Georgia Tech won its second consecutive spring title and fourth this season.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ollie Schniederjans fired a 4-under-par 67 on Sunday to tie for medalist honors, and Georgia Tech blew open a slim lead to claim its fourth tournament title of the year with an 18-stroke victory at the Robert Kepler Invitational.
With winds blowing from 25-35 miles per hour on the 7,455-yard, par 71 Scarlet Course at the Ohio State University Golf Club, the fourth-ranked Yellow Jackets proved more adept than the rest of the field in managing the conditions by posting a 2-over-par round of 286. All of the other teams were over par by double digits on Sunday.
Tech, which was 4-over-par and had a four-shot lead to start the day, completed 54 holes with a score of 858 (+6). UAB, ranked 18th nationally, shot 300 to maintain second place at 876 (+24), followed by Liberty (+25), UNLV (+27) and host Ohio State (+30). Six of the 15 teams in the tournament are ranked among the nation's top 50.
The Jackets counted an even-par 71 Sunday from Richy Werenski, a 72 from Seth Reeves and a 76 from Anders Albertson.
"We wanted a test like this, and I'm proud of our guys for the way they dealt with the conditions and a tough golf course," said Tech coach Bruce Heppler, who has presided over 43 tournament victories since coming to the Flats in 1995. "Everybody did a lot of positive things this weekend."
It was the second consecutive spring title and the fourth of the 2013-14 school year for Tech, which has not won this many tournaments since winning seven times in 2001-02. The margin of victory,18 shots, was its second highest of the year behind the Yellow Jackets 20-stroke win at the Tar Heel Invitational in the fall.
Schniederjans was the only player in the field to break par on Sunday, lifting himself into a tie with Ohio State's Frederick Hammer (71) at 3-under-par 210. The junior began the day in a tie for ninth place and was even par through 11 holes when he reeled off a string of four consecutive birdies, then closed with pars at 16-17-18. He and Hammer were the only players under par for the tournament, and were four shots ahead of Reeves, who finished alone in third place at 214 (+1) for his third top-5 finish this year.
Schniederjans captured at least a share of his fourth medalist honor this year, joining David Duval (1992-93), Stewart Cink (1994-95) and Troy Matteson (2001-02) as the only Tech players to win as many as four times in one school year.
Bo Andrews, despite carding a 78 Sunday, finished in a tie for 14th place for his third top-20 finish of the spring, while Albertson and Werenski tied for 20th place at 222 (+9).
