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University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Shoot 1 Under in Second Round
May 28, 2017 | Men's Golf
North Carolina had an up and down round on Saturday but finished the second 18 holes at the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf Championships with a 1-under 287 at Rich Harvest Farms.
Juniors Jose Montaño and William Register both shot 1-under 71s and junior Ben Griffin finished with an even-par 72 to lead Carolina, which stands tied for 16th place at 4-over-par after two rounds. The Tar Heels are tied with Alabama and Stanford for 16th, two shots behind Central Florida and Iowa State, who are 2 over.
Senior Zach Martin fired a 73 and freshman Austin Hitt a 77 for the Tar Heels, who need to finish in the top 15 after tomorrow's action to extend their season.
“We had four really good scores today,” says UNC head coach Andrew Sapp. “We were one of only four teams in the afternoon wave to shoot under par this afternoon. We will take that momentum into tomorrow's round and hopefully move up the board.
“William (Register) and Zach (Martin) had nice comeback rounds from yesterday. It was great to see Jose (Montaño) play well again and Ben (Griffin) has had a good two days.”
Carolina played the first six holes today as a team in 1-over-par, the middle six holes in 7 under and the final six holes in 5 over. UNC played the first hole in 3 over and the 13th hole in plus four, but countered by playing the par 5s on seven and 11 in 7-under-par. Over the first two rounds, Carolina is +8 on the 410-yard par 4 first hole. The opening hole has played the fourth-hardest for the entire field through the first 36 holes.
Griffin shot a 70 on Friday and had four birdies in the first 11 holes to move to 5-under-par for the tournament, but bogeyed four of his next five holes. He birdied the 525-yard 18th hole to finish with an even-par 72 for the day.
Register had birdies on three, 10 and 11 before doubling the 13th hole and parring out to post a 71.
Montaño made four birdies and three bogeys. The Cochabamba, Bolivia, native is 1 over 145 for the first two rounds.
Hitt shot 71 on Friday, but had six bogeys in the first 15 holes today before posting a birdie on the finishing hole.
Martin was Carolina's fourth counting score today with a 1-over 73 that featured three birdies and four bogeys.
UNLV leads the NCAA Championship at 14-under-par, one stroke ahead of Oklahoma, two clear of Illinois and four in front of Auburn and Vanderbilt.
Griffin is tied for 28th. Earlier in the day, the Chapel Hill native was named to the PING All-East Region team. He also was an all-region selection as a freshman in 2015.
Texas's Scottie Scheffler is the individual leader at 8-under, one shot ahead of four others.
The third round is Sunday. The top 15 teams advance to a fourth round on Monday. The top eight teams after Monday's action advance to match play, which begins Tuesday.
Carolina is paired with Stanford and Alabama on Sunday with tee times starting at 1:07 p.m. Eastern.
