HUTCHINSON, Kansas - Georgia Tech did not take a single shot Sunday at the NCAA championships, but moved from a tie for 10th place into fifth place as windy conditions took their toll on the teams that played Sunday.
The Yellow Jackets, the fourth-seeded team in the tournament, did not have to play Sunday as they played their first and second rounds on Saturday. Rain delays have necessitated a number of changes in the scheduling.
Having finished the second round in the top half of the 30-team field, the Jackets are scheduled to play their third round Monday beginning at noon CDT in a shotgun start. Tech will need to finish in the top eight after three rounds to make the match-play portion of the tournament, which begins Tuesday.
“You’re never far enough ahead, but we’ve got a chance, and that’s all we want with 18 holes to go, to see if we can make that,” Tech coach Bruce Heppler said. “Guys are enthused about it.”
Heppler said there was a lot of uncertainty Saturday night within the team about what would happen Sunday and if there would be a third round – “I must have been asked about 35 questions between here and Chili’s last night,” Heppler said – but questions have been answered. All teams will have an opportunity to play 54 holes, the fourth round to determine the individual champion has been canceled and the top 15 teams (including Tech) will have priority to finish over the bottom 15.
“It’s going to be really exciting,” Ollie Schniederjans said. “A lot going on. I’ll be very in the moment, making sure I’m taking care of what I need to do right in front of me.”
At the end of play Sunday – the start of the third round was halted due to lightning and play will resume early Monday – Schniederjans was tied for third at 4-under. Seth Reeves was tied for 15th at 2-under. Richy Werenski was tied for 41st at 1-over. Bo Andrews was tied for 74th at 4-over. Anders Albertson was tied for 131st at 12-over. The forecast for Monday was a 40 percent chance of rain with scattered thunderstorms.
In a way, Tech and other teams in their wave have had considerably good fortune thus far. The teams in the other half of the field had their rounds interrupted multiple times Friday and Sunday and also played under far more difficult conditions Sunday than Saturday’s.
After playing 36 holes Saturday, Tech players slept in late Sunday, came to the course for practice and lunch. Some players followed the baseball team’s ACC championship game victory over Maryland, including Schniederjans, whose brother Ben is a freshman pitcher.
With the down time afforded by the rain, Tech has also seen two movies, Godzilla and X-Men.
Said Heppler, “There’s not a lot of selection unless you drive to Wichita.”
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