Men’s Golf qualifies for NCAA Championships

Georgia Tech Men’s Golf came out on top at the NCAA Regional tournament for the second consecutive year, posting a -53 score over three rounds to qualify for NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, AZ.

After the first day, Tech was outside looking in on the top five.

“After that first day, we weren’t down or anything and we shot -11. Still not a horrible day, just maybe some bad decisions off tees or weren’t quite used to the greens yet,” said Tech senior Connor Howe in a post-round interview.

With the beginning of the second round, the squad blew the doors open after Christo Lamprecht and Howe combined to shoot -17. Lamprecht’s bogey-free 62 (-10) shot day was the record for a Georgia Tech player at the NCAA Regional or Championship. Howe’s 65 on the day matched his lowest score of his career. Tech collectively shot 266 (-22) on the day, their lowest team score in an NCAA postseason stage event in program history.

“We started on the back nine that second round and got things rolling. It feels great to come from behind and set a couple of records. It’s never a bad thing,” said Howe.

The team carried the momentum into the third round, quickly taking the top leaderboard spot from Arkansas early in the front nine and growing their lead, shooting a 267 (-21) on the day, the only team to shoot in the -20’s. Hiroshi Tai and Howe both lead the team with rounds of 66 (-6). All five Jackets shot under par in the round.

Tech finished at -53 as a team, eight shots clear of Arkansas to win the tournament. Howe and Lamprecht both finished with 202’s (-14) for T3 in the individual leaderboard.

“I’ve been placing my ball around the course really nicely. My short game wedges have gotten a lot better. Been putting it well too. I don’t have to rely on hitting it perfect every week and let my short game and putting carry a round,” said Howe on his play.

Moving on to Scottsdale from Tech’s regional tournament along with the Jackets are Arkansas, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Texas A&M (who beat Clemson in a playoff for the final spot). The NCAA Championship is May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club.

Georgia Tech’s most recent NCAA title came in Women’s Tennis in 2007.

Jack Purdy is a non-revenue sports writer and co-host of Scions of the Southland for From The Rumble Seat. He previously served as The Technique’s assistant sports editor before graduating Georgia Tech in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @JackNicolaus