Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate: 19-under final round propels Virginia to a win

October 15, 2023 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Virginia Men's Golf Team (Virginia Athletics Photo)

Virginia shot 19-under in the final round to erase an eleven shot deficit to start the day.

It was a fine Sunday indeed for the Virginia Cavaliers, as they ended their fall golf season on a high note.

The Cavaliers shot a final round 19-under to come from behind and win the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga. Virginia's final-round score was two strokes off the school record of 21-under, set twice in program history. Virginia's final-round score was two strokes off the school record of 21-under, set twice in program history.

Virginia entered the final round in fourth place and eleven shots behind tournament leader East Tennessee State, which shot 1-over during the final day. The host school Georgia Tech placed second at 19-under.

After leading for the first two rounds of the tournament, ETSU finished in third place at 16-under. Washington finished in fourth place at 15-under, and Duke finished in fifth place at 12-under.

In the individual competition, Omar Morales of UCLA and Algot Kleen of ETSU tied for the medalist honors at 11-under. Kleen was the leader in the first two rounds and shot a final round 2-under 70, while Morales shot a final round 3-under 69.

Conor Gough of Charlotte and Mahanth Chirravuri of Pepperdine finished T3 at 9-under, two shots back of the winners.

Pacing the winners, Ben James, the 2023 NCAA Freshman of the Year, led Virginia during the final 18 holes by shooting 7-under 65. He finished tied for fifth with a season-best score of 8-under 208. Mats Ege of ETSU also finished T5.

It marked the 13th top-10 finish during James' career. His round featured eight birdies and a single bogey. He opened the day with three consecutive birdies to get things rolling for the Cavaliers.

Also helping Virginia to the win was Paul Chang, who matched his career-best score by shooting 5-under 211 to tie for ninth place along with Bryan Lee.

It was Chang’s best place-finish as a Cavalier since joining the program this fall after playing for the UVA club golf team his first two years on Grounds. Chang shot 1-under 71 on Sunday, while Lee posted a score of 4-under 68.

Results: Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
T1	Omar Morales	, Mexico	700	68-68-69=205
T1	Algot Kleen	, Sweden	700	67-68-70=205
T3	Mahanth Chirravuri	Chandler, AZ	400	70-66-71=207
T3	Conor Gough	, England	400	68-67-72=207
T5	Ben James	Milford, CT	400	70-73-65=208

View full results for Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate

About the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate

Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate: 19-under final round propels Virginia to a win

The United States Collegiate Championship, hosted by Georgia Tech, annually brings 15 of the nation's top college teams to The Golf Club of Georgia for a three-day, 54-hole tournament that has been called "the Masters of college golf.” Started in 200...