Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman, No. 6 in PGA TOUR University Ranking, extends lead at NCAA Championship

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Ross Steelman finally made a bogey – two of them, actually – but the fifth-year senior from Georgia Tech once again broke par with a 1-under 69, reaching 7-under par through 36 holes and extending his lead to three strokes at the NCAA Championship.

At the halfway point of stroke play, Steelman, who entered the week at No. 6 in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking, projects to be the No. 4 finisher in the final ranking. Players who finish Nos. 2-5 in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, as well as an exemption to Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry – where the top five finishers and ties earn PGA TOUR cards – and the ability to accept unlimited PGA TOUR sponsor exemptions for the remainder of 2023 and 2024.

Steelman opened the tournament with a bogey-free 6-under 64 Friday morning for a two-stroke lead, and he followed it with three birdies and two bogeys en route to a 1-under 69 Saturday afternoon. Steelman holds a three-stroke lead over No. 2-ranked Adrien Dumont De Chassart of University of Illinois, and Daniel Rodrigues, a junior at Texas A&M University.

Steelman carded birdies at the par-3 13th and par-4 18th, one of the toughest holes at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course, to turn at 2-under par. Steelman’s first bogey of the tournament came at the par-4 first, after which he traded a birdie at the par-5 fourth for a bogey the par-4 sixth.

“Playing in the afternoon is a lot harder than in the morning out here, so just being able to throw something under par on the board was pretty big for the individual part, as well as giving the team a good block to build on,” Steelman said. “It was pretty boring again. A lot of fairways, hit it to 20 feet, roll a couple in and go from there.”

Steelman, one of 17 players who broke par in the second round (one fewer than Friday’s opening round), was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri, where he played two and a half seasons at University of Missouri before he transferred to Georgia Tech ahead of the 2021-22 season.

This season at Georgia Tech, Steelman garnered a 2023 All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and earned the title-winning point against Wake Forest at the 2023 ACC Championship.

Last summer on the amateur circuit, Steelman garnered medalist honors at the 2022 Western Amateur and qualified for match play at the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship. Steelman’s parents, who are in attendance this week, drove a little over 1,000 miles (in roughly 16 hours) from Columbia to The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey for their son’s second and final U.S. Amateur appearance last August.

The road trip was far from unusual for the Steelmans. In fact, the only thing different about it was that Ross caught a flight instead of sprawling out in the backseat of his parents’ SUV

Steelman played most of his junior golf either in the state of Missouri or within the region, though there a few marquee events across the country he qualified for. With only two exceptions – a tournament in California, and another in Florida – the family drove to every event together, including a 2017 AJGA tournament in Ringoes, New Jersey which had them on the road for 17 and a half hours each way.

“It started in a Honda CRV, and then they got a Toyota Highlander that was a little bigger… got to spread out a little bit,” Steelman recalled. “The Highlander was the main one. We would pile in and hit the road.”

In addition to Steelman, three other players who entered the week ranked 10th or higher in the PGA TOUR University Ranking are currently in the top 10 on the NCAA Championship leaderboard: No. 2 Adrien Dumont De Chassart from University of Illinois (T2), and No. 3 Fred Biondi (4th) and No. 10 Ricky Castillo (T8) from University of Florida.

Texas Tech University’s Ludvig Aberg, who is in line to finish No. 1 in the PGA TOUR University Ranking and earn PGA TOUR membership for the remainder of 2023 and 2024, fell to T24 after a 3-over 73, which included a triple bogey at the par-4 third.

After Saturday’s third round, the 30-team field will be cut to the low 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team. Golf Channel will broadcast the final round live Monday from 5-9 p.m. EDT, when the NCAA individual champion will be crowned and the low eight teams will advance to match play.

PGA TOUR University Ranking Projections

Note: Current No. 13 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen has completed his season with 16 events on his PGA TOUR University record. When the minimum divisor (18) is applied after the NCAA Championship, he will finish with a Points Average of approximately 811, a current projected rank of No. 22.