THE FLATS – Atlanta, G.A. – Anders Albertson and Vince Whaley each shot 1-under-par 70 Sunday, April 12th, 2015, sharing medalist honors individually and helping 15th-ranked Georgia Tech to a runaway victory at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate at The Ohio State University Scarlet Course.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Georgia Tech shot 286 (+2) Sunday, a score bettered by only one other team, and secured a 16 shot win over SMU. The Yellow Jackets were the only team to finish 54 holes under par (848, -4). The Mustangs posted a 12-over-par score of 864 (+12), while host Ohio State (298 Sunday) finished at 16-over-par 868. Michigan, whose 284 was the best score in the final round, was fourth at 17-over-par 869. No. 29 UNLV finished fifth at 874 (+22), and No. 32 Houston tied for sixth with Kent State at 880 (+28).
The Jackets earned their second team victory of the year and the 45th for Tech under head coach Bruce Heppler. Tech is 2-for-2 in team and individual titles in the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate, winning the two team titles by a total of 34 strokes.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Albertson, a senior from Woodstock, G.A., and Whaley, a sophomore from McKinney, Texas, matched each other virtually stroke-for-stroke throughout the tournament, posting matching scores of 71-67-70 for a 54-hole total of 208, five under par, to share medalist honors. The victory was the second in the career of Albertson, who won the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, and the first for Whaley, who just last week recorded the highest finish of his career, a tie for 11th at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
Schniederjans, a senior from Powder Springs, G.A., who led after 36 holes, shot 73 Sunday and tied for third place with SMU’s Bryson Dechambeau, who shot the best individual round of the day with a 69. Their tournament score of 3-under-par 210 matched what Schniederjans shot to earn co-medalist honors at this event last spring.
Ohio State’s Grant Weaver, at 1-under-par 212, and Michigan’s Kyle Mueller, at even-par 213, were the only other individuals to match or break par for the tournament.
TECH LINEUP – Freshman Chris Petefish (Danville, C.A.), who withdrew from both rounds Saturday after being hit in the back of the neck with a stray golf ball hit from the adjacent golf course, returned Sunday to shoot 74 (+2) for Tech’s fourth counting score. Fellow freshman James Clark (Columbus, G.A.) did not count after shooting 75, a round in which he birdied five holes but also had five bogeys and two double-bogeys.
COACH BRUCE HEPPLER SAYS – “Everyone played well all weekend. We’ve always tried to simplify things in this situation; when you have the lead and shoot the low round of the day, you’re going to win. Each guy just does his stuff each day. We’ve worked on being mentally tough, then we turn them loose on the golf course. Vince doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he hits the ball well. He played great. It’s been a while since Anders has been in the winner’s circle, but he’s played well all spring.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Robert Kepler Intercollegiate is a 54-hole collegiate event, with the low four scores out of five counting toward the team score for each round. The Scarlet Course at Ohio State, a par-71 layout measuring 7,455 yards, has been the site for three NCAA Championships (1987, 1995, 2002) in which Tech has competed, and one NCAA regional (2008). The Yellow Jackets were the highest-ranked team in the 14-team field which includes three other top-50 teams – No. 28 UNLV, No. 30 SMU and No. 35 Houston.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY – Georgia Tech won this event for the second straight year, having captured an 18-stroke victory last year with a winning score of 858 (+6). Ollie Schniederjans tied Ohio State’s Frederik Hammer for medalist honors at 3-under-par 210. The tournament is 45 years old.