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University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Finish 18th at NCAA Championships
May 29, 2017 | Men's Golf
University of North Carolina freshman Austin Hitt shot 3-under-par Sunday in the third round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Golf Championship but the Tar Heels finished 18th and will not advance to Monday's fourth round of stroke play at Rich Harvest Farms.
Carolina finished 54 holes at 11-over-par 875, four strokes out of 15th place. The top 15 teams advance to Monday's final round of stroke play. The top eight teams after 72 holes will advance to match play beginning on Tuesday to decide the national champion.
Tar Heel junior Ben Griffin is one of nine individuals on teams outside the top 15 who advance to Monday's fourth round. The Chapel Hill native shot even-par 72 for the second straight round and is 2-under for the tournament. Griffin is tied for 31st.
"We're definitely disappointed to miss the 54-hole cut by such a small margin, but I am proud of the way our guys fought," says head coach Andrew Sapp. "The conditions this afternoon with the wind were very difficult. Austin (Hitt) capped off a fine freshman year with an incredible round and Ben kept us his outstanding play. We're excited that Ben (Griffin) will advance and we will get out there tomorrow and support him."
Hitt, who also shot 3-under-par in the third round of the NCAA Stanford Regional, had 4 birdies and eagled the 18th hole to shoot 69. The Longwood, Fla., native is tied for 50th place.
Jose Montaño shot 77 on Sunday to finish at 6-over-222, William Register shot a 77 to finish at 10-over-226 and senior Zach Martin capped his collegiate career with a 79 to close at +23.
Vanderbilt leads the team competition at -18, one stroke ahead of Oklahoma, UNLV and USC. The next 11 schools to qualify for Monday's fourth round include Illinois (-14), Oklahoma State (-12), Baylor (-9), Virginia (-9), Auburn (-8), LSU (-6), Texas (-5), Florida State (-4), Oregon (+1), Pepperdine (+5) and Central Florida (+7).
Texas's Scottie Scheffler leads the individual competition at 12-under-204 with three consecutive 68s. He has a two-shot advantage over Ole Miss's Braden Thornberry. Medalist honors will be decided on Monday.
