Seth Reeves fired a 3-under-par 69 Sunday and Ollie Schniederjans added a 1-under 71, pacing 8th-ranked Georgia Tech to a fourth-place standing after the opening round of the Puerto Rico Classic.
Bo Andrews and Richard Werenski each shot 1-over 73s Sunday as the Yellow Jackets posted a 2-under-par team total of 286, seven shots back of 6th-ranked Alabama (-9, 279). Oklahoma (-8) is in second place, followed by No. 21 Clemson (-7) in a 15-team field that features eight teams ranked among the nation’s top 50. SMU (-1) was the only other team to break par Sunday on the Rio Grande Country Club’s River Course.
Reeves, a junior from Duluth, Ga., who missed Tech’s trip to Hawai’I two weeks ago, shined in his spring debut, recording six birdies in his round and playing his last seven holes three strokes under par.
Schniederjans, a sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga., birdied his final hole in the shotgun start and recorded five in his round to counter a double-bogey at No. 2. Werenski also finished strong, overcoming a double bogey and a bogey in consecutive holes (3 and 4) to play his final 12 holes two strokes under par.
“We got off to a slow start today. We were 6-over-par through our first five holes, but we fought hard the entire round,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “Ollie was +3 through five and shot 1-under. Richy was +4 through five and finished +1. We did a nice job getting the round back together, but we certainly need to play better start to finish the next two days.”
Clemson’s Billy Kennerly had the round of the day with a 5-under-par 67, taking a one-shot lead over the Sooners’ Eduardo Castiello and Beau Titsworth and SMU’s Austin Smotherman. Reeves is another stroke back along with four others. Schniederjans is tied for 15th place, four shots off the lead.
The first-round results are as follows:
TEAM STANDINGS
1 Alabama 279 -9
2 Oklahoma 280 -8
3 Clemson 281 -7
4 Georgia Tech 286 -2
5 SMU 287 -1
6 Georgia 290 +2
7 North Carolina 291 +3
T8 Virginia Tech 292 +4
T8 Augusta State 292 +4
10 East Tennessee State 296 +8
11 Northwestern 297 +9
12 Michigan 298 +10
13 North Carolina State 303 +15
14 Ohio State 304 +16
15 Purdue 308 +20
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1 Billy Kennerly Clemson 67 (F) -5
T2 Austin Smotherman SMU 68 (F) -4
T2 Beau Titsworth Oklahoma 68 (F) -4
T2 Eduardo Castiello Oklahoma 68 (F) -4
T5 Scott Strohmeyer Alabama 69 (F) -3
T5 Seth Reeves Georgia Tech 69 (F) -3
T5 Crawford Reeves Clemson 69 (F) -3
T5 Tom Lovelady Alabama 69 (F) -3
T5 Maverick Antcliff Augusta State 69 (F) -3
T10 Cory Whitsett Alabama 70 (F) -2
T10 Albin Choi North Carolina State 70 (F) -2
T10 Mikey Moyers Virginia Tech 70 (F) -2
T10 Michael McGowan North Carolina 70 (F) -2
T10 Mario Clemens SMU 70 (F) -2
T15 G. Kristjansson East Tennessee State 71 (F) -1
T15 Ollie Schniederjans Georgia Tech 71 (F) -1
T15 Nicholas Losole Northwestern 71 (F) -1
T15 Abraham Ancer Oklahoma 71 (F) -1
T15 Michael Cromie Georgia 71 (F) -1
T15 Bobby Wyatt Alabama 71 (F) -1
Play will continue through Tuesday, February 19. Be sure to check back here for updates.