%20(1).png&width=36&height=36&type=webp)
University of North Carolina Athletics
(L to R) William Register, Jose Montano, Ben Griffin, Preyer Fountain, Austin Hitt
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Griffin, Tar Heels Win in Record Fashion
October 8, 2017 | Men's Golf
Senior, Team Set 54-Hole Scoring Records
UNC senior Ben Griffin shot a school-record 19 under par to win by five and the University of North Carolina men's golf team won the Tar Heel Intercollegiate by 23 strokes on Sunday at the UNC Finley Golf Course.
Griffin shot 67 in Sunday's final round to follow his 67 and 63 on Saturday. The Chapel Hill native won his third college tournament, his second in this event and his first since his freshman season. He broke UNC 54-hole records for fewest strokes (197, two better than teammate William Register at Primland in 2014) and lowest score to par (19, two lower than Register at Primland; John Inman also shot -17 over 72 holes in the 1984 NCAA Championship).
UNC senior Jose Montaño shot the best round on Sunday with eight birdies and no bogeys for an 8-under-64, the lowest round of his collegiate career. Montaño finished in second place with a 67-71-64–202. That's his lowest 54-hole total as a collegiate golfer (shot 203 at Elon last year).
All five Tar Heel starters shot under par on Sunday and combined for 14 under-par rounds and one even-par round in the tournament.
Preyer Fountain tied for eighth with 70-68-70–208 (-8), William Register tied for 12th with 71-68-71–210 (-6) and Austin Hitt tied for 20th with 72-71-69–212 (-4).
"I'm very happy for our guys and extremely proud of them," says Andrew DiBitetto, who earned his first tournament victory as UNC's head coach. "A lot of golf has been played at Carolina and for our guys to break a program record by 16 shots is incredible. The performance this weekend was truly a team effort as none of our starters shot a round over par. That is phenomenal.
"Winning is fun, but I'm most proud of the way our guys have gone about their business since the start of the year. Coach (Matt) Clark and I talk daily about the mindset, identity and attitude we want our program to have. The guys have welcomed these thoughts and we are already seeing positive results."
Griffin's previous college bests were an 11-under-205 as a sophomore at the Schenkel Invitational. He made 19 birdies, an eagle and only two bogeys in the three rounds. He had a two-stroke lead entering today's final round, then went out in 6 under over his first 11 holes to pull away from the field.
"Ben was a stud this weekend," says DiBitetto. "Sometimes when you play on your home course you can get ahead of yourself, but he was exceptionally composed and did a great job of playing shot by shot and hole by hole. The rhythm and tempo of his swing was on point all weekend and he was mentally tough."
Jacksonville finished second at 26 under par, UNCW was third (-21), Maryland fourth (-20) and Coastal Carolina finished fifth (-17) among the 12 teams in the field.
Griffin and Montaño finished one-two individually. UNCG's Bryce Hendrix and Coastal Carolina's Luis Ruiz tied for third at 12-under-204, and Jacksonville's Raul Pereda was fifth at 11-under-205. Ruiz was the only player other than Griffin to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds (68-67-69).
UNC freshman Ryan Gerard played as an individual entry and shot 67 in today's final round.
The Tar Heels return to action on Oct. 22-24 at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, Fla.
Griffin shot 67 in Sunday's final round to follow his 67 and 63 on Saturday. The Chapel Hill native won his third college tournament, his second in this event and his first since his freshman season. He broke UNC 54-hole records for fewest strokes (197, two better than teammate William Register at Primland in 2014) and lowest score to par (19, two lower than Register at Primland; John Inman also shot -17 over 72 holes in the 1984 NCAA Championship).
UNC senior Jose Montaño shot the best round on Sunday with eight birdies and no bogeys for an 8-under-64, the lowest round of his collegiate career. Montaño finished in second place with a 67-71-64–202. That's his lowest 54-hole total as a collegiate golfer (shot 203 at Elon last year).
All five Tar Heel starters shot under par on Sunday and combined for 14 under-par rounds and one even-par round in the tournament.
Preyer Fountain tied for eighth with 70-68-70–208 (-8), William Register tied for 12th with 71-68-71–210 (-6) and Austin Hitt tied for 20th with 72-71-69–212 (-4).
"I'm very happy for our guys and extremely proud of them," says Andrew DiBitetto, who earned his first tournament victory as UNC's head coach. "A lot of golf has been played at Carolina and for our guys to break a program record by 16 shots is incredible. The performance this weekend was truly a team effort as none of our starters shot a round over par. That is phenomenal.
"Winning is fun, but I'm most proud of the way our guys have gone about their business since the start of the year. Coach (Matt) Clark and I talk daily about the mindset, identity and attitude we want our program to have. The guys have welcomed these thoughts and we are already seeing positive results."
Griffin's previous college bests were an 11-under-205 as a sophomore at the Schenkel Invitational. He made 19 birdies, an eagle and only two bogeys in the three rounds. He had a two-stroke lead entering today's final round, then went out in 6 under over his first 11 holes to pull away from the field.
"Ben was a stud this weekend," says DiBitetto. "Sometimes when you play on your home course you can get ahead of yourself, but he was exceptionally composed and did a great job of playing shot by shot and hole by hole. The rhythm and tempo of his swing was on point all weekend and he was mentally tough."
Jacksonville finished second at 26 under par, UNCW was third (-21), Maryland fourth (-20) and Coastal Carolina finished fifth (-17) among the 12 teams in the field.
Griffin and Montaño finished one-two individually. UNCG's Bryce Hendrix and Coastal Carolina's Luis Ruiz tied for third at 12-under-204, and Jacksonville's Raul Pereda was fifth at 11-under-205. Ruiz was the only player other than Griffin to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds (68-67-69).
UNC freshman Ryan Gerard played as an individual entry and shot 67 in today's final round.
The Tar Heels return to action on Oct. 22-24 at the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, Fla.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
UNC Men's Soccer: Tar Heels Down Irish, 3-1, to Advance in ACCT
Thursday, November 06
Coach's Corner with Bill Belichick - Episode 9 - November 5, 2025
Wednesday, November 05
Carolina Stories: The Reese Brantmeier Project
Wednesday, November 05
UNC Field Hockey: Tar Heels Clip Cards in ACC Tourney Opener, 2-1
Tuesday, November 04