-22 and will host an NCAA Regional May 17-19.
Augusta State graduated four starters, including Evans’ Carter Newman, with Patrick Reed turning pro after his junior season. Coach Josh Gregory also left after leading the Jaguars to two straight NCAA championships.
Kevin McPherson takes over as head coach and inherits a team with just one player with significant experience. Macon senior Taylor Floyd was a starter for the 2010 championship team, but lost his spot last season. He closed out the Fall with a T13 finish in Dallas, which was the Jaguars’ lone strong showing (4th) after three disappointing
efforts.
Also tying for 13th in Dallas was Alpharetta junior Derek Chang, who redshirted last year after transferring from Minnesota.
Savannah’s Brendan Gillins has played sparingly during his career at Augusta, but will have the chance to contribute as a senior. Also looking to break into lineup are Shawn Yim, a sophomore from Buford, and Evans freshman Cody Shafer.
The Jaguars’ Spring schedule includes three tournaments in South Carolina in March and the annual Augusta State Invitational, which will be played the weekend before the Masters at Forest Hills GC.
Kennesaw State joined its three more prominent Georgia rivals in qualifying for the NCAA Championship last year, and returns almost its entire roster.
Leading the way are seniors Matt Nagy of Buena Vista and Jeff Karlsson, who combined for five individual titles last season. Nagy played consistently throughout the Fall, while Karlsson struggled a bit before he and Nagy both finished T7 to lead the Owls to a win at Kiawah Island to close out their 2011 schedule.
It was the second straight win for Kennesaw, which previously won on Daufuskie Island. S.C. Duluth junior Ben Greene, one of four returning starters, led the way in that event with a career best 2nd place finish.
Also back from last year are Columbus sophomore Jonathan Klotz and Calhoun junior Sam Curtis. The key newcomer for the Owls is Columbus freshman Jimmy Beck, who made key contributions in the team’s two Fall wins, including a 10th place finish at Kiawah. Freshman Austin Vick and sophomore Kelby Burton, both from Evans, are
also vying for playing time.
Kennesaw plays its entire Spring schedule in the Southeast, including in-state tournaments at Reynolds Plantation in March and the Atlantic Sun Championship, which will be played April 16-18 at Chateau Elan.
Georgia State’s best showing of the Fall was a tie for 5th in a tournament hosted by the Panthers at Berkeley Hills in Duluth. Sophomore Tyler Gruca of Alpharetta tied for 7th to lead the Panthers, and followed that up with a 5th place finish in Greensboro, N.C.
The only other player to post a top-25 finish in the Fall was senior Clemens Dvorak, a junior college transfer, who had a pair of top-15 showings.
Freshman Davin White of Griffin broke into the lineup immediately, and is the only other player other than Gruca to compete in all four Fall tournaments plus the Spring opener in Jacksonville. Brothers Grant and Jared Cagle have been in the lineup more often than not, with Grant, a sophomore, turning in several solid effort in the Fall. Jared, a senior, is the only other player on the roster who is not a freshman or sophomore.
The Panthers’ lone in-state appearance this Spring is in the Augusta State Invitational.
Georgia Southern brought in a large group of freshman from Georgia high schools, and the Eagles turned in some respectable Fall finishes, placing 3rd twice and 5th once.
Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island and Charlie Martin of LaGrange started in all five Fall events. Martin placed between 12th and 21st in four of five appearances, and Wolfes was in the top 15 three times, including a tie for 6th in Nashville his second college start.
Zach Hartman, Wolfes’ teammate at Glynn Academy, closed out the Fall by tying for 7th at Amelia Island, Fla., in his first college start. Redshirt freshman Matthew Mierzejewski of Alpharetta competed in three Fall events, with Griffin’s Henry Mabbett and Metter’s Caleb Morris unable to break into the Eagles’ lineup.
Lewis Gruber, Southern’s lone senior, led the team with three top-10 finishes. The Eagles don’t stray very far from home this Spring with tournaments in South Carolina and Florida, along with the annual Schenkel Invitational at Forest Heights CC March 16-18.
Mercer plays a heavy schedule this Spring after competing in only three events in the Fall. Four of the Bears’ Spring tournaments are in Florida with two in Georgia – the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation March 24-25 and the Atlantic Sun Championship at Chateau Elan April 16-18.
The Bears placed 9th in their season opener in Jacksonville, with three Georgians in their lineup. Valdosta junior John Gregory Joseph notched a top 30 finish, with Eatonton freshman Trey Rule and Thomasville senior Josh Cone also competing. Macon junior Thomas Holmes and Rochelle sophomore John Wilson Gordon both seeing action in
the Fall. Holmes started in all three Fall events.
Sophomores Hans Reimers and James Beale are the team’s top two players, with Reimers notching the only top 10 finish for Mercer in the Fall, a 3rd place showing in Texas.