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University of North Carolina Athletics
Griffin, Hitt Shoot Under Par in Round One
May 27, 2017 | Men's Golf
North Carolina junior Ben Griffin shot 70 and freshman Austin Hitt finished with a 71 at day one of the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf Championship at Rich Harvest Farms.
The Tar Heels shot a 5-over-par 293 in the first round.
“Ben and Austin led the charge for us today with sub-par rounds,” says Tar Heel head coach Andrew Sapp. “This is a tough course and the field should be stacked pretty close together this week. Hopefully we can put together a good second round on Saturday and move up the leaderboard.”
The top 15 teams after Sunday's third round will advance to a fourth round on Monday. The top eight teams after the fourth round will then compete in match play beginning on Tuesday.
Carolina was paired with Alabama and Lipscomb in the morning wave and made the turn after nine holes 3-under-par as a team. The Tar Heels were plus-eight on their second nine holes to finish at 5 over.
Griffin was 3 under on his first nine and got it to 4 under after a dozen holes before giving two strokes back with bogeys on his 13th and 17th holes.
“I played very solid golf today without too many mistakes,” says Griffin, the Chapel Hill native who tied for second at the 2017 ACC Championship. “I got off to a good start (3 under through nine) but I didn't score how I wanted to on the back nine. I put myself in good shape though heading into the second round. The course is challenging in spots but it also rewards good play. I'm excited to make a move tomorrow.”
Hitt had three birdies on the back nine to begin his round in 3-under, but fell back to even after just two holes on the front side. He finished his day playing the final seven holes with two birdies and a bogey to end with a 1-under 71.
Jose Montaño had 16 pars and two bogeys to shoot 2-over 74. William Register had three birdies but shot 78 and senior Zach Martin posted an 87.
Carolina is tied for 20th. The round was delayed by rain in the afternoon and a number of teams were unable to finish their opening 18 holes.
