April 25, 2018
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech has added a third member to its 2018 golf recruiting class, signing Bartley Forrester of Gainesville, Ga., to a national letter-of-intent, head coach Bruce Heppler announced Wednesday.
Forrester, a nephew of former Yellow Jacket All-American Carlton Forrester, attends North Hall High School and is ranked the 15th-best player in the state of Georgia among all classes by the Junior Golf Scoreboard.
“We’ve watched Bartley play for several years, and most people recognize his name,” said Heppler. “He’s done some really nice things, he’s a terrific student who looked at some Ivy League opportunities initially. We saw him play a pretty impressive event at the junior Jones Cup in December and was the low Georgian among all the players there. We’re excited to have a really great student join our program. He’s a little bit of a late bloomer; he played a lot of baseball at a younger age. So he’s kind of new to it, but he’s big, strong and athletic.”
Forrester is ranked No. 76th nationally in the class of 2018 Golfweek boys rankings. He has finished in the top 25 in seven of 12 junior events since April of 2017, including a ninth-place finish in the 2017 Georgia Junior Amateur Championship in Statesboro, Ga. (1-over-par 217). He also finished 21st in the 2017 AJGA Davis Love III Junior Open, 22nd in the Bubba Conlee National Junior Tournament, 23rd in both the AJGA Philadelphia Junior and the Jones Cup Junior Invitational (where he was the low finisher from Georgia). In 2016, he won the Athens Junior Classic (8-under-par 136) and finished sixth at the Bubba Conlee National.
Named to the GHSA AAAA all-state team in 2016 as a member of the North Hall High School team, Forrester won the Hall County Boys Championship in 2016 and 2017, won the 2017 and 2018 Coal Mountain Golf Classic in Cumming, Ga., and was medalist at GHSA region 8AAAA championship in 2015 and 2016.
Forrester joins Connor Howe of Ogden, Utah, and Luka Karaulic of Lawrenceville, Ga., who signed national letters-of-intent to play at Georgia Tech during the November early signing period. Howe, currently ranked No. 51st nationally in the class of 2018 in the Golfweek boys rankings, and Karaulic, ranked No. 214, have enjoyed stellar senior years both on the high school and junior levels.
Heppler’s Tech program, which has won 53 tournaments and 12 Atlantic Coast Conference championships in the last 23 years, will graduate three seniors in May.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 23rd under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 53 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 17 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 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) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
