Leading by six at the start of the day at the Old North State Club No. 5 Georgia Tech saw their lead dwindle throughout the final round but in the end some clutch play put the Yellowjackets over the top. The winning blow came from Chris Petefish (T17; -7) who birdied the final hole to cap a 29-under two-stroke win for Georgia Tech, their fourth win of the year.
“It’s a great conference with all these teams that are ranked, so any time you win here it means a lot, and this year is no different," head coach Bruce Heppler said. "We knew that Clemson would come charging up the leaderboard, they always do. It got close and exciting and this place brings that out. We’re just happy to walk away on top this time."
No. 16 Clemson ended up 27-under in second, Wake Forest was third at 26-under, in fourth it was 24-under Virginia while defending champion Duke was 20-under in fifth.
With the Yellowjackets ahead by just one as Petefish stepped to the final tee, he hit what he called, “my best tee shot of the weekend” allowing the senior to attack the green with his second. With a green light to go for the green Petefish knocked his second shot into the center of the green setting up a two-putt title clinching birdie from 20-25 feet.
Also contributing the Yellowjackets win this weekend were Luke Schniederjans (T12; -8), Andy Ogletree (T24; -2) and Noah Norton (T48; +5).
Jackets celebrate their 17th @ACCMGolf Championship! #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/cLnBzZmLb4
— Georgia Tech Golf (@GT_GOLF) April 22, 2018
“They’ve all done that all year long," Heppler said. "It’s good that you’ve got five in the game. Even down to the last hole, they’re always covering for each other, no matter what happens.”
In the medalist race Thomas Walsh of Virginia took the title finishing 16-under. Beginning the day two shots clear of teammate Danny Walker, Walsh closed with a bogey-free 4-under 68 to win by two shots. A junior, Walsh sprinted out of the gates with consecutive birdies and then rolled in a third on the 4th to take control of the tournament. From there Walsh played steady golf to the house while adding an additional birdie on the 16th to create some extra breathing room late.
Remarkably for Walsh this was his first career collegiate win and also his best score at the college level, his previous best was an 11-under runner-up showing at the 2016 Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.
Walsh took the lead on Saturday with a 7-under 65 following a 5-under 67 in the first round
“It is incredible,” said Thomas Walsh “It is hard to put into words. It is the best thing that has ever happened to my golf career. It’s my only win in college. I could not wish it any other way, especially doing this in my home state. I’ve been coming to this thing [the ACC Championship] for maybe 10 years. I always wanted to just play in the tournament. To win it, is incredible.”
Clemson's Doc Redman fresh off a made cut last week at the RBC Heritage took second place with a 14-under tally, first round co-leader Danny Walker of Virginia took third at 13-under, taking fourth was Wake Forest's Paul McBride at 12-under while Ben Griffin of North Carolina was 11-under in fifth.
Editors Note: Georgia Tech and Clemson athletics contributed to this story