Loudon, Tenn. – Defending NCAA champion Hiroshi Tai fired a 4-under-par 66 Saturday as 11th-ranked Georgia Tech posted a 1-under-par round of 279, and the Yellow Jackets edged up two spots to eighth place after 36 holes at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate.
The junior from Singapore moved into the top 10 individually, while freshman Albert Hansson (Fiskebäckskil, Sweden) also broke par with a 1-under-par 69 at the par-70 Tennessee National Golf Club. Tai finished 36 holes at 3-under-par 137 and is six strokes off the lead, while the Yellow Jackets (564, +4) are 28 strokes shy of pace-setter Ole Miss (536, -24).
The final round of the 54-hole event gets underway at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
TECH LINEUP – Tai played mistake-free golf, posting four birdies, all on par-4 holes, on his way to his 66, while Hansson fashioned his 69 with three birdies and two bogeys. Hansson is tied for 25th place at even-par 140.
Redshirt junior Benjamin Reuter (Naarden, The Netherlands) delivered an even-par 70 for the Yellow Jackets Saturday, and sophomore Carson Kim (Yorba Linda, Calif.) added a 4-over-par 74 to Tech’s total. First-round pace-setter Aidan Tran (Fresno, Calif.) shot 77.
Reuter is tied for 50th place individually at 144 (+4), with Tran tied for 59th at 146 (+6) and Kim tied for 69th at 148 (+8).
TEAM LEADERBOARD – Ole Miss (-13) and LSU (-11) both posted double-digit subpar scores Saturday and exchanged positions at the top the leaderboard. The Rebels, 24-under-par for 36 holes, lead by one stroke over the Tigers (-23) heading into Sunday’s final round.
Host Tennessee (-10) holds a distant third place, followed by South Carolina (-8) and South Florida (-2).
Mississippo State (+1) is in sixth place, followed by Charlotte (+2), Tech (+4), Charleston (+5) and Indiana (+6) to round out the top 10 in the 16-team field.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD – LSU’s Algot Kleen fired a 5-under-par 65, and Ole Miss’ Cameron Tankersley shot 4-under 66 Saturday and hold the top two spots in the medal race. Kleen (9-under-par 131), formerly of East Tennessee State, has a one-stroke lead over Tankersley (132, -8). Matthew Dodd-Berry of LSU is in third place at 133 (-7).
First-round leader Jake Peacock of USF, Kyle Meeks of Ole Miss and Lance Simpson of Tennessee are tied for fourth place at 6-under-par 134. The Rebels’ Michael La Sasso, the Volunteers’ Jackson Herrington, and Mississippi State’s Garrett Endiciott are tied for seventh place at 4-under-par 136.
Seven players, including Tech’s Tai, are tied for 10th place at 137 (-3).
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – The Visit Knoxville Collegiate is being held for the second time, and the Yellow Jackets are making their first appearance. Tennessee hosts the 16-team event, which is being contested over 54 holes beginning Friday and concluding Sunday at Tennessee National Golf Club, which plays to a par-70 and measures 7,280 yards.
Participating teams include Charlotte, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, North Florida, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Tennessee (7), Tech (11) and Ole Miss (13) are listed among the top 25 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, while four other teams received votes.
