The following, a weekly feature of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, allows our reporters to open their notebooks and provide even more information from our local teams that we cover daily. We think you’ll find it informative, insightful and fun.
Tech golfer is world’s top amateur
Georgia Tech golfer Christo Lamprecht is the No. 1-ranked player in both the World Amateur Golf Ranking and PGA Tour University, recently rising to the top in both listings following his runner-up finish at the Watersound Invitational last month in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Lamprecht overtook the No. 1 spot in the 2024 PGA Tour University Ranking from Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen. It’s the second time this season that Lamprecht is at the top of the ranking, as he previously passed Thorbjornsen in October after Lamprecht’s victory at the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational followed by a second-place finish at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational.
Lamprecht moved ahead of Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent in the World Amateur Ranking after Lamprecht and Sargent tied for second at the Watersound Invitational. The WAGR ranking includes tournament results over the past 104 weeks. Lamprecht, a George, South Africa native, is at the top for the second time.
In the last year, Lamprecht won The Amateur Championship and finished as the low amateur at The Open Championship, ascending to the top position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and earning exemptions into the fields of the coming Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open. He also represented his home country of South Africa in the Arnold Palmer Cup and the World Amateur Team Championship.
Lamprecht is on course to break Tech program records for stroke average in a season and in a career.
I will have the pierogis
Bartosz Slisz seems to be enjoying his new home.
The Atlanta United midfielder, who joined the MLS club from Legia Warsaw in his native Poland, spent part of last week’s bye discovering new parts of the city.
Slisz said Tuesday that he found a Polish restaurant.
“It was very tasty,” he said.
For those who haven’t had Polish food, Slisz recommended trying a pierogi, which is similar to a dumpling.
“You will enjoy,” he said.
Slisz also has enjoyed meeting the city’s Polish community. He said they have taught him a lot about the city, and his phone contacts now are filled with the names of new friends.
“It was only the positive about the city,” he said.
Falcons favorite to land Cousins if Vikings fumble
All eyes are on the great state of Minnesota as teams around the NFL – including the Falcons – hope to upgrade their quarterback position.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is in negotiations with the team for a contract extension. If they don’t reach one by the start of the new NFL business year March 13, Cousins will become a free agent.
The odds, according to MinnesotaBets.com, are in favor of him returning to the Vikings (55.6%).
If he reaches free agency, the Falcons are considered the favorites at 9.1%, followed the Raiders (7.7%), Patriots (6.3%), Steelers (6.3), the field (5.4%), Buccaneers (4.8%) and Commanders (4.8%).
What would it cost to sign Cousins?
If the Vikings are not able to re-sign quarterback Cousins, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
His market value is projected at three years, $118,145,778, an average of $39.3 million per year, according to Spotrac.com.
Cousins, who will turn 36 on Aug. 19, was a fourth-round pick (102nd overall) by Washington out of Michigan State. He’s a four-time Pro Bowler and has made $231 million over his career.
To arrive at Cousins’ projected market value, the website compared contracts for Matthew Stafford, Russell Wilson, Geno Smith and Aaron Rodgers.
Scrap the practice plan
Since his dismissal last March, former Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner has thrown himself into work as a TV analyst and relished a life not bound by the demands and stress of coaching. While he is open to a return to coaching, he’ll probably be picky about the level of competition. Pastner subbed one day as a coach for his second-grade daughter Harper’s basketball team. A few minutes in, Pastner knew he had to scrap his practice plan.
“I was like, ‘Girls, I’m just trying to teach you how to throw a simple pass,’” Pastner said. “They were like, ‘This is boring.’”
Soroka welcomes reboot
Former Braves starter Michael Soroka, beloved by fans, has a needed fresh start with the White Sox. He’s healthy after years of issues, including requiring three Achilles surgeries, and he welcomes a career reboot.
While his final season with the Braves didn’t unfold as he hoped, he found success at Triple-A Gwinnett, which helped restore his confidence as he tries to get his career back on track at age 26.
“There are some things you learn in this game every year, no matter the highs and lows,” he said. “I learned a lot of good and learned what it was to compete at the highest level to the best of my ability in 2019 (as an All-Star) and have that confidence. Then also how to gain that confidence back. I mentioned last year that one of the missing pieces early in the season was finding some confidence. That was easy when I was younger because I had no reason not to be. I had success in a lot of different places. And sure, I had my outings. But for the most part, it was an easy choice to go out there and be confident in what I did every day.
“Last year, you get questions about doubt, and it’s hard not to let that creep in. But at the end of the day, you have to get to the point where doubt doesn’t matter. You have to go do your job today, and you’re going to make your adjustments tomorrow no matter the outcome. I think I made that adjustment later in the season. The difficult part was I felt near the end of the year, I’d figured it out. I’d figured out how to compete to the best of my ability to that point. And I spent a lot of those innings in Triple-A. So obviously that was difficult. But I’m not going to let that ruin all the happy days I did have in that organization all the way up.”
Four remain from 2018
The Braves are vying for their seventh consecutive National League East title. Only four players remain from the team that won the first of those division crowns in 2018: second baseman Ozzie Albies, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., starter Max Fried and reliever A.J. Minter. Charlie Culberson, a utilityman on that club, is in Braves camp as a pitcher, as well.
UGA’s Morales Williams is runner of year
Sophomore sprinter Christopher Morales Williams has been named the SEC Indoor Men’s Runner of the Year, according to a league announcement Wednesday.
Morales Williams is the second Bulldog in a row to be named the SEC indoor runner of the year and third overall. Elija Godwin was voted the co-runner of the year for 2023 and distance All-American Ian Burrell earned Georgia’s first honor in 2007.
Morales Williams, a native of Vaughan, Ontario, set facility, meet, school, Canadian and collegiate records with the fastest indoor 400-meter time in world history (44.49) to win the event at the SEC Indoor Championships, for which he was named the USTFCCCA National Men’s Athlete of the Week on Feb. 26. He returned to the track in the 4x400-meter relay and ran a split of 44.68 on the second leg to help the Bulldogs take fifth at SECs.
Morales Williams became the No. 6 all-time collegiate performer in the 300 meters after flying to a 32.47 earlier this season at the Clemson Invitational. He also won the 400 meters at the Tiger Paw Invitational with a then-Canadian U-23 national record 45.39.
-Staff writers Chad Bishop, D. Orlando Ledbetter, Ken Sugiura, Gabriel Burns, Chip Towers and Doug Roberson contributed to this report.
