Georgia Tech golf team nails down 17th ACC title
The Georgia Tech golf team won its ninth ACC championship in the past 13 years, clinching the title Sunday with a birdie on the 18th hole by anchorman Chris Petefish. It’s Tech’s 17th ACC title overall, and coach Bruce Heppler’s 12th.
The fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets defeated Clemson by two strokes at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C., finishing at 29-under-par 835 for its five-man team. Tech led after the first and second rounds, but trailed Clemson after nine holes Sunday by four strokes.
Tech played the back nine in 6-under, including a 5-under 31 by Tyler Strafaci.
Tech had not won the ACC title since 2015, a veritable drought in Heppler’s tenure. Starting in 2006 through 2015, Tech did not go more than two years without winning the league championship. The golf team’s 2015 league title was the most recent won by any team on campus until Sunday.
The Jackets have now won four tournaments this season and have earned an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament field.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
