New York's Top Collegiate Golfers Highlight Georgia Tech Invitational
Syracuse, NY - New York’s top collegiate golfers will be making their way down to Georgia this week to compete in Georgia Tech’s invitational golf tournament. This years field consists of 17 top NCAA division 1 Golf teams in the country, and features eight players who rank inside the top 25 of the official World Amateur Golf Rankings, including the number one amateur in the world, Maverick McNealy out of Stanford University. Players representing New York in this week’s field include Gavin Hall from Texas, Derek Bard out of Virginia, Cameron Young from Wake Forest, and Ben Reichert out of East Tennessee St.
Gavin Hall: Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Gavin is no stranger to top level competition. Gavin is a member of the University of Texas golf team, currently ranked number 5 in the country, and coming off a season where the longhorns ranked tops in the country and lost in the finals of the Division 1 NCAA Championship. Currently ranked number 24 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Gavin is coming off a few impressive tournament finishes which includes a top ten finish at the Fighting Illini Invitational, and a top 20 finish at the Nike Collegiate Invitational. Gavin placed second at 13 under par in this year Porter Cup. He also qualified for match play in this year U.S. Amateur Championship.
Gavin is no stranger to NYSGA competition as well. He was the 2008 and 2009 NYS Sub-Junior Boys Champion, and the 2012 NYS Junior Amateur Champion. Gavin most recently competed in the 2015 NYS Amateur Championship, finishing in a tie for 9th place.
Derek Bard: Playing out of the Cedar Lake Club and raised in New Hartford, NY, Derek first broke into the golfs national spotlight after his victory at the 2015 Sunnehanna Invitation. He is most notable for finishing second in the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, falling to now professional Bryson Dechambeau, and competing in the 2016 Masters and U.S. Open Championships. Derek currently ranks number 25 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and his Virginia squad is fresh off a victory at the Bank of Tennessee @ Blackthorn invitation, where he placed 5th individually.
Derek has been competing in NYSGA events since his time as a junior golfer. He has competed in multiple NYS Junior and Men’s Amateur Championships, and most recently finished in 4th at the 2015 NYS Men’s Amateur and 3rd at the 2016 NYS Men’s Amateur.
Cameron Young: Cameron is a sophomore at one of the top golf institutions in the country, Wake Forest University. He is coming off a stellar freshman season, which included individual victories at the 2015 U.S. Collegiate and Warrior Princeville Makai Invitationals. This feat was last accomplished by legendary Wake forest alum, Bill Haas. Cameron currently ranks number 181 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and his Wake Forest squad currently ranks number 10 in the country and are coming off an 8th place finish at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational.
Cameron is well known for success in the Metropolitan Golf Association. He was the 2015 and 2016 Ike Invitational Championship, and place T5 in the 2015 Met Open, and 2nd in the 2016 Met Open. He was the 2015 MGA player of the year and was 3rd in the 2016 voting. Cameron also competed in the 2015 NYS Men’s Amateur Championship at Turning Stone, where he finished in 8th place. Cameron plays out of Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Westchester, NY, where his father is the head pro.
Ben Reichert: The 2015 NYS Junior Amateur Champion has taken his talents to East Tennessee St. where he is currently competing in his first collegiate season. Ben has led the way for the Bucs in two of the teams fist three events, finishing tied for 18th at the Rod Myers Invitational, his first career collegiate event, and T10 at the Macdonald Cup. East Tennessee St. is coming off a fifth place showing at the Bank of Tennessee @ Blackthorn Invitational.
As mentioned before, Ben was the 2015 NYS Junior Amateur Championship, where he posted a two-day total of 1 under par at the Cedar Lake Club. Ben has also had continued success in the NYS Men’s Amateur Championship, finishing T9 in 2015, and T8 in 2016. Ben is originally from Buffalo, NY, and plays out of Transit Valley CC.
The first round of the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitation is set to tee off Friday morning, October 21st. Play continues with rounds on the 22nd, and the final round on the 23rd. You can follow live hole by hole scoring by clicking HERE.
Zach Sullivan -NYSGA Manager of Tournament Operations
