Georgia Tech’s Anders Albertson earned medalist honors in record-setting fashion, but the Yellow Jackets struggled in the final round to finish 4th in the ACC Championship in North Carolina.
Albertson, a sophomore from Woodstock, shot 66-67-68 for a 15-under 201 total, breaking the tournament scoring record set by Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson in 2008 by one stroke.
After shooting 16-under 272 in the second round, Tech was five shots back after 36 holes, but fell back on the back nine the final day, which was played in difficult weather conditions. The Jackets shot 295 in the third round and finished with at 851, 13 behind Duke’s winning total.
Ollie Schniederjans opened with scores of 69-67, but the Powder Springs’ sophomore shot 77 the final round and tied for 10th at 213. Albertson was the only Georgia Tech golfer to shoot lower than 75 in the final round.
The Yellow Jackets placed 2nd in their final regular season event of 2013, finishing behind Florida State in the Gary Koch Invitational in Tampa. The team finished at 16-under 848, seven shots behind FSU.
Bo Andrews shared medalist honors for Tech, firing a 6-under 66 in the final round for a 9-under 207 total. Albertson was one out of the individual lead after scores of 69-68, but slipped to a 75 in the final round and tied for 6th at 212.
Tech freshman Sun Yat Hak shared the second round lead at 136 after a second round 66, but also fell back the final day, shooting a 77 to tie for 8th at 213. Schniederjans opened with a 69, but was over par the next two days and tied for 16th at 216.
The Jackets shot 279 and 277 the first day to trail Florida State by one heading to the final round, but scores went up, with Tech closing with a 292 total to FSU’s 286.
Georgia, which has a long history of success in the SEC Tournament, turned in a disappointing showing at Sea Island GC, finishing 9th after a solid first round. The Bulldogs opened with a 281 total on the Seaside course and were 3rd after the first day, but followed with scores of 289 and 306.
Nick Reach was low for Georgia, placing 19th at 217 after an opening round 66 that was only one shot off the low score of the day. Reach followed with scores of 75-76. Keith Mitchell shot 70-71 the first two rounds, but closed with an 80. Valdosta’s Sam Straka struggled after an opening 70, while Albany’s T.J. Mitchell, the team’s No. 1 player, sandwiched a second round 70 between scores of 77 and 75. Clarkesville freshman Lee McCoy was the team’s most consistent player with scores of 75-73-75.
Alabama won the team title at 848, two shots ahead of South Carolina. Augusta’s Dykes Harbin, a senior at South Carolina, tied for 7th at 212.
In its final regular season event, the Bulldogs were a close 3rd in the Augusta State Invitational, finishing three shots behind Texas and one in back of runner-up Augusta State. After shooting 295 in the opening round at Forest Hills, Georgia closed with scores of 285 and 286 for a 2-over 866 total.
Keith Mitchell was low for Georgia, tying for 5th at 213. T.J. Mitchell tied for 8th at 214 with a second round 67, the low score of the day. Reach was T19 at 219 and McCoy closed with a 70 for a 220 total and a tie for 23rd.
Augusta State made a strong run at victory in its home tournament, leading after an opening score of 283. The Jaguars followed with 293-289 to finish two behind Texas after leading by two heading to the final round.
Alpharetta’s Derek Chang was low for Augusta, taking 3rd at 211 with scores of 68-72-71—211, two behind the co-medalists. Robin Petersson, who also opened with a 68, tied for 5th at 213. Evans’ Cody Shafer was T19 at 219 for the Jaguars.
Augusta State is an independent in golf and did not play in a conference championship.
Playing in its first Sun Belt Championship, Georgia State finished 2nd in Muscle Shoals, Ala., five strokes behind North Texas State. The Panthers shot 12-over 876, including a 2-under 286 in the second round that gave them a one-stroke lead.
Freshman Jonathan Grey bounced back from an opening 79 to post scores of 68 and 70 and finished 4th at 217, three shots behind the medalist. Three other Georgia State golfers tied for 9th at 221. Griffin’s Davin White, Gainesville’s Grant Cagle and Alpharetta’s Tyler Gruca all notched top-10 finishes, contributing counting scores in each round.
The Panthers closed out their regular season in Mississippi, placing 6th in a tournament won by host Mississippi State. Georgia State finished at 889, 22 shots off the winning score. Grey shot 69-74-68 to tie for 2nd at 211, one shot behind the winner.
Georgia Southern tied for 5th in the Southern Conference Championship, with the Eagles’ 909 total 25 shots behind Chattanooga’s winning score. A 315 the first day put the Eagles in a hole they could not dig out of.
McDonough’s Will Evans was low for Georgia Southern, tying for 12th at 225. Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island was T18 at 227. Wolfes shot 70 and Evans 72 in the second round, the team’s only scores of the tournament at par or better.
The Eagles were 10th in the Gary Koch Invitational in Tampa, with Wolfes the only Georgia Southern player in the top 30, tying for 23rd at 219.
Kennesaw State was 3rd and Mercer 5th in the Atlantic Sun Championship, played at Chateau Elan’s Chateau course. Kennesaw was 2nd after 36 holes after scores of 298 and 293, but shot 306 the final round after being only one out of the lead with 18 holes to play.
Austin Vick of Evans was low man for the Owls, placing 8th at 224. Evans shot 71-72 the first two rounds, but closed with an 81. Jimmy Beck of Columbus, shot 71 the second round, but had scores of 80 and 77 around it. He tied for 13th at 228, with Duluth’s Ben Greene T16 at 229.
Mercer shot 915 to finish 5th, with Hans Reimers tying for 9th at 226. James Beale was T13 at 228.
Kennesaw tied for 3rd in its regular season finale in North Carolina, posting an 866 total to finish seven behind tournament champion UNC. Mercer was 8th in the tournament at 877.
Beck captured medalist honors for the Owls with scores of 67-70-68—205, 8-under par. He edged out Alpharetta’s Franco Castro, who plays at Charlotte, for medalist honors. Castro shot 206 after a final round 65, with the 3rd place finisher well back at 211.
Mercer was led by Reimers and Eatonton’s Trey Rule, who tied for 10th at 214. Rule shot 68 the final round.
In the Division II Peach Belt Conference Championship at Callaway Gardens, Columbus State placed 2nd at 875, two behind USC-Aiken’s winning total. Armstrong Atlantic and Georgia Southwestern tied for 3rd at 888, with Clayton State 5th at 890 and Georgia College 6th at 897.
Bryan Lichimo of Columbus was 2nd individually at 216, with Armstrong’s Cory Griffin of McDonough tying for 3rd at 218 with Matthew Whittaker of Georgia Southwestern. Tying for 5th at 219 were Georgia College’s Bryan Fox of Roswell and Armstrong’s Jacob Tilton of Evans.