Georgia Tech, Tennessee share 2nd-round Carpet Capital lead
Georgia Tech's Noah Norton (Georgia Tech photo)
ROCKY FACE, Ga. (Sept. 8, 2018) – Georgia Tech climbed into a tie with Tennessee over the second round at the Carpet Capital Collegiate as Alabama entered the mix, too. The three teams have managed to pull away at the Farm Golf Club and are the only teams under par.
Tennessee had a 12-under 276 on Saturday that moved the team to 20 under for the tournament. The Vols were 7 under through the first three holes with four players starting birdie-birdie. The turn presented some challenges and Tennessee went back to 2 under when it hit the back nine. Another strong charge at the end of the day, including two eagles and two birdies on the par-5 15th, pushed the team back to the top of the leaderboard.
"I would hope that it gives them a sense that they belong with these teams,” head coach Brennan Webb said of contending in a deep field. “My message to them this year is that they are better than anyone has given them credit for and capable of competing with anyone. These last two days prove that."
Tennessee junior
Jake Meenhorst has set the pace for his team. The New Zealand native carded his collegiate-low round of 6-under 66 on Saturday. He went 3 under in his first four holes. Meenhorst is tied for the individual lead with Georgia Tech’s
Tyler Strafaci. Both are 9 under.
"I was nervous standing on the first tee but, those two birdies helped settle me into my round,” Meenhorst said of his birdie-birdie start. “They gave me confidence, getting off to a fast start. I knew I could be patient the rest of the way."
Strafaci’s second-round 65 was bogey free, and it helped to pull Georgia Tech into a share of the lead. The Yellow Jackets are looking to defend their 2017 title in an event they have hosted since its inception in 1989. Georgia Tech has won the event a total of eight times.
Georgia Tech got hot to end the front nine at the Farm, and the four counting players combined for 23 birdies in a second-round score of 13-under 275. The team is also 20 under.
“We played really great from about the fifth hole on today,” Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler said. “Three teams have played really well here. The conditions are really good and the greens are perfect.”
As for Alabama – runner-up at the NCAA Championship last season – an 18-under 270 team total on Saturday was the best round of any team by five shots. After opening with even-par 288 on Friday, the strong second-round score brought the Crimson Tide into the conversation entering the final round.
Auburn, the next-best team, is at 1 over for 36 holes.
Information from Tennessee Athletics and Georgia Tech Athletics used in this report
ABOUT THE
Carpet Capital Collegiate
54-hole men's college tournament hosted by
Georgia Tech University at The Farm Golf Club.
The 7,012-yard, par-72 layout was designed by
Tom Fazio and is near Dalton, Ga., just over 90
miles north of the Georgia Tech campus. The
host Yellow Jackets have been the institutional
host of this event since its inception in 1989. The
field
typically maintains a predominantly ACC and
SEC flavor, with other nearby schools
participating, as well.
View Complete Tournament Information