Panama City Beach, Fla. – Ross Steelman closed his final-round, 4-under-par 68 with an eagle and a birdie and finished as the individual runner-up, and Georgia Tech overcame a mid-round slump to score a five-stroke victory over Alabama at the Watersound Invitational.
The 17th-ranked Yellow Jackets captured their third tournament victory of the 2021-22 academic year and first of the spring. Tech outlasted four other teams that are ranked in the top 25 of the current Golfstat rankings, nine in the top 50, to earn the 68th tournament victory in the 27h year of head coach Bruce Heppler’s tenure on The Flats.
TECH LINEUP – Tech began the day with a six-shot advantage over Virginia Tech and opened its round 4-under-par over the first three holes to get to 18-under and lead by 10 over the Hokies. But the Jackets made a free-fall out of the lead, dropping nine strokes to par between holes 4 and 9.
Steelman, a junior from Columbia, Mo., birdied No. 10, and Connor Howe birdied 11 to stop the slide, and the Jackets got their groove back with four birdies at the par-5 13th. Tech added five more birdies and an eagle coming home to build back their lead.
Steelman’s 68 gave him a 6-under-par total of 210 for the tournament and his fourth top-10 finish of the year. Bartley Forrester birdied two holes and bogeyed none on the back nine to help steady the Jackets, and posted a 73 to tie for fourth overall at 212 (-4). It was his third top-10 performance this year and his highest finish since winning the 2002 Puerto Rico Classic.
Howe, a junior from Ogden, Utah, and sophomore Christo Lamprecht (George, South Africa) also shot 73 Tuesday for Tech to give the Jackets a final-round score of 287 (-1). Howe tied for 13th place individually at 214 (-2), while Lamprecht tied for 23rd at 217 (+1). Freshman Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) shot 76 Tuesday and tied for 34th place at 219 (+3).
Tech carded 19 birdies in Tuesday’s round and led the field with 62 over 54 holes. The Jackets scored better than the field on par-3 (+7) and par-5 (-22) holes, and ranked No. 2 on par-4s (+7).
TEAM LEADERBOARD – The Yellow Jackets, with a 54-hole total of 849 (-15), finished five strokes clear of The Crimson Tide (854, -10), who posted a 6-under-par round of 282, the best team score of the day, behind medalist Canon Claycomb.
No. 15 Notre Dame shot 4-under-par 284 Tuesday and took third place at 858 (-6), while Virginia Tech fell two spots to fourth at 862 (-2), the only other team to complete 54 holes under par.
No. 26 Clemson finished fifth at even-par 864, followed by No. 4 North Carolina (865, +1). No. 6 Arkansas and No. 34 NC State (both at 867 (+3) tied for seventh place, while No. 32 Louisville (868, +4) and No. 35 Florida State 873 (+9) rounded out the top 10.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Canon Claycomb of Alabama led from the opening round and won medalist honors after posting a 3-under-par 69 Tuesday. The junior from Bowling Green, Ky., shot 14-under-par 202 for the tournament and won by eight strokes.
Tech’s Steelman (210, -6) was a distant runner-up, while FSU’s Frederik Kjetterup (211, -5) took third place. Forrester was in a five-player tie for fourth at 212 (-4).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Georgia Tech competed the Watersound Invitational for the second straight year. The tournament followed the traditional collegiate 54-hole, 5-count-4, stroke-play format, with 18 holes each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The event was contested at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club, a venue measuring 7,202 yards (par 72) that will also serve as the venue for the ACC Championship in April.
The field included five teams from the Golfstat top 25, and 10 from the top 50 – No. 33 Alabama, No. 6 Arkansas, Boston College, No. 26 Clemson, No. 53 Duke, No. 35 Florida State, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 32 Louisville, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 34 NC State, No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 37 Virginia, No. 62 Virginia Tech and No. 12 Wake Forest.