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University of North Carolina Athletics
Wednesday, May 15
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NCAA Stanford Regional Day Three
Men's Golf Advances to NCAA Championship Round
May 15, 2019 | Men's Golf
Burnett's Record 63 Fuels 2nd Place Finish
Freshman Ryan Burnett shot a 63, the lowest round ever by a Tar Heel in an NCAA regional, to lead the University of North Carolina to a tie for second place in the 2019 NCAA Stanford Regional.
The second-place finish sends the Tar Heels to the NCAA Championship, which begins May 24 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Carolina equaled the best finish in an NCAA regional in school history. UNC also tied for second in the 1993 regional in Charlottesville, Va., and the 1995 regional in New Haven, Conn.
UNC shot 6-under-274 today, which tied second-ranked Arizona State for the second-best score in the final round. Only Stanford, playing on its home course, shot better than the Tar Heels and Sun Devils over the third round and the 54-hole tournament. The Cardinal were 8 under today and 23 below par for the three days. UNC and Arizona State tied for second at 11-under-829.
Georgia Southern was fourth at 6 under and LSU was the fifth and final team to advance out of the 13-team field. The Tigers were 2 over, one shot ahead of Ole Miss. Virginia was seventh and NC State tied for eighth.
"We got off to a brilliant start today, which was huge," says Andrew DiBitetto, who is taking his team to the NCAA Championship for the second time in as many years as UNC's head coach. "After that, our guys hung tough. We talk about mental toughness all the time, but as coaches all we can do is talk. Our team has to play with courage, grit and poise and they've been doing it all year. They deserve the positive results and (Assistant) Coach Clark and I are so proud of them for the way they compete every day."
Burnett's 63 was the lowest round by any player in the three-day regional, was his lowest round of the season and was one stroke better than the previous low score by a Tar Heel in NCAA regional action. Max Harris shot a 64 in the second round in the 1998 regional in Daufiskie Island, S.C.
Burnett also tied for second place in the individual standings, three shots behind Stanford's Isaiah Salinda. The Lafayette, Calif., native shot 73-67-63 for a 7-under-par 203. He set a UNC record for fewest strokes in an NCAA regional; the previous record was 206 by Martin Ureta in 2005 and teammate Austin Hitt a year ago.
Burnett's second-place finish ties the best finish by a Tar Heel in an NCAA regional. Ross Bain tied for second in 1996 and Bob Cherry tied for second in 2002.
"Ryan was incredible, not just today but yesterday as well," says DiBitetto. "He wasn't in a great spot mentally after the first round, but he and Coach Clark spent a lot of time together that afternoon. All the credit goes to both of them for getting Ryan to feel confident and relaxed."
Burnett's second-place showing ties the best finish by a Tar Heel this year. UNC's runner-up finish also is the team's fifth top-three performance in 13 events this season.
Burnett opened with an eagle on the par-5, 521-yard first hole and added birdies on 5, 6 and 7 to go out in 5-under-par 30. He suffered his only blemish of the day with a bogey on the 10th, then added birdies on 12, 15 and 16 to shoot 33 on the inward nine.
He led the 75-player field for the week in birdies (17) and eagles (2) and played the par 5s in 11 under par, four strokes better than any other competitor.
Hitt (Longwood, Fla.) and freshman Dougie Ergood (Mount Laurel, N.J.) shot even-par 70s and senior Joshua Martin (Pinehurst, N.C.) was 1 over today. Martin shot 68-70-71 and tied for 12th place at 1-under-209. He tied for the tournament-lead in pars over the three rounds with 41.
Carolina and Stanford both played the par 5s in 25 under, two better than any other team. UNC was second in birdies with 56 and led in eagles with four.
"Overall it was a full team effort," says DiBitetto. "Anytime someone had a bad day, other guys were there to pick them up with great rounds. We're are excited to fly to Arkansas in a few days and compete for the national championship."
Carolina has advanced to play in the NCAA Championship for the third straight season for the first time since 2002-03-04.
The Tar Heels are one of six ACC teams that will play in the 30-team field in the NCAA Championship with Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Wake Forest.
The second-place finish sends the Tar Heels to the NCAA Championship, which begins May 24 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Carolina equaled the best finish in an NCAA regional in school history. UNC also tied for second in the 1993 regional in Charlottesville, Va., and the 1995 regional in New Haven, Conn.
UNC shot 6-under-274 today, which tied second-ranked Arizona State for the second-best score in the final round. Only Stanford, playing on its home course, shot better than the Tar Heels and Sun Devils over the third round and the 54-hole tournament. The Cardinal were 8 under today and 23 below par for the three days. UNC and Arizona State tied for second at 11-under-829.
Georgia Southern was fourth at 6 under and LSU was the fifth and final team to advance out of the 13-team field. The Tigers were 2 over, one shot ahead of Ole Miss. Virginia was seventh and NC State tied for eighth.
"We got off to a brilliant start today, which was huge," says Andrew DiBitetto, who is taking his team to the NCAA Championship for the second time in as many years as UNC's head coach. "After that, our guys hung tough. We talk about mental toughness all the time, but as coaches all we can do is talk. Our team has to play with courage, grit and poise and they've been doing it all year. They deserve the positive results and (Assistant) Coach Clark and I are so proud of them for the way they compete every day."
Burnett's 63 was the lowest round by any player in the three-day regional, was his lowest round of the season and was one stroke better than the previous low score by a Tar Heel in NCAA regional action. Max Harris shot a 64 in the second round in the 1998 regional in Daufiskie Island, S.C.
Burnett also tied for second place in the individual standings, three shots behind Stanford's Isaiah Salinda. The Lafayette, Calif., native shot 73-67-63 for a 7-under-par 203. He set a UNC record for fewest strokes in an NCAA regional; the previous record was 206 by Martin Ureta in 2005 and teammate Austin Hitt a year ago.
Burnett's second-place finish ties the best finish by a Tar Heel in an NCAA regional. Ross Bain tied for second in 1996 and Bob Cherry tied for second in 2002.
"Ryan was incredible, not just today but yesterday as well," says DiBitetto. "He wasn't in a great spot mentally after the first round, but he and Coach Clark spent a lot of time together that afternoon. All the credit goes to both of them for getting Ryan to feel confident and relaxed."
Burnett's second-place showing ties the best finish by a Tar Heel this year. UNC's runner-up finish also is the team's fifth top-three performance in 13 events this season.
Burnett opened with an eagle on the par-5, 521-yard first hole and added birdies on 5, 6 and 7 to go out in 5-under-par 30. He suffered his only blemish of the day with a bogey on the 10th, then added birdies on 12, 15 and 16 to shoot 33 on the inward nine.
He led the 75-player field for the week in birdies (17) and eagles (2) and played the par 5s in 11 under par, four strokes better than any other competitor.
Hitt (Longwood, Fla.) and freshman Dougie Ergood (Mount Laurel, N.J.) shot even-par 70s and senior Joshua Martin (Pinehurst, N.C.) was 1 over today. Martin shot 68-70-71 and tied for 12th place at 1-under-209. He tied for the tournament-lead in pars over the three rounds with 41.
Carolina and Stanford both played the par 5s in 25 under, two better than any other team. UNC was second in birdies with 56 and led in eagles with four.
"Overall it was a full team effort," says DiBitetto. "Anytime someone had a bad day, other guys were there to pick them up with great rounds. We're are excited to fly to Arkansas in a few days and compete for the national championship."
Carolina has advanced to play in the NCAA Championship for the third straight season for the first time since 2002-03-04.
The Tar Heels are one of six ACC teams that will play in the 30-team field in the NCAA Championship with Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Wake Forest.
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