After making the fourth (and final) round of stroke play by winning a playoff with TCU, the Georgia Tech golf team was unable to advance further at the NCAA championships Monday.
The Yellow Jackets’ season, one that began with considerable uncertainty over its prospects, ended with a 15th-place finish at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., exactly where the team began the day. Tech had made the 15-team field Monday morning by defeating TCU in a five-man playoff for the final spot.
The Jackets shot 17 over par Monday, the third highest score of the day, finishing at 49 over for the four rounds. To be among the eight teams to advance to quarterfinal, the Jackets would have had to finish at 25 over or better. Tech was seeded 22nd before the tournament. The Jackets played this season with only two players, Noah Norton and Connor Howe, who had had previous postseason experience.
“We fought here hard for four days; it’s a hard exam,” coach Bruce Heppler said in a statement. “The good news is that four of these guys could be back. We’ve got a whole year to work on things, get back here and see if we can do a little bit better. As far as what they’ve accomplished, this is pretty tremendous, I think. It was a great experience to get to play four rounds here.”
Freshman Christo Lamprecht and senior Noah Norton both completed the four rounds at 10-over 290, tying for 44th.
“I’m just happy we got to play (Monday),” Norton said in a statement. “(Sunday), I was struggling with the idea of it being done, so to have one more round, I was very glad to have that (Monday). I’ve learned so much here, and there are so many things I’ll take from these four years. I’m forever grateful for coach Heppler giving me a chance to play in this program.”
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