Martin Ready for Sun Bowl All-America Classic

University of North Carolina senior Joshua Martin is one of 29 golfers who will play in the 2018 Sun Bowl All-American Classic Nov. 18-20 at the El Paso (Texas) Country Club.

Martin qualified for the tournament with his honorable mention All-America finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships. The Pinehurst, N.C., native shot a 69 in the second round at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., one of three rounds he shot in the 60s in NCAA Regional and Championship play last spring.

"I'm excited to have the chance to represent Carolina while competing against some of the best amateurs in the world," says Martin. "This type of opportunity doesn't come around every day so I'm really going to try and enjoy every moment."

Martin will be one of eight players representing the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Sun Bowl All-American Classic, and is the 19^th Tar Heel to play in the event since it began in 1974. Carolina has the third-most players among ACC teams to play in the event (behind only Wake Forest ad Georgia Tech).

"Josh is excited to get to Texas and compete against the best players in college golf and Coach (Matt) Clark and I are thrilled for him,' says UNC head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "The players who have competed previously is incredible and the list of past winners is even more remarkable. This is a great opportunity for Josh. He's one of the hardest workers we have and we know it would mean a lot to him if he came back to Chapel Hill as the second Tar Heel to win the event."

Ben Griffin, who is making his PGA Tour debut this week at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Ga., played in the Sun Bowl Classic twice, in 2015 and 2017. Last year, Griffin fired three rounds in the 60s (68-64-68) and tied for third place.

Hall of Famer Davis Love III has Carolina's highest finish in the Sun Bowl Classic as he brought home medalist honors in 1984.

Love is among a Who's Who of elite golfers to win the Sun Bowl Classic – Tiger Woods, Scott Simpson, Webb Simpson, David Duval and Matt Kuchar are among the previous champions.

Last year, Doug Ghim of Texas shot 67-64-64 to win by two strokes.

Carolina's complete list of participants in the Sun Bowl Classic includes:
Frank Fuhrer–1980
John Inman–1983
Davis Love III–1983, 1984
Greg Parker–1985
Neil Sullivan–1989
Tee Burton–1990
Pat Moore–1991
Greg DiDonna–1994
Mark Wilson–1996
Ross Bain–1997
Don Hill–1998
Max Harris–1999
Ramon Bescansa–2002
Dustin Bray–2002, 2003
Martin Ureta–2005, 2006
Kevin O'Connell–2008
Ben Griffin–2015, 2017
Joshua Martin–2018

Players Mentioned

Ben Griffin

Joshua Martin

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