THE FLATS: ATLANTA, GA – Freshman Luke Schniederjans fired a bogey-free 2-under-par 70 Sunday, September 11th, 2016, and held off several challenges to capture medalist honors, and Georgia Tech finished strong with a 13-under-par round to tie for fifth place at the 28th Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club in Rocky Face, Ga.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Schniederjans, younger brother of three-time All-American Ollie Schniederjans, played error-free golf in the closing round, making one birdie on each side, which was enough to capture the individual title in his collegiate debut. He became the fourth straight Yellow Jacket to win this event, joining his brother (2013 and 2014) and current teammate Jacob Joiner (2015).
Coupled with his 69-66 in the first two rounds, the freshman from Powder Springs, Ga., finished 54 holes at 11-under-par 205, which was one shot better than North Florida’s Phillip Knowles, Virginia’s Derek Bard and Auburn’s Ryan Benton, all of whom posted 10-under-par totals of 206. Once Schniederjans reached 11-under-par Sunday, Benton and LSU’s Sam Burns each tied him on different occasions, but fell back.
Schniederjans recorded only four bogeys in 54 holes, and was fourth in the field in par-4 scoring at 7-under-par. He competed as an individual in the Carpet Capital Collegiate, meaning his scores did not count toward Tech’s team totals.
TECH LINEUP – After a disappointing second round Saturday, the Yellow Jackets surged Sunday, posting the best single round of any team over the weekend (13-under-par total of 275) as all four counting players broke par. The assault on The Farm Golf Club course lifted Tech from 10th place to a tie for fifth on the final leaderboard.
Sophomore Tyler Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.) led the charge with an 8-under-par 64, shaking off a pair of 76s in his first two rounds. Freshman Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.) and junior James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) each shot 2-under-par 70, while senior Michael Hines added a 1-under 71. The toss-out score was an even-par 72 from junior Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.).
Clark finished in a tie for 11th place with a career-low 54-hole score of 6-under-par 210, the fourth top-20 finish of his career. Hines finished solo 18th at 3-under 213, his third top-20 finish. Joiner’s round Sunday lifted him to a tie for 25th.
COACH BRUCE HEPPLER SAYS – “We struggled for two days here, so today was a pretty special day. Tyler Joiner shot a special round and hit a lot of shots close to the pin. It’s great to see somebody get over two days of disappointment and play like that. Everybody played well today throughout the lineup. I think our kickout score was even. That’s when you know you’re getting something done. It’s a very positive day and something we can build on. Hines had a nice event, Clark had a nice event, so we just go home and try to build on this and get ready for Arizona.”
TEAM LEADERBOARD – No. 14 Virginia got 69s Sunday from Bard, Thomas Walsh and Jimmy Stanger and shot 8-under 280, enabling the Cavaliers to finish with a tournament-record total of 833 (-31) and hold of No. 15 Auburn by six strokes. The Tigers finished at 25-under 839, which also surpassed the previous tournament-record score. Clemson was a distant third at 848 (-16), followed by LSU at 852 (-12). Tech and Florida tied for fifth place at 8-under-par 856.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Carpet Capital Collegiate was contested at The Farm Golf Club, a 7,012-yard, par 72 layout designed by Tom Fazio near Dalton, Ga. The Yellow Jackets have been the institutional host of this event since its inception in 1989, winning seven times, most recently in 2013. LSU and South Carolina both advanced to match play at the NCAA Championship last spring, and the 14-team field also includes NCAA Championship entrants Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida and Virginia.