Olympia Fields, Ill. – On a rainy morning at Olympia Fields Country Club, Benjamin Reuter closed his final round with a 2-under-par 68 to secure 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 on 17 and a bogey on 18, while his playing partner Joe Luis Ballester of ASU finished with a par, which didn’t change the leaderboard as it stood when play was suspended by darkness Saturday night. The Jackets won with a tournament-record 828 (-12), and Reuter, with an 8-under-par 202, finished second, two shots behind Ballester, the defending U.S. Amateur champion.
It’s Georgia Tech’s first tournament victory since the 2023 NCAA Salem (SC) Regional, and the 73rd of head coach Bruce Heppler’s illustrious coaching career.
Tech shot an 8-under-par 272 in the final round, erasing the seven-shot lead held after 36 holes by the Sun Devils, who shot a third-round 280.
The final round of the 54-hole tournament was originally scheduled for Sunday, but in an attempt to avoid stormy weather Sunday, teams played 36 holes Saturday. All but the last group — Reuter, Ballester and Florida’s Ian Gilligan — 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 in Fort Worth, Texas.
TECH LINEUP – Reuter, whose previous best finish was a tie for fourth at the 2022 NCAA Tournament Columbus Regional, recorded six birdies on his final-round card, posting a 2-under-par 68. The runner-up finish was a career-best for the redshirt junior from Naarden, Netherlands.
Defending NCAA champion Hiroshi Tai shot a pair of under-par 69s on Saturday and tied for sixth individually at 3-under-par 207. The junior from Singapore has nine top-10 finishes in his career.
Tech received stellar final rounds from its two sophomores Saturday as Kale Fontenot (Lafayette, La.) led the Yellow Jackets with a 4-under-par 66, and Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) posted a 69. The two players finished tied for 28th overall at 213 (+3).
Freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) shot a 68 for Tech in the second round on Saturday and a 75 in the final round to finish in a tie for 37th at 215 (+5).
TEAM STANDINGS – Arizona State (-11) led the tournament by six strokes after Friday’s play and seven after the second round closed Saturday, but Georgia Tech (-12) made it a two-team race and cruised past the Sun Devils with four players under par in the final round.
No. 18 Oklahoma State had two solid rounds Saturday and tied for third with No. 16 North Carolina at 1-under par (839). No. 11 Texas was fifth at 3-over par (843), with No. 20 Stanford and No. 19 Texas A&M tied for sixth at 848 (+8). No. 5 Illinois and No. 9 Florida tied for eighth at 9-over par.
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS – Ballester, of the Sun Devils, who won the U.S. Amateur title in August, finished with a 10-under-par 200 and earned his first collegiate victory by two shots over Reuter, who shot 8-under-par 202.
Texas’ Christian Maas and Northwestern’s Daniel Svard tied for third 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 at 207 (-3).
