THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s James Clark, Chris Petefish and Vincent Whaley have been named to the 2016-17 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Golf Team, announced Monday by the conference office.
Petefish, a junior from Danville, Calif., and Whaley, a senior from McKinney, Texas, made the All-Academic team for the third time each. Clark, a junior from Columbus, Ga., was named to the team for the second time. Whaley received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in May, while Clark and Petefish are both in the same curriculum.
Clark earned All-ACC honors and made the Golf Coaches Association All-East Region team this spring and finished No. 99 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Index after posting four otp-20 finishes, including two in the top 10. Whaley was a regular in the Tech lineup for the last five events of the spring and posted four-top-20 finishes overall, while Petefish played in six events and had a top-10 finish in the Maui Jim Intercollege.
Eleven golfers who earned All-ACC honors this season secured spots on the All-ACC Academic team: Clemson’s Bryson Nimmer, Doc Redman, and Carson Young, Duke’s Chandler Eaton and Alex Smalley, Florida State’s Harry Ellis, Georgia Tech’s James Clark, NC State’s Stephen Franken, Virginia’s Derek Bard and Stanger, and Wake Forest’s Cameron Young.
Nine league teams are represented on the academic team, led by Duke and Virginia with five honorees. Clemson had four players recognized, followed by Georgia Tech with three included.
Tech has placed at least two of its golfers on the ACC All-Academic team since it was established in 2006. The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards was established in September 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Four Yellow Jackets have earned that honor – James White (twice), Ollie Schniederjans and Anders Albertson.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career for undergraduate students. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
SUMMER AMATEUR ROUND-UP
Dogwood Invitational – All-ACC performers James Clark and Luke Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.) head a list of five current and incoming Yellow Jackets in the field for the 51st Dogwood Invitational, which begins Wednesday at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta. Also competing are rising senior Jacob Joiner (Leesburg, Ga.), rising sophomore Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.) and incoming freshman Will Dickson (Providence, R.I.). The Dogwood, which has been held since 1941 with three different sabbaticals in its history, is a 72-hole stroke-play event that concludes Saturday.
North & South Amateur – Chris Petefish and Tyler Strafaci are both competing in the 117th North & South Amateur, which began Monday at Pinehurst, N.C. A total of 86 golfers are competing at 36 holes of medal play Monday and Tuesday, with the top 32 finishers moving on to a match play bracket beginning Wednesday. Strafaci’s grandfather, Frank, a legendary amateur golfer in his day, won the North & South Amateur twice in 1938 and 1939.
California Amateur – Incoming freshman Noah Norton of Chico, Calif., qualified for match play on the cut number, tying for 25thplace the 36-hole stroke play qualifier, then methodically worked his way all the way through the match play bracket to reach the 36-hole championship contest. His closest match was a 2-up victory over Josh McCarthy of Danville, Calif., in the quarterfinals. In the finals, Norton surged to a 5-hole lead early on, but P.J. Samiere of San Diego rallied to win the last two holes of the first 18 and the first two holes of the second 18 and even the match. It went back and forth from there, with Samiere edging out Norton with a birdie at the last to claim the title.
Read a full accounting of what was called a “classic” match.
Northeast Amateur – Rising sophomore Luke Schniederjans missed the cut in his first outing a week earlier at the Sunnehanna Amateur, but improved markedly last week at the Northeast Amateur in Rumford, R.I., tying for 10th place with rounds of 67-71-71-65. Schniederjans, an All-ACC selection as a freshman, is in the field this week at the Dogwood Invitational at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta.