Golf finishes season second in nation

Tech finished as the national runner-up to rival Georgia despite finishing as the low round of the day for the second and third rounds. Roberto Castro had the best individual start finishing in third at one-under-par.

The runner-up finish is the fourth in the history of the Tech golf program and the third in the last five years. Castro's third-place finish is the best by an individual since Troy Matteson won the national title in 2002.

The Jackets entered the final round nine shots behind Georgia, but were not able to gain any ground on the Bulldogs. Tech shot two over par through the first nine holes.

The team rebounded behind the efforts of seniors Nicholas Thompson and Chan Song and sophomore Roberto Castro. The trio combined for seven-under-par before falling back at the end of the round.

"[Georgia] played very well, and we had a good round ourselves," Head Coach Bruce Heppler said. "But we couldn't really get anything going early and put any pressure on them. They had a lead, and they've got five good players, and they're well coached, and they just went out and played well. We couldn't catch them."

Castro led the Jackets in the first round, shooting a 69; he was the only Jacket to go under par on the day. The Jackets found themselves 14 strokes back at the end of the day shooting eight-over-par. Georgia shot the high round of the day going six-under-par, followed by Tennessee, who shot one-under-par.

"[Georgia] just got away the first day," Heppler said. "They shot six-under-par, and we shot eight-over, and that's where they won the golf tournament. They beat everybody the first day, and then they played solidly the rest of the weekend. It's a great golf course and you have to play all the way around."

Entering the second round in a tie for 12th, Tech shot the low round of the day at one-over-par.Tech moved up to third on the leader board, gaining three shots on Georgia. Castro's 68 and Thompson's 69 led the day for the Jackets.

"It was breezy when we got here today, and it didn't get any worse, which was fortunate for us," Heppler said. "The guys played well today. We made a birdie on 17, two birdies on 16 and two birdies on 18. We got through the front well, and we got through 7-8-9 better today than we did yesterday."

Tech scored the low round in the third round, securing a two-team race for the title. The team's fifteen-over-par helped them gain another two strokes on Georgia as well as an 11-shot lead on third place Southern California.

Thompson started off the day on a rough note by bogeying six of the first eight holes. Castro led the Jackets, shooting one-over-par at the end of the round. He tied for the second best overall round on the day.

"You kind of prepare for the worst all week," Castro said. "You know it's going to rain eventually. It's tough, especially after you make a couple of bogeys and then you think you might not make another par. I've never seen a course this long. It was absurd how long it played today, but we grinded it out."

Castro garnered first-team All-America honors with his strong play in the tournament.

Song and Thompson were voted second-team All-America by the Golf Coaches Association.