Georgia Tech did the best thing it could for its NCAA title chances Sunday – not tee off.
Saturday evening, the fourth-seeded Yellow Jackets completed their second round at Prairie Dunes Country Club in a discouraging tie for 10th place at 1-under par. With the weather having played havoc with the scheduling, it wasn’t even certain at that point if Tech would have a chance to play a third round and contend for a top-eight spot to advance to the match-play portion of the NCAA championship.
But Sunday, two things happened. One, the NCAA golf committee decided it would scratch Monday’s fourth round, implemented this year to determine an individual champion, to try to give all 30 teams the opportunity to play 54 holes. Two, the winds blew across Prairie Dunes.
After near-ideal conditions Saturday, the 15 teams that played their second and third rounds Sunday found themselves on quite a different course. As a result, Tech moved up to fifth place as South Carolina, Auburn, Oklahoma, SMU and Iowa State tumbled past the Jackets by having to play Sunday. The winds blew fluffy cottonwood seeds across fairways, whipped flagsticks and knocked down tee shots.
“This is harder than what we finished in, so we certainly caught a break in the 36 holes that we played in,” Tech coach Bruce Heppler said.
The 15 teams that played their second round Sunday averaged 290.8, 10.8 strokes over par. The 15 teams that played their second rounds Saturday – while they were also the top 15 seeds – averaged 283.7. Iowa State, which played its first round Saturday, shot a 278 in the first round and a 299 in the second, a poor adaptation to the conditions for a team nicknamed the Cyclones.
The Jackets were the only of the state’s four teams at the finals that were in the top 15 at the suspension of play. The bottom 15 were sent off Sunday afternoon in a shotgun start for their third round. Play was halted due to lightning at 6:45 p.m. local time and then suspended for the evening, with groups having played between seven and nine holes. Play was to resume 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Georgia stood 18th, having improved two strokes in the third round to 11-over. Georgia State, which was lifted by a stunning 3-under 67 from junior Davin White in the second round Sunday, was 21st at 15-over. Kennesaw State was 26th at 27-over.
If the bottom 15 teams cannot finish their rounds by mid-morning Monday, their third rounds will be nullified and only the top 15 teams will be able to advance into match play.
Meanwhile, the Jackets slept in, came to the course to practice, have lunch and follow the baseball team’s ACC championship victory on their smart phones. Among them was Ollie Schniederjans, whose brother Ben is a freshman pitcher on the team. As play was halted, he was in a tie for third at 4-under through two rounds.
“We just have to do our thing (Monday) and make top eight,” he said.
Georgia State’s White gave the tournament a jolt Sunday afternoon as he decorated his scorecard with five birdies despite the conditions. A double bogey on his final hole (the ninth) prevented him from going into the third round tied for the lead, but his 67 was still the best score posted for second rounds played in Sunday’s wind. Combined with his first-round 69, he was 4-under for the tournament, tied for third and in rare company for a player ranked No. 153 in the country.
He faltered in the third round, however, playing his first seven holes in 5-over to drop back to 1-over and a tie for 41st as play was halted.
“When you deal with college golfers, truly, sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get,” GSU coach Joe Inman said between White’s second and third rounds.
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