Both Georgia Tech and Georgia won tournaments in September to get their 2019-20 seasons off to successful starts.
Georgia Tech opened its season with a victory in the annual Carpet Capital Collegiate, a tournament hosted by the Yellows Jackets at The Farm outside Dalton. In their next start, Tech tied for first with Baylor in an event played at Olympia Fields in Chicago.
Georgia won a tournament hosted by Louisiana Tech after opening its season with a fourth place finish in the Carmel Cup, which was played at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
GEORGIA TECH coasted to a 20-stroke victory despite playing without senior Andy Ogletree, who was competing in the Walker Cup that weekend as a member of the victorious American team. Ogletree went 1-2-1, splitting his two singles matches.
The Yellow Jackets were also without starter Noah Norton for the last two rounds. Norton shot 70 the first day but sat out the last two days with back spasms.
Tech shot 4-under 284 the first day to take a 6-stroke lead and followed with a 285 to expand its lead to 12. A final round 292 gave the Jackets a 3-under 861 total and a 20-stroke margin of victory.
Senior Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs claimed the individual title for the Yellow jackets by five strokes with scores of 68-67-72 for a 9-under 207 total. Teammate Tyler Strafaci, also a senior,was second at 73-69-70—212.
Freshman Andy Mao from Johns Creek made his debut for the Jackets and after a non-counting first round, followed with scores of 71 and 72 to tie for 18that 220. Sophomore Ben Smith contributed an opening 73.
The Yellow Jackets let a chance for an outright victory slip away on the final hole at Olympia Fields. Ogletree and Schniederjans both made double bogeys on the difficult 18that a course that has hosted a U.S. Open and other top events, while their three teammates all made bogeys on the hole, as Tech ended up sharing the title.
Tech posted scores of 278-287-281 for a 6-over 846 total. The Jackets led by two shots after the first round and trailed by one going to the final day.
Ogletree and Norton were low for Tech, tying for ninth at 212. Ogletree shot 69-70 the first two days, with his final round 73 not counting. Norton shot 69-73-70. Smith closed with a 69 to tie for 14that 213, with Schniederjans tying for 24that 215 with scores of 71-72-72. Strafaci opened with a 69 and shot 70 the last day, with his second round score not counting.
Georgia Tech will host a second Fall event, with the annual Golf Club of Georgia Invitational set for Oct. 18-20.
GEORGIA turned in a steady performance to win a tournament hosted by Louisiana Tech, finishing six shots ahead of runner-up Texas State with a 17-under 847 total.
The Bulldogs trailed by three shots after shooting 5-under 283 the first day, but moved two ahead with a 282 the next day. Another 282 increased Georgia’s final margin to six.
Davis Thompson, a junior from St. Simons Island, earned individual honors with a 7-under 209 total, posting scores of 70-71-68. He finished two ahead of the runner-up.
Sophomore Trent Phillips tied for fifth at 212 with scores of 71-71-70—212 and freshman Connor Creasy tied for 11thin his college debut, finishing at 214 with scores of 71-70-73. Senior Spencer Ralston of Gainesville shot a non-counting 75 the first day, but came back with scores of 70-71 to tie for 15that 216. Senior Callum Masters shot 71 in the opening round, as the Bulldogs had only one counting score higher than 71 in the tournament.
The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in their Fall opener at Pebble Beach and never recovered, standing fourth after all three rounds. The Bulldogs shot 4-over 364 the first day in the six play, five count format, before posting scores of 350 and 349 the next two days to finish at 17-under. Georgia ended up 18 shots behind Texas Tech’s winning total.
Trent Phillips shot 67-72-68 to tie for third at 205, three behind the tournament medalist. Thompson and Ralston both tied for eighth at 209, with Thompson shooting a 66 in the second round and Ralston under par all three days with scores of 70-69-70.
Masters shot a second round 70 and Atlanta senior Will Chandler contributed a final round 69, but the team had to count an opening 81, as those two were the only par or better scores turned in by the team’s three other starters. Senior Trevor Phillips rebounded from a tough first day to finish with back-to-back 73s.
The state’s other Division 1 men’s teams got off to less successful starts.
MERCER was seventh of 14 teams in the Louisiana tournament won by Georgia. Spencer Ball, a senior from Cumming, tied for 18that 217 along with teammate Tyler Copp. Jonathan Parker, a freshman from Columbus, contributed scores of 73 and 74 the first two days in his college debut.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN was ninth of 13 teams in its season opener in Winston-Salem, N.C. Colin Bowles, a sophomore from Albany, shot 66-69-73 to tie for 16that 2-under 208. Ben Carr, a sophomore from Columbus, was T29 at 211.
AUGUSTA was 10thin the Winston-Salem tournament, with Sea Island senior McCullough Pickenstying for ninth individually at 67-68-70—205. The Jaguars were 11thof 15 in their season opener in Scottsdale, Ariz., with no player in the top 30.
GEORGIA STATE, the host team of the Arizona tournament, placed 13th, with graduate transfer Ashton Poole tying for 21stin his debut for the Panthers with scores of 69-69-68—206. The Panthers will host their annual tournament at Berkeley Hills Oct 14-15 with Mercer among the teams in the field.
KENNESAW STATE struggled in its first two events of the season, placing last in both the Carpet Capital and a tournament at Inverness in Toledo. The Owls will host their annual tournament at Pinetree CC Oct. 21-22.
The GEORGIA WOMEN tied for sixth in a 15-team field in Minnesota, with freshman Caterina Don earning individual honors in her first collegiate start. Don, who came to Georgia from Italy, shot 66-69—135, with her 9-under total one shot ahead of the runner-up.
Sophomore Jo Hua Hungfrom Taiwan tied for 17that 148, the only other Georgia player in the top 20. Georgia finished with a 9-over 585 total, with the event reduced from 54 to 36 holes because of rain.
Harmie Constantino, Georgia’s top player as a freshman in 2018-19, did not return for her sophomore season.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN placed third of nine teams in Greenville, N.C., with Savannah Satterfield, a sophomore from Chatsworth, tying for 11that 224. Freshman Alberte Thuesen was sixth at 222 and senior Ella Ofstedahl tied for seventh at 223.
AUGUSTA was sixth of 16 teams in Knoxville, while MERCER was eighth in the tournament. Senior Payton Schanen of Alpharetta tied for 23rdfor Mercer at 218, with teammate Carol Pyon, a sophomore from Macon, tying for 25that 219 after a final round 69. Mercer was 13thof 15 teams in Nashville, with Lauren Lightfritz, a senior from Cumming, shooting a final round 71 for the team’s low score of the tournament.
KENNESAW STATE, which is competing with a 5-player roster including three freshmen, placed seventh of 18 teams in Colorado. Meva Schmitt, one of the freshmen, tied for eighth at 5-under 211, and fellow freshman Tori Owens of Chatsworth posted a 72 in the second round.