Glencoe, Ill. – Connor Howe fired a 3-under-par 68, and Bartley Forrester added a 2-under-par 69 Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough for Georgia Tech, which posted a 1-over-par score of 285 and was unable to gain ground on the field, finishing in fifth place at the Windon Memorial Classic.
The Yellow Jackets began the final round tied for third place, just two strokes off the lead, but again were unable to get four quality scores as Kansas, Northwestern, Notre Dame and South Florida all posted subpar rounds to finish atop the team leaderboard. Tech has a quick turnaround before its next event, the Hamptons Intercollegiate beginning next Monday at East Hampton, N.Y.
TECH LINEUP – Howe played his last 12 holes in 5-under-par to post his 68 Tuesday, and the Ogden, Utah junior finished as low Yellow Jacket for the tournament at 5-under-par 208, tying the highest finish of his career with a tie for seventh place. It was his third career top-10 finish.
Forrester went bogey-free with three birdies over his final 13 holes Tuesday, and the junior from Gainesville, Ga., posted his best round of the tournament. Sophomore Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) shot even-par 71 (one birdie, one bogey) for the second straight round and tied for 10th place individually at 210 (-3), his second top-10 showing in a row.
Junior Ross Steelman (Columbia, Mo.) and senior Ben Smith (Novi, Mich.) each struggled to post 6-over-par 77 Tuesday, one of which counted in the team’s total. Both, along with Forrester, finished outside the top 50 individually.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – All five Kansas carded posted subpar rounds on Tuesday as the Jayhawks posted the best round of the tournament at 12-under-par 272. KU had three players finish in the top 10 individually, and finished the tournament with an 18-under-par total of 834, seven strokes clear of host Northwestern (841, -11), which shot 278 (-6) Tuesday.
Notre Dame posted a 1-under-par round Tuesday and finished at 843 (-9), while South Florida took fourth place at 845 (-7). Tech posted a 5-under-par total of 847, followed by Washington (848, -4), Ohio State (851, -1) and Kent State (852, even). The remaining six teams finished over par.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – The Jayhawks’ Davis Cooper scored a two-stroke victory with his final-round 67, posting a tournament score of 204 (-9), while Washington’s R.J. Manke was the runner-up at 7-under-par 206.
Maxwell Moldovan of Ohio State, who shot 67 Tuesday, South Florida’s Luke Gifford, Marquette’s Hunter Eichhorn and Notre Dame’s Palmer Jackson tied for third at 207 (-6), while Tech’s Howe joined two others in a tie for seventh at 208 (-5). The Jackets’ Lamprecht was among six players tied for 10th at 210 (-3).
HEAD COACH BRUCE HEPPLER SAID – “Just like the first two rounds, we weren’t able to get a fourth score to help us challenge for the lead. Good scores were out there today. This is a golf course that you can’t overpower, and you need patience. We’ve got another tournament coming up soon that will be similar, so we need to improve on that. I’m pleased with the way Connor is playing, he’s got it going very well, and Christo has played well in both tournaments.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Yellow Jackets competed in the Windon Memorial Classic for the first time. Northwestern University hosts the 14-team event, held for the 24th time, at Lake Shore Golf Club (7,000 yards, par 71) on the banks of Lake Michigan.
Eight teams that competed in NCAA regionals last spring were in the field for the Windon, including Northwestern (host), Cal Poly, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, Kent State, Marquette, Michigan State, North Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Florida, UC Davis and Washington.