No. 17 Yellow Jackets outlast No. 2 Arizona State and 10 other top-25 teams
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Olympia Fields, Ill. – On a rainy early morning at Olympia Fields Country Club, Benjamin Reuter closed out his final-round 2-under-par 68 and secured Georgia Tech’s first tournament victory in 17 months, a one-shot triumph over No. 2 Arizona State at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational.
Reuter finished with a par at 17 and a bogey at 18, while his playing partner Joe Luis Ballester of ASU finished par-par, which did not alter the leaderboard as it stood when play was suspended by darkness Saturday night. The Jackets earned the win with a tournament record score of 828 (-12), and Reuter, with an 8-under-par total of 202, posted a runner-up finish, two strokes behind Ballester, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion.
It is Georgia Tech’s first tournament victory since the 2023 NCAA Salem (S.C.) Regional, and the 73rd in the illustrious coaching career of head coach Bruce Heppler.
Tech shot an 8-under-par 272 in the final round, erasing the seven-stroke lead held after 36 holes by the Sun Devils, who posted an even-par 280 for round 3.
The final round of the 54-hole tournament was originally scheduled to be played Sunday, but in an attempt to avoid a stormy Sunday weather forecast, the teams played 36 holes Saturday. All but the final group – Reuter, Ballester and Ian Gilligan of Florida – were able to finish before darkness halted play at 7:56 p.m.
Tech returns to action next Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 30-Oct. 1) at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at Fort Worth, Texas.
TECH LINEUP – Reuter, who’s previous high finish was a tie for fourth place at the 2022 NCAA Columbus Regional, recorded six birdies on his card for the final round, posting a 2-under-par 68. The runner-up finish was a career best for the redshirt junior from Naarden, The Netherlands.
Reigning NCAA Champion Hiroshi Tai shot a pair of 1-under-par 69s Saturday and tied for sixth place individually at 3-under-par 207. The junior from Singapore has nine top-10 finishes in his career.
Tech received stellar closing rounds from its two sophomores Saturday at Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) led the Yellow Jackets with a 4-under-par 66, and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) posted a 69. Both players tied for 28th place overall at 213 (+3).
Freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) shot a 68 for Tech in round 2 Saturday and a 75 in the final round, and finished in a tie for 37th place at 215 (+5).
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Arizona State (-11) led the tournament by six shots after Friday’s play and seven after the second round closed Saturday, but Georgia Tech (-12) made it a two-team race and overtook the Sun Devils with four players under par in the final round.
No. 18 Oklahoma State put forth two solid rounds Saturday and tied for third place with No. 16 North Carolina at 1-under-par 839. No. 11 Texas finished in fifth place at 3-over-par 843, with No. 20 Stanford and No. 19 Texas A&M tied for sixth at 848 (+8). Host Illinois (No. 5) and No. 9 Florida are tied for eighth place at 9-over-par.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – The Sun Devils’ Ballester, who won the U.S. Amateur title in Augusts, finished with a 10-under-par score of 200 and earned his first collegiate victory by two strokes over Reuter, who shot 8-under-par 202.
Texas’ Christian Maas and Northwestern’s Daniel Svard are tied for third place at 203 (-7), followed by Tech’s Tai, Illinois’ Ryan Voois, Florida State’s Luke Clanton, Texas’ Luke Potter and North Carolina’s David Ford tied for sixth place at 207 (-3).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Yellow Jackets competed in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational for the third time, winning for the second time after sharing the 2019 title with Baylor and finishing third last fall. Illinois hosted the 15-team event, which will be contested over 54 holes beginning Friday and concluding Sunday at Olympia Fields Country Club’s North course, which plays to a par-70 and measures 7,353 yards. The club has hosted two U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships.
The 15-team field (with current Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches national ranking) included Alabama (7), Arizona State (2), Baylor, Florida (9), Florida State (10), Georgia Tech (17), Illinois (5), Michigan, North Carolina (16), Northwestern, Oklahoma State (18), Stanford (20), Texas (11), Texas A&M (19) and Texas Tech (14). Tech, FSU, Illinois and North Carolina all reached match play at the NCAA Championship last May.
