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University of North Carolina Athletics
Pace: Tar Heels Primed For ACC Rebirth
April 23, 2015 | Men's Golf
By Lee Pace, GoHeels.com
Men's golf in the Atlantic Coast Conference has been nothing for half a century if not streaky. Wake Forest's glory days of Lanny Wadkins, Jay Haas, Curtis Strange et al resulted in 13 league titles in 14 years from 1967-1980. For the last quarter century, only four times have the names Georgia Tech or Clemson not been on the league championship trophy, those teams sparked by wizards the likes of David Duval, Matt Kuchar and Lucas Glover.
Meanwhile, back in the shadows was the University of North Carolina with not one outright league title since 1996. That a school that produced notables like Harvie Ward, Jim Ferree and Davis Love III, possesses an outstanding Tom Fazio-designed golf course and has a curriculum ideally suited for golf could not routinely produce championship caliber golf teams was a source of mystery and frustration for many.
Today only Mark Wilson among Tar Heel golf alumni is a regular force on the PGA Tour, Love having ascended to the Champions Tour and a second Ryder Cup captaincy.
Keep this under your hat, but things are changing in Chapel Hill. Andrew Sapp is now in his fourth season as the Tar Heels' coach, and the five players in Carolina's spring lineup feature what Sapp feels is the best golfer from the state from the 2013 class, the two best from the 2014 class, and set to arrive in Chapel Hill next fall is the top player from the 2015 class.
In Jenkins, Ben Griffin and William Register, the Tar Heels have an outstanding base around which to grow.
“It's just been a matter of keeping the best players from North Carolina at home,” says Sapp, a Tar Heel golfer from 1991-93 who left Michigan after nine years as head coach to return home in the summer of 2011. “North Carolina ranks as the fourth best golf state producing college golfers. If you get the best ones in our state, you're going to have success.”
Upon Sapp's arrival, the top rising high school seniors were already committed to various colleges and he began his recruiting efforts on juniors, among them Jenkins, and sophomores, among them Griffin and Register. Things didn't go well with Jenkins, who committed to UNC-Greensboro and then staved off interest from a handful of ACC schools as he grew physically and developed as a golfer his last two years.
“I actually didn't like Carolina when I first visited,” Jenkins says. “Carolina did not have a good reputation with my class or the class previous. They had a lot of trouble getting people to come here.”
Sapp had better luck with Griffin, who grew up playing at UNC Finley Golf Course and at nearby Chapel Hill Country Club, and Register, who grew up 30 minutes away in Burlington. Both Griffin's parents are UNC graduates; Register's mother is a Carolina grad and older brother Robert joined the Tar Heel golf team during Sapp's first year. There was a lot of Carolina blue in their respective closets and plenty of history attending Tar Heel football and basketball games.
Both committed to be Tar Heels during the winter of their sophomore years in high school, but it would be two and a half long years before either could make a difference.
“It's a fun challenge for us to bring it back,” Griffin says. “Not a whole lot of people have been that interested in how golf is doing. I enjoy trying to get it to the top level and see how far we can take it.”
Meanwhile, Jenkins honored his commitment to UNC-G and played there as a freshman. He kept a close eye on the burgeoning Tar Heel program and decided last fall that a change was in order. He transferred and joined the Carolina squad in January.
The Tar Heel lineup that is gearing toward the ACC Championships April 24-26 at Old North State Club features senior Brandon Dalinka, sophomores Henry Do and Jenkins and the freshmen Griffin and Register. All five have won a college tournament, giving Carolina a level of depth and confidence not seen in many years. The Tar Heels are ranked No. 19 nationally by Golfweek and won two tournaments last fall and one this February.
Their last tune-up leading into the ACCs and postseason play was the Liberty Spring Invitational in Amherst, Va., last weekend, where Register tied for the individual title with a three-under-par 213 total, and Carolina finished second in the 18-team field, 15 strokes behind Oklahoma.
“It was good to see William play well,” Sapp says. “His iron play hasn't been as crisp this spring as he'd like, but he hit some really good shots and is starting to come around. It will help his confidence and get him the proper mindset. It was good see Ben shoot the second lowest score in the final round. Carter was solid.
“Overall, it was disappointing to see Oklahoma dust us off the back nine the final two rounds,” he continues. “We'd get close, then make a bogey or double bogey. It was a bit of an eye-opener, a wake-up call. We're not there yet, we're not peaking yet. It shows us the kind of work we have to do over the next week and a half to get ready for Old North State.
The Tar Heels got a share of the ACC title in 2006, tying Georgia Tech, but before that you've got to go back to 1995-96 when they won consecutive titles with Wilson leading the team and collecting the individual championship in '96. Sapp was an assistant coach to head coach Devon Brouse at the time, and a photograph after the '96 ACC Tournament victory showing Brouse, Sapp, Wilson and golfers Rob Bradley, Lee McEntee, Ross Bain and Whit Staples hangs on his office wall above his desk.
“I hope to switch it out in the near future,” Sapp says.
Griffin is a short-game wizard, amazing his teammates and opponents with his ability to get up and down from a myriad of sticky positions. Register is aggressive and plays with no fear. Jenkins is long and solid all around and can churn out some birdies. Do and Dalinka are steady.
“I seriously believe for four years we have national championship potential,” Jenkins says. “Coach Sapp has really turned it around. He's recruiting great players. He trusts us, trusts our games, let's us go play. He doesn't over-coach us and put a whole lot of unnecessary information in our heads on the golf course. Basically he lets us point and shoot, which I love.”
High praise indeed coming from a player that once looked at Carolina as a golfer's graveyard.
