March 24, 2015
Palm City, Fla. – Anders Albertson completed his fourth straight top-20 finish by firing a 2-under-par 69 Tuesday, and fifth-ranked Georgia Tech finished 10th at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
TECH LINEUP – Albertson, a three-time All-ACC performer, led the Yellow Jackets for the third straight round, carding four birdies and an eagle in his round of 69 (-2). It was his 10th subpar round in his last 12 covering four tournaments, and he has averaged 69.3 strokes over that span. The Woodstock, Ga., native finished 54 holes with a 2-under-par score of 211 and tied for 11th place, his fourth-consecutive top-20 finish and sixth this year.
Freshmen Chris Petefish (Danville, Calif.) remained consistent with a 72 Tuesday and finished with a 5-over-par score of 218, tying for 31st. Sophomore Vincent Whaley (McKinney, Texas) shot 73, tying for 41st overall, and freshman Michael Pisciotta finished with a 75 for Tech’s counting scores. All-American Ollie Schniederjans (Powder Springs, Ga.), who won this event last spring, did not count in Tech’s final round with an 82. Freshman James Clark (Columbus, Ga.), competing as an individual, finished strong with a 1-under-par 70 and tied for 54th individually.
ROUND 3 SUMMARY – Tech began the day in a tie for ninth place and shot 5-over-par 289. The Jackets started the round on the 10th hole and played the back nine in 2-over-par, then finished with a 3-over-par front nine. Tech had 10 birdies and an eagle and only two double-bogeys.
TEAM LEADERBOARD – No. 2-ranked Florida State made a late push and captured a five-shot victory over No. 14 LSU. The Seminoles, one stroke behind the Tigers at the outset, posted a 3-under-par score of 281, while LSU finished with a 3-over-par 287. FSU finished 54 holes at 17-under-par 835, while LSU finished at 12-under-par 840. No. 7 South Carolina was a close third at 11-under-par 841. Tech was 38 strokes off the pace at 21-over-par 873. Top-ranked Illinois (+13) finished seventh.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – Greg Yates of Texas A&M shot his third straight 67 to post a 12-under-par 201 and take a three-stroke victory over Florida State’s Hank Lebioda. Lebioda also closed with a 67 and finished 54 holes at 9-under-par 204. Thomas Detry of No. 1 Illinois finished third at 8-under-par 205, followed by the Seminoles’ Jack Maguire (-5) and South Florida’s Claudio Correa (-4).
COACH Bruce Heppler SAYS – “I’m proud of Anders for putting together another very good event for him. Two of our freshmen, Chris Petefish and James Clark, had very good days as well, and it was good to see Vince Whaley battle back again today after a rough start to this tournament.”
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Valspar Collegiate invitational is a typical 54-hole collegiate event, with the low four scores out of five counting each day. The event is played at the Floridian Golf Club (7,076 yards, par 71) in Palm City, Fla. The 13-team field featured eight teams in the current Golfweek/Sagarin top-20, including No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Florida State, No. 7 South Carolina, No. 10 UCLA, No. 14 LSU, No. 18 South Florida and No. 19 Oklahoma State, as well as the fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY – Georgia Tech’s victory in the Valspar Invitational last spring kicked off a four-tournament winning streak for the Yellow Jackets which carried on through the NCAA regional in Raleigh, N.C. Tech negotiated the 54 holes at 15-under-par 837, eight shots clear of Oklahoma State, which would later defeat the Jackets in the quarterfinal round of match play at the NCAA Championship. Ollie Schniederjans won medalist honors by two shots over LSU’s Stewart Jolly, earning an exemption into last week’s Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 20th year under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 27 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GT_Golf). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
