Carolina Begins Play in San Diego on Monday

Carolina men's golf returns to action March 11-12 in Chula Vista, Calif., at the Lamkin San Diego Classic. The two-day, 54-hole event is hosted by San Diego State and the University of San Diego at the San Diego Country Club, a 7,033-yard, par-72 track.

The Tar Heels are playing in their third tournament of the spring and eighth of the school year. They're coming off a fourth-place finish at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawai'i. Freshman Ryan Burnett led UNC with a share of fourth place, shooting 67-69 over the final 36 holes to finish at 7-under 209.

Austin Hitt will be playing in the No. 1 position for Carolina. The Longwood, Fla., native leads the Tar Heels in stroke average through the first seven tournaments at 70.43. He is one of three players – with Ryan Gerard (70.81) and Burnett (70.95) – who average under 71 strokes per round. Those players occupy the top three slots for UNC in San Diego.

Freshman Dougie Ergood and senior Joshua Martin round out the starters for UNC; Tailin Song and Mason Elmore will also compete as individual entries.

"Mason has been working extremely hard the past two months and all of us have noticed a more confident person and player," says head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "We're excited for him to have an opportunity and we're thrilled for Tailin to be here and have a chance to play in front of family and friends in his hometown during his last semester of college golf."

Gerard led Carolina to a tie for fourth (1 over) last year at the Lamkin San Diego Classic. Making just his second start of the season as a freshman, the Raleigh native tied for 18^th at even par. Hitt was not in the starting lineup, but fired a 67 in the second round and tied for sixth in the individual standings at 6-under 210.

"This event is always a nice way to kickoff spring break and it's a trip and a tournament that we really look forward to each year," says DiBitetto. "It's a fun golf course to play where you can make a lot of birdies, but it's also a course that demands your full attention on each shot. There's a reason it hosted a USGA Championship two summers ago."

2018 NCAA champion Oklahoma State won the event a year ago at 44 under par. Texas Tech's Fredrik Nilehn was the medalist at 15 under.

Carolina is 34^th in the current Golfstat standings. The field includes a pair of top-10 teams in Arizona State (5) and Texas (8). The Tar Heels are the only team in the field located east of Mississippi.

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ryan Burnett

Mason Elmore

Dougie Ergood

Ryan Gerard

Austin Hitt

Joshua Martin

Tailin Song

Related Videos