The Fall schedule of the 2019-20 college golf season has concluded, with the state’s top team – GeorgiaTech– closing out its Fall campaign with its third victory in four starts.
The Yellow Jackets won a match play event at Cypress Point in California, rolling to victories over Cal, UCLA and Duke to capture the 8-team tournament. Tech did not lose a match in the first two rounds, defeating Cal in best ball and UCLA in alternate shot.
Andy Ogletree andBen Smith teamed up to win both their matches, while the duos of Luke Schniederjans-Tyler Strafaci and Noah Norton-Connor Howe both went 1-0 and were two holes ahead with three to play when their matches ended after Tech had already clinched team victories.
Tech defeated Duke 5-1 in the finals, with Smith winning 6&4, Ogletree and Norton winning 5&4, and Schniederjans defeating Alpharetta’s Chandler Eaton 3&2 for the clinching point. Strafaci won 2&1 to account for the final margin.
Tech had previously won the annual tournament hosted by the Jackets at the Farm as well as an event at Olympia Fields in Chicago. In their other Fall tournament, Tech was a disappointing 10thin the tournament it hosts annually at the Golf Club of Georgia.
The Yellow Jackets closed out the Fall ranked third in the country by Golfstat. Strafaci is the team’s highest ranked player at 21 followed by Schniederjans at 30 and Ogletree at 96.
GEORGIAplaced fourth out of 20 teams at Ka’anapali in Hawaii, with sophomore Trent Phillips winning the individual title in a 7-hole playoff, breaking the Bulldogs’ tournament scoring record in the process.
Phillips shot 20-under 193 with scores of 65-64-64, and won with a birdie on the seventh playoff hole. The previous mark was 18-under set by Chris Kirk in 2007. Davis Thompson, a junior from St. Simons Island, shot 68-70-67 and tied for 12that 205, with Gainesville senior Spencer Ralston T18 at 206, closing with scores of 68 and 65.
The Bulldogs shot 33-under 819, including a 17-under 267 the final day, but finished 14 shots behind Oklahoma’s winning total.
Georgia finished the Fall ranked 20thby Golfstat, with Thompson 19thindividually, Phillips 32ndand Ralston 125th. The Bulldogs won one Fall tournament at Crooked Stick in Indiana.
AUGUSTA is the state’s next highest ranked team at 83. The Jaguars placed third in a 21-team field at Turtle Point on Kiawah Island in their final Fall start. McCullough Pickens, a senior from Sea Island, shot 4-under 212 to tie for eighth. Augusta shot 10-under 854 to finish 21 behind Auburn.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN was 10thin a 14-team field in the Bahamas, shooting 2-under 862. Brett Barron, a senior from Cumming, was the only Eagle to finish better than 48th, tying for 22ndat 212 with a 67 in the second round. Ben Carr, a sophomore from Columbus, shot 69 in the first round, and Jake Maples, a senior from McDonough, had a 68 in the third round.
The Eagles are ranked 92nd, with their lone Fall highlight a victory in Cashiers, N.C.
KENNESAW STATE hosted its annual Pinetree Intercollegiate at Pinetree CC and was just two shots off the lead going to the final round before dropping to sixth in the 11-team field after a rough day.
The Owls shot 4-under 284 the first day to lead Mercer by two before falling two behind the Bears after a second round 295. Ryan Hines, a sophomore from Woodstock, led the Owls with a first round 69 and sophomore Brock Healy of Norcross and freshman Preston Topper of Suwanee both shot 71.
Connor Coffee, a senior from Peachtree City, led the Owls with a 70 the next day, but the team’s next best score was a 74 by Hines. Topper’s 74 was low for the Owls in the final round, with no one else under 79. The team finished 13 shots behind tournament winner Jacksonville State. Topper tied for eighth individually at 220, with Hines T14 at 222.
MERCER wound up third at 884 after a final round score of 307. Sophomore Martin Plukka was low the first day with a 67 and was second at 136 after 36 holes following a 69. But his final round 76 was the team’s second lowest score and the Bears ended up six shots behind Jacksonville State. Plukka tied for fourth at 212, with juniorTyler Copp 24th at 224 with a team best 73 the final day and Cumming senior Spencer Ball 25that 225 after shooting 72-73 the first two days.
Kennesaw closed out the Fall with a season-best fourth place finish at Steelwood in Loxley, Ala., shooting 2-over 866. Keran tied for ninth at 216 with Coffee T14 at 217 and Healy T24 at 220. Hines contributed a second round 69.
The GEORGIA WOMEN’S TEAM ended the Fall 38thin the Golfstat rankings, with a season-high finish of third in Portland. The Bulldogs also placed sixth in Minnesota, eighth at Stanford and eighth in their Fall finale in the Bahamas.
Freshman Caterina Don, who won in her collegiate debut in Minnesota, scored her third top-5 finish in four starts, tying for fourth in the Bahamas. She is ranked 18th in the country. Sophomore Jo Hua Hung tied for 20th, her second top 20 of the Fall. The team’s only other top-20 finish was a tie for fourth by freshman Caroline Craig of Sautee Nacoochee in Portland.
AUGUSTA is ranked 54that the end of the Fall with three middle-of-the-pack finishes in four starts. KENNESAW STATE, with three freshmen on its 5-player roster, is 62ndwith two solid showings in three Fall tournaments. ‘
MERCER is ranked 76thafter placing second in its final Fall event, played at Idle Hour in Macon. Mercer, the host team, shot 11-over 875 to finish 14 behind tournament winner Charlotte. The Bears closed with a score of 2-under 286.
Junior Laura Hrindovaled Mercer, placing third at 213. Payton Schanen, a senior from Alpharetta, closed with scores of 70 and 67 to tie for fourth at 214, with Macon sophomore Carol Pyon tying for 11that 222. Lauren Lightfritz, a senior from Cumming, tied for 18that 226.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN was third at Idle Hour with an 894 total, the third time this Fall the Eagles have finished third. Senior Ella Ofstedahl shared medalist honors, posting scores of 68-75-66 for a 7-under 209 total. Freshman Alberte Thuesen tied for ninth at 219.
GEORGIA STATE tied for seventh in the 16-team field at Idle Hour, the Panthers’ best showing of the Fall. Harmanprit Kaur, a senior from Lawrenceville, led Georgia State, tying for 18that 216.