LAS VEGAS – Benjamin Reuter posted a 2-over-par 74 Sunday, pacing 16^th-ranked Georgia Tech to a 15-over-par total of 303 to share eighth place after the opening round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

Starting on the first tee Sunday at Southern Highlands Golf Club, the Yellow Jackets played the front nine at Southern Highlands Golf Clube 3-over-par, but lost ground with a 12-over-par back nine and stand 16 shots behind No. 1-ranked Auburn. Reuter and Carson Kim, who shot 74 competing as an individual, are tied for 18^th place individually.

The event features a 15-team field, including nine teams ranked in the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Top-25 rankings and 13 squads in the top 50. Tech, making its 20th appearance in this event, won the tournament in 2001 and 2002 and tied for sixth place in its last visit in 2023.

Round 2 begins at 12 p.m. Eastern time Monday from the first and 10^th tees.

Benjamin Reuter paced Tech Sunday with a 74. (photo by Ross Obley)

TECH LINEUP – Reuter, a redshirt junior from Naarden, The Netherlands, was even par through nine holes Sunday, but bogeyed 10, 11 and 16 on the back before finishing his 74. Similarly, freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden)was in the top five individually after a 2-under-par front nine, but shot 41 on the back and finished with 3-over-par 75 and is tied for 2^nd place.

Defending NCAA Champion Hiroshi Tai (Singapore) and sophomore Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) provided the Yellow Jackets’ other two counting scores with a 76 and 78, respectively. Tai is tied for 20^th place, Fontenot 51^st. Junior Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) did not count for Tech after carding an 81.

LEADERBOARD SUMMARY – Auburn, the defending NCAA Champion, took the top spot on the leaderboard with two players under par and shot 1-under-par 287, the only subpar team score posted on Sunday.

The Tigers are three strokes ahead of host UNLV (290, +2) with No. 24 Pepperdine and New Mexico tied for third place at 295 (+7). No. 9 Virginia (297, +9) rounded out the top five in the 15-team field.

The Rebels’ Caden Fiori paced the field Sunday with a 3-under-par 67, three shots ahead of Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert and Pepperdine’s William Walsh, who each posted 2-under-par 70. Auburn’s Carson Bacha and San Diego State are tied for fourth place at 1-under-par 71. Only five of the tournament’s 84 players broke par on a fair, but brisk day with winds up to 13 miles per hour.

Carson Kim is tied for 18th place after firing a 74. (photo by Ross Obley)

EVENT DETAILS

Southern Highlands Collegiate

• Dates: March 2-4 (54 holes of stroke play, low 4 of 5 scorer count for team score each round)
• Format: 18 holes each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, begins 12 p.m. EST each day from No. 1 and No. 10 holes
• Venue: Southern Highlands Golf Club (par 72, 7,510 yards)
• Participating teams (15): 2 Auburn, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 18 SMU, No. 22 San Diego State, No. 24 Pepperdine, No. 26 Texas A&M, No. 30 Georgia, No. 31 UNLV, No. 50 USC, New Mexico and Washington
• Tech appearances (last appearance): 20^th appearance (tied for 6^th place in 2023)
• Best finish: won championship in 2001 and 2002
• Individual titles: Stewart Cink and David Duval (co-medalists in 1992), Troy Matteson (co-medalist in 2002), Cameron Tringale (2009)

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 30^th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 73 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 19 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 33 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up five times. Follow Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on X (@GTGolf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.