Carlsbad, California – Georgia Institute of Technology Bartley Forrester and Carson Kim He lost one game in overtime Tuesday afternoon and the other two on the 17th hole.Number The Yellow Jackets were defeated on this hole in a 3-2 loss to Florida State in the semifinals of the NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Championship.
Tech finished the 2023-24 season by reaching the NCAA Match Play semifinals for the third time and second consecutive year.
The afternoon game saw the return of the ACC Player of the Year. Christo Lamprecht He joined the lineup after missing the morning quarterfinal and the final 54 holes of stroke play because of back spasms. He, along with Forrester and Kim, took an early lead and held it through the back nine, but it wasn’t enough.
“They looked good for a while,” Heppler said, “but I’ve been in this job a long time and I know sometimes it’s really hard to get that third point. They (the Seminoles) went to the Final Four last year and won ACC Freshman of the Year. Sometimes it’s not fun playing against your friends, and Trey Jones is a dear friend of mine. They got a win and beat a great team (North Carolina) this morning. So with that in mind, I’ll be rooting for the conference tomorrow.”
Forrester, a senior from Gainesville, Georgia, never trailed after the seventh hole in his match against Cole Anderson and held a three-hole lead going into the 10th hole.Number He then scored again on the 15th hole to put the Seminoles up 3-2 on the 16th hole.NumberSimilarly, Kim, a freshman from nearby Yorba Linda, got ahead of Gray Albright on the first hole and was tied twice before birdieing the ninth hole to take the lead.NumberHe extended his lead to three holes at the 15th hole and won at the 16th hole.Number He won 4&2 with a birdie.
Lamprecht was on pace to claim Tech’s third point and appeared to be up by two points over FSU’s Luke Clanton after 14 holes, but Clanton won the next three holes after Lamprecht bogeyed the 14th, dumped his second shot into the water behind the green on the 15th and then dumped his tee shot into the same pond on the 16th before Lamprecht bogeyed the 17th again and the FSU player took the win, 2&1.
Cale FontenotPlaying in Tech’s second match, he found himself three holes behind Tyler Weaver at the turn, but the freshman from Lafayette, Louisiana, fought back and made a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to force overtime.Numberof 19Number But on this hole, he blew a short par putt that would have prolonged the match.
Hiroshi TaiThe NCAA medalist, who won his morning match against Illinois, trailed anchor Frederick Kettrup by five holes in the match. The sophomore from Singapore cut the gap to two before Kettrup made a birdie on the 17th hole.Number He won the match 3&1 and claimed the deciding point.
Coach Bruce Heppler speaks after Tech’s semifinal loss to FSU
“More than 300 teams participated this season and to make it to the final four is a testament to the caliber of our players,” Heppler added. “If we continue with our culture, our effort and our belief, we’ll try to come back here again next year in the same situation.”
Florida State will face Auburn in the championship game on Wednesday, with both teams competing for their first national titles.
Note – As a semifinalist, Tech will play in the East Lake Cup for the second straight year next fall…Tech is 4-6 all-time in six appearances in NCAA Match Play and has reached the semifinals in three of those appearances…Bartley Forrester won all three matches at the 2023 NCAA Championship to improve to 5-0 in NCAA Match Play…Tech is 1-2 all-time against the Seminoles in postseason match play and 1-1 in the ACC Championship.
Semi-final photo: Tim Cowie
Tech’s NCAA Championship History
Only Oklahoma State (9), Texas (7) and Vanderbilt (7) have advanced to the NCAA Match Play more times than the Yellow Jackets’ six appearances. Tech is one of just three teams to survive the 54-hole cut in the last four NCAA Championships (the others are North Carolina and Vanderbilt) and made it to Match Play last year, when the Yellow Jackets beat Pepperdine and North Carolina before losing in the finals to Florida.
The Yellow Jackets placed third in stroke play in 2010, second in 2011, second in 2013, fifth in 2014 and tied for fifth in 2023 before finishing eighth this year.
Tech has reached the NCAA Championship Final 32 times since 1985 (33 in program history), fifth-most in that span behind Oklahoma State (37), Arizona State (35), Florida (35) and Texas (35).
Tech has been runner-up at the NCAA Championship five times (1993, before the introduction of match play, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2023). Only Oklahoma State (18) and Texas (6) have more runner-up finishes than Tech.
Alexander Tharp Foundation
The Alexander Tharp Foundation is Georgia Tech’s athletic fundraising arm, providing scholarships, operational and facilities support to the school’s more than 400 student-athletes. By helping develop Yellow Jackets who excel academically and compete for championships at the highest level of collegiate sports, the Foundation is helping to: Annual Sports Scholarship Fundprovides direct scholarship funding to Georgia Tech student-athletes. For more information on supporting the Yellow Jackets, @Fund.
About Georgia Tech Golf
The Georgia Tech golf team is in its 29th year.Number In his one year under coach Bruce Heppler, the team won 72 tournaments. Heppler was the 10thNumberHe is the longest tenured head coach in Division I men’s golf. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, appeared in 33 NCAA championships and finished as national runner-up five times. To join Georgia Tech Golf on social media, like or follow our Facebook page. Twitter (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech Golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com
