1. Georgia Tech golf coach Bruce Heppler and his players may not want to acknowledge it, but the window of opportunity to win the team's first national championship may be as large as it's been in several years and will be for a while. The Jackets are loaded with talent and experience (three seniors, two of them fifth-years, and two juniors who enrolled early), appear to be at or near their best and areplaying a course that they like and that they're prepared to play.
Tech is ranked No. 4 in the country and has won six tournaments including its past four. The last was at its NCAA regional, where the Jackets won by a school-record 17 strokes.
Perhaps one of Heppler’s most important jobs in the run-up to the tournament and during the event itself is to banish those thoughts as far as possible from players’ thinking.
Earlier this week, he mentioned how Jack Nicklaus often said that grand slam events were the easiest tournaments to win because two-thirds of the field would eliminate itself by trying too hard.
“On occasion, you see somebody who just plays out of their mind and they win the tournament,” Heppler said. “But typically, it’s a team that’s really good who can just play to their level. Those guys don’t have to do anything different, but can they be themselves when everybody else is showing up with cameras and microphones and telling them now this is a big deal. That’s the hard part, and if you can do that, then you have a chance.”
They may or may not need his help.
“I don’t think it affects (you) if you’re a favorite or not a favorite, how you play,” Ollie Schniederjans said. “When it comes down to the shot you’re playing, you’re not thinking, Oh, I’m the favorite. You’re in the moment. What’s the wind doing here? What do I need to do? Where do I need to leave this shot? What are my swing thoughts? All your attention is on the task at hand.”
2. A look at the five who will play for the Jackets:
Anders Albertson, junior – Enrolled early with Schniederjans. Won ACC title as a sophomore with a tournament record 201 (15-under par). Has relatively slumped this year, dropping in ranking from eighth at end of last season to No. 70 this year, but shot his low round of the year (7-under 65) in the final round of the NCAA regionals. His finishes in seven postseason (ACC tournament, NCAA regionals, NCAA finals): T4, T27, 1st, T10, T26, T2, 8th. Likes putting gadgets.
Bo Andrews, senior –Three top-10 finishes and four top-20 finishes in last four events, including T6 at NCAA regionals. Has one tournament win in his career. Ranked No. 107 in country by Golfstat. “Bo’s really goofy, very emotional. He loves Georgia Tech golf more than anybody I could imagine,” Schniederjans said. “This is huge for him.”
Seth Reeves, senior – Having won twice and finished in top 10 five times this season. One of the team’s biggest hitters, can hit it 320 yards off the tee. Made All-ACC for first time in career this year. Ranked No. 16 in the country by Golfstat. Keeps a Bible verse in his yardage book.
Ollie Schniederjans, junior – has set a school record with five wins this season, including the ACC championship earlier this month. (He broke the record set by David Duval, Stewart Cink and Troy Matteson. Not bad.) ACC player of the year. Ranked No. 4 in the country. His younger brother Ben is a relief pitcher on the Tech baseball team.
Richy Werenski, senior – Shot a 10-under par 62 at the Puerto Rico Classic, the second-lowest single round score in Tech history. Has had two top-five finishes. Shot a 5-under par 66 in the opening round of the regional, as Tech posted a team score of 16-under par, setting a school record for a single round in a regional. Said Heppler, “Richy, he’s funny, we’ve tried to turn him into a little more optimistic guy. He’s really hard on himself. He underestimated what the 5-under did last Thursday (at the regional) because it just got us going.”
3. In the past, the NCAA tournament site has been the host to a fall tournament to give top teams a preview of the course. There wasn't such a tournament this year at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kansas, but Heppler took the team out there for two rounds last fall. As it turned out, the conditions were favorable for training, as the wind blew south one day and north the other.
“So no matter what happens, they’ve played the holes long and short, depending on what the wind’s doing,” Heppler said. “So it was great preparation.”
A number of teams were only able to use Thursday’s practice round as an introduction to the course. For Tech, it was a return to a course that it has familiarity with, which could prove to be a considerable advantage.
Heppler expects the wind to be a factor, and tried to schedule tournaments this spring at courses where winds blew. Two years ago, Tech bombed out of the Southwest regional in Norman, Okla., failing to make NCAA finals for just the second time in 22 regional appearances. Winds blew 21 miles per hour consistently.
“You talk about peace of mind, I think that there’s a whole lot more peace of mind that they’re capable of playing when it’s hard, and I think we’ve actually worked a long way towards making them embrace that,” Heppler said. “I try to get them to want it to be bad because the better player you are, the worse the conditions can be and you can still be successful. I don’t think we’re afraid of it.”
4. Schniederjans has a strong shot at the individual championship. Tech has one NCAA champion in its history, Troy Matteson in 2002. Bill McDonald tied for second in 1988 and Duval finished second in 1991 and 1993.
The entire 30-team field and an additional six individuals will play 54 holes Friday through Sunday. The top 40 individuals will play Monday to determine the individual champion. The top eight teams will begin match play Tuesday, with two rounds Tuesday and the championship Wednesday.
5. A year ago, Tech reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Alabama. Reeves lost the clinching point.
“You never know because of how it’ll work out if it’ll be that last match or not, but that’s what I play for, that’s what I want,” Reeves said. “I believe in myself enough that, win or lose, I’d be fine with that. And I think all of us are not afraid to fall, and that makes us to be kind of a scary opponent.”
6. It perhaps goes without saying that the golf team is the best team on campus by far. The Jackets have won 15 ACC titles, including seven of the past nine, has made the NCAA finals 26 times since 1985 and has eight top-eight finishes in their past 12 appearances. They've been the runner-up four times.
7. Tech tees off Friday at 1:40 p.m., grouped with California and Georgia, and 8 a.m. Saturday. Sunday groupings will be determined by 36-hole score. Live scoring here.
8. A final word from Schniederjans: "I've been with these guys for four years. It's kind of sad, but exciting to come to an end and see how it all unfolds."
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