East Lake Cup: Kale Fontenot wins the individual title after Day One

October 30, 2023 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Kale Fontenot (East Lake Cup Photo)

The Georgia Tech freshman fired a 4-under 68 to finish at the top of the leaderboard.

In the men's individual competition at the 2023 East Lake Cup Collegiate Match Play Championship, Georgia Tech freshman Kale Fontenot got off to a birdie-birdie start and then added four more birdies along with two bogeys to grab the clubhouse lead.

North Carolina’s David and Maxwell Ford got to within one shot of the lead but couldn’t match Fontenot’s 4-under as he claimed the first individual title of his collegiate career.

“The course is great,” said Fontenot. “It’s in such good condition. It's tough, you have to hit it straight and make a lot of putts out here. It's great.”

In the team competition, Florida State finished 5-under while North Carolina finished at 3-under.

PREVIEW

The East Lake Cup is a collegiate competition featuring top-performing teams from the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships. The East Lake Cup takes place every fall and airs live on Golf Channel.

Modeled after the NCAA Golf Championships, the format for the East Lake Cup consists of an opening round of stroke play to crown an individual male and female champion and determine seeding for the following two days of match play competition.

The East Lake Cup has become an annual staple on college golf’s fall calendar. Recent individual champions of the East Lake Cup include current World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (2016), World No. 5 Viktor Hovland (2018), and last year’s men’s medalist, Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent, who also won the 2022 NCAA Individual National Championship title.

LAST YEARS RESULTS

In the 2022 East Lake Cup, Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt won the individual 18-hole title, and Vanderbilt won the team match play title over Arizona State. In the women's competition, Auburn won the team title, and Blanca Fernández García-Poggio of Texas A&M won the individual 18-hole title.

Related: VANDERBILT OUTLASTS ARIZONA STATE IN EXCITING EAST LAKE CUP FINAL

2023 TEAMS

Former East Lake Cup champions competing in this year’s event include the Wake Forest Women’s team, winners of the 2019 East Lake Cup, and the USC Lady Trojans who took home the trophy in 2015, 2017, and 2018. The USC Women remain the only program to win three East Lake Cup titles.

The women’s field will include Stanford, Texas A&M, this year’s NCAA second-place finishers USC, and reigning NCAA champions Wake Forest. The men’s side will feature current NCAA champions Florida, Florida State, and 2023 NCAA runners-up Georgia Tech and North Carolina.

EAST LAKE GOLF CLUB

East Lake Golf Club has hosted the East Lake Cup since its inception in 2015. Additionally, the course annually hosts the TOUR Championship on the PGA TOUR. Due to renovations, the Club will undergo at the conclusion of that event in 2023, this year’s East Lake Cup will be contested at the historic Atlanta Athletic Club, located just north of Atlanta in Johns Creek, Georgia, on its championship Highlands Course. The East Lake Cup will return to East Lake Golf Club in 2024. The Atlanta Athletic Club was founded in 1898 and opened East Lake Golf Club in 1904 as a complement to their downtown Atlanta fitness club. In 1969 Atlanta Athletic Club relocated to its current location and sold East Lake Golf Club to a group of members.

The two clubs have a long-standing historical connection, including their shared association with the legendary Bobby Jones. 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of the Atlanta Athletic Club.

The Atlanta Athletic Club has hosted numerous national and international golf events, including three PGA Championships (1981, 2001 and 2011), U.S. Open Championship (1976), Ryder Cup Matches (1963), U.S. Women’s Open Championship (1990), and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (2021). The Club will host the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2030 U.S. Amateur, and 2035 U.S. Women’s Amateur championships.

“Part of the mission of the Atlanta Athletic Club is to host major golf championships. As we celebrate our 125th anniversary this year, we are both honored and excited to team with the East Lake Foundation and Golf Channel to continue this mission by hosting the 2023 East Lake Cup. Our membership has already been buzzing about the event and looks forward to welcoming these amazing collegiate players,” said tournament co-chair Davis Stewart.

“The men and women who will be competing are some of the finest amateurs in the game, many of whom will ultimately turn pro, and our Highlands course, host to many majors, will provide a challenging test for the competitors and an exciting event for the viewers. We can’t wait to host the Cup!” added co-chair Richard Grice.

FORMAT

The tournament format is modeled after the NCAA Championships, consisting of an opening round of stroke play to determine an individual male and female champion and to assign seeding for the following two days of team match play.

TV SCHEDULE

Monday, Oct. 30, 3-6 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 3-6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 3-6 p.m. ET

About the East Lake Cup

East Lake Cup: Kale Fontenot wins the individual title after Day One

Started in 2015 and hosted by the historic East Lake Golf Club Atlanta, this collegiate, three-day match play competition features the top-performing teams from the previous year's NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. There is an individual award for the l...

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