Tar Heels Finish 4th, Advance to NCAA Golf Championship

Wednesday, May 16

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All Day

North Carolina

NCAA Regional Day 3

Photo by: Todd Drexler

May 16, 2018 | Men's Golf

NCAA Kissimmee Regional FINAL Results

First Time Ever All Five Under Par in NCAA Regional

By: Steve Kirschner

All five Tar Heels shot under par in an NCAA regional round for the first time in school history to propel the University of North Carolina men's golf team to a fourth-place finish in the Kissimmee Regional and earn a spot in the 2018 NCAA Championship.

Junior Joshua Martin shot a 30 on his first nine holes and finished with a 5-under-par 67, and sophomore Austin Hitt closed with a 70 to finish tied for third to lead the Tar Heels. Seniors Jose Montaño (70), Will Register (71) and Ben Griffin (71) also shot under par for Carolina, which advances to the NCAA Championship May 25-30 in Stillwater, Okla.

This is the second year in a row and 44^th time the Tar Heels will be playing in the NCAA Championship. UNC has advanced to the NCAA Championship 19 times through regional play, which began in 1989. This is the first time UNC has advanced to the NCAA Championship in consecutive years since 2006 and 2007.

Carolina, under the direction of first-year head coach Andrew DiBitetto, finished fourth today in the NCAA Kissimmee Regional at 21 under par. Florida won the regional at -42. UCF (-30), Vanderbilt (-22), Carolina and Kent State (-20) advanced, as did Arizona's George Cunningham, the low individual not on one of the top five teams. Arizona finished sixth at 18 under par and was the highest finishing team in the 14-team field not to advance.

Hitt (Longwood, Fla.) posted his best career finish at a tie for third after shooting 68-68-70–206. He was 10 under par for the tournament, three strokes behind the individual medalist Andy Zhang of Florida. The Gators' Chris Nido was second at 12 under.

Hitt's third-place finish was the best by a Tar Heel in an NCAA regional since Bob Cherry was runner-up in 2002. His 10-under-par total was the lowest score to par in a regional in UNC history. The previous low for 54 holes was 7 under by Martin Ureta in 2005.

Martin (Pinehurst, N.C.) began his final round on the ninth hole. He parred the ninth before firing birdies on 10, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 to shoot 30 for his opening nine holes. He later bogeyed twice and added a birdie on the second hole to post a season-low 67 and tie for 14^th place. Martin has finished eighth, 16^th and 14^th in his last three events. He began the regional with a 76, but closed with a 69 and 67 over the final 36 holes.

Montaño tied for 23^rd with a 69-74-70 for a 3-under-213. It was the fourth time in as many years the Bolivia native has placed in the top 25 in an NCAA regional.

"Coach (Matt) Clark and I are just unbelievably proud of the guys," says DiBitetto. "They knew their backs were to the wall today. They knew they would face adversity under stress, and for all five of them to play under par is absolutely incredible. It's a credit to their character and toughness.

"Our three seniors have meant so much to our program. They've carried us – in Ben and Will's case for four years and Jose for these last two – but this week was so much about Josh and Austin. They led us when our seniors didn't quite have their best stuff.

"Austin has fought through so much adversity all year. Josh was in and out of the lineup, but worked so hard, especially the last three weeks. He's our quiet assassin and today he was just a pin-seeking animal out there. What can you say about six birdies in eight holes? He got hot at the start and is a big reason we were able to advance today."