Schniederjans almost adds to family fame at Farm

ROCKY FACE, Ga. -- Luke Schniederjans doubled over in agony when he watched a birdie putt on his final hole of the day shy away from the cup.

Had it dropped, the junior for Harrison High School would have added his name to an epic list of golfers who have won tournaments at The Farm Golf Club.

The Schniederjans name is already there.

Luke's older brother, Ollie, tied for medalist honors in the Carpet Capital Collegiate in 2013 and won the 2014 version last fall. Ollie, a senior at Georgia Tech, is currently the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world.

"The last two years I came up and watched him over the last two days of the Carpet Capital," said the younger Schniederjans, the runner-up in the North Georgia Invitational on Tuesday. "We both love this course. It would be sweet to play in that tournament in a couple years."

Peachtree Ridge senior Charles Huntzinger won with a two-round total of 142 to beat Schniederjans by one. The tournament consisted of one round last Tuesday at Barnsley Gardens and Tuesday's round at The Farm.

photo Georgia Tech golfer Olli Schniederjans, left, watches as University of North Carolina golfer Bailey Patrick hits a shot from the fairway on Hole 10 during the final-round of the 2013 Carpet Capital Collegiate.

"I put this whole thing into three tournaments -- Barnsley, here and the team," said Huntzinger, who shot 71 at each site and has signed to play for Penn State. "Today was a new day, and I had the mindset of not being three shots off the lead or anything.

"I hit a lot of fairways and greens, so I didn't have to rely on my short game."

It bailed him out twice -- on No. 18 (his ninth hole of the round) -- and on No. 9, where he escaped from a plugged lie in a bunker with little green to work and drained the par putt.

"I was like, 'Good job, dude,'" Schniederjans said.

Dalton junior Allen Behr shot 77 on both courses and tied for third with Heritage junior Ben Rebne, who shot 84 last week and 80 on Tuesday.

"Don't tell anybody my score," Rebne joked.

"I didn't putt well on either course," Behr said. "I did keep it out of trouble by hitting a lot of woods off the tee. I had only one double in 36 holes because I minimized the damage."

LaFayette senior Jacob Morgan placed fifth with a 155. He will be seeking to defend the medal that he won at the Gordon Lee Invitational last year when the 2015 version commences Saturday at Canyon Ridge.

"I know I'll have to work on my putting in the next few days," Morgan said. "If I can do that, I should be able to defend. It would be nice to defend."

Schniederjans led Harrison to a seven-shot victory over Huntzinger's Peachtree Ridge team, which shot 640.

Dalton placed third at 643 with Roswell fourth and LaFayette fifth. Heritage, Northwest Whitfield, Calhoun and Coahulla Creek rounded out the field in order.

"We are a very young team, so experience is the biggest thing we need right now," Dalton coach Hunter Johnston said. "To go from a good team to a great team is something that experience teaches you."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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