The Jackets kicked off their 2025–26 golf season with a trip to Knoxville, Tenn. for the Visit Knoxville Collegiate at Tennessee National Golf Club, a Greg Norman design. Many top teams from across the south joined Tech in Knoxville, including No. 17Tennessee,, No. 5 Ole Miss,, Chattanooga and Augusta. Tech, who began the season ranked 13 according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, settled on a lineup that favored experience. Coach Bruce Heppler chose redshirt senior Benjamin Reuter, senior Hiroshi Tai, junior Kale Fontenot, sophomore Albert Hansson and senior Aidan Tran to represent the team and sophomore Didrik Ringvall Bengtsson as an individual.
Birdies were flying in right out of the gate for the Jackets as they carded a 10-under team score to place third after the first round. Tech took advantage of the easier back nine with all six players shooting even or better on the back side. Fontenot led the way, shooting a four-under 66, closely followed by Hansson’s 67, Reuter’s 68 and Tran’s 69. Though the Jackets did not find themselves on the top of the board, they sat within striking distance of first-place Tennessee following the opening round. Fontenot’s performance was topped by only two golfers on Friday.
Despite a slow start to Saturday, Tech recovered once again on the back nine to salvage what could have been a disastrous round. None of the six Jackets finished under par on the opening nine, leaving Tech in a four stroke hole to turn it around. Tai and Tran lit up the back nine with three birdies or better and Fontenot and Hansson finished the final nine bogey-free to move the Jackets up a spot on the leaderboard, still trailing Tennessee. The course played just under a full shot more difficult on Saturday, and there were no signs of it getting any easier for Sunday’s final round.
Tech’s front nine woes continued into the final round with the team shooting six over to fall further behind Tennessee. Rather than a back nine charge, the Jackets’ poor front-nine play seeped through, and they faded from contention. Tech ended up finishing in a tie for fourth alongside Charlotte at four under, losing to Tennessee by 15 strokes. Tech was not the only team to struggle during the final round, as the final round scoring average increased by over 1.5 shots compared to round two. While the team may not have had their best performance, Hansson stepped up to finish inside the top 10 at three under par. Hansson’s play throughout the year will be a huge factor for the Jacket’s ACC Championship hopes, so a great first tournament is promising.
This weekend, Tech travels to the suburbs of Chicago, Ill. to defend their title in the Olympia Fields Invitational hosted by the University of Illinois. Tech will compete against a stellar lineup including No. 1 ranked Oklahoma State, No. 3 ranked Texas and No. 4 ranked Florida.
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