Men's Golf Hosts Tar Heel Intercollegiate

Carolina men's golf hosts the Tar Heel Intercollegiate on Saturday, March 27, through Monday, March 29, at UNC Finley Golf Course. The Tar Heels are ranked No. 17 in the country by Golfstat, one of three teams in the top 50 and five in the top 100 in the field along with Arkansas State, UNCW, Campbell and Michigan State.

Spectators are welcome to attend provided they wear masks or facial coverings, remain on the cart paths and stay six feet from all others, including players and coaches. Parking will be available at or near the clubhouse.

This is the first Tar Heel Intercollegiate since March 2019 when UNC won the team title at 1 under par, six strokes ahead of Illinois. Austin Hitt, now a fifth-year senior, led Carolina with a tie for second place at 3-under 213. Illinois' Adrien Dumont de Chassart was the individual champion after shooting 69-68-70 for a 9-under 207.

The 2021 field includes (with March 23 Golfstat ranking) Arkansas State (30), Campbell (83), Davidson (140), Elon (154), Gardner-Webb (188), Georgia State, (162) JMU (105), Loyola Maryland (114), Maryland (120), Michigan State (87), North Carolina (17), UNCG (112), UNCW (44) and Virginia Tech (134).

Hitt is one of three Tar Heels (with freshman Peter Fountain and sophomore Austin Greaser) and 11 players in the field in the top 150 in Golfstat's national rankings:

7. Julian Sale, Arkansas State
47. Blake McShea, UNCW
50. Christopher Rahm, UNCW
56. Peter Fountain, North Carolina
62. Pontus Nyholm, Campbell
89. Austin Greaser, North Carolina
106. Evan Brown, Loyola Maryland
109. Zan Luka Stirn, Arkansas State
111. Drew Hackett, UNCW
114. Austin Hitt, North Carolina
118. Luka Naglic, Arkansas State

Joining Fountain, Greaser and Hitt in the Tar Heel starting lineup this week are Ryan Gerard and Dougie Ergood. Ryan Burnett, Mason Elmore, George McNeely, Kenan Poole and Ryan Smith will all compete as individual entries, as well.

Tee times are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. using both the first and 10th tees.

Live stats will be provided by Golfstat at: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=21188

This is Carolina's fifth event of the spring and its next to last prior to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, which begins April 23 in Milton, Ga. The Tar Heels have finished in the top five in each of their first four tournaments this season, including co-champions at The Prestige in La Quinta, Calif., second at the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst No. 2, fourth at the General Hackler in Myrtle Beach and fifth at Camp Creek in Watersound, Fla.

Fountain (Raleigh) has finished runner-up twice – at the all-ACC field at Camp Creek when he shot 10-under 206 and Pinehurst when he fired a 4-under 206. He leads Carolina in stroke average at 70.50, shot in the 60s in five of 12 rounds and is 9 under par overall.

Greaser (Vandalia, Ohio) is second in stroke average at 71.67. He's finished in the top 25 in all four tournaments with a tie for eighth at Pinehurst that included a 67-69 finish over the final 36 holes and a tie for fifth at the General Hackler where he opened with a bogey-free 67. Greaser is responsible for the last three times a Tar Heel has played a round with no bogeys, something he has done in each of the last two events.

Hitt (Longwood, Fla.) is playing in his 50th career tournament as a Tar Heel. His stroke average of 72.33 is the seventh best in school history. He made a 25-foot birdie on the final hole to secure a share of the team title at The Prestige, where he tied for fourth at 3-under 210 against a strong national field. He tied for 11th at the General Hackler and finished T-13, T-20 and T-2 in three previous starts in the Tar Heel Intercollegiate.

Gerard (Raleigh) is second in UNC career stroke average at 72.00. He had five top-10s in eight events last year and has finished in the to 15 twice this season, including a season-best seventh at Pinehurst No. 2 after shooting a final-round 68.

Tar Heel Intercollegiate History
This is the seventh time UNC is hosting the Tar Heel Intercollegiate. The event was first played in the 2012-13 season and played annually since, except when it was rained out in 2015-16 and canceled due to the pandemic a year ago.

UNC has won the team title in three of the previous six events. Duke won in 2012-13, Georgia Tech in 2013-14 and UNCW in 2016-17.

In October 2017, Ben Griffin and UNC set tournament records in winning the individual and team championships. Griffin, who also won the tournament as a freshman in 2014-15, shot 67-63-67 to win at 19-under 197, both of which are also school records for a 54-hole tournament. UNC set the tournament team record shooting 275-270-270 for 49-under 815.

Tar Heel Intercollegiate Previous Team Champions
2019-20: canceled due to Covid-19
2018-19: North Carolina (287-288-288– 863, -1)
2017-18: North Carolina (275-270-270– 815, -49)
2016-17: UNCW (281-286–567, -9)
2015-16: rained out
2014-15: North Carolina (273-277-288– 838, -26)
2013-14: Georgia Tech (283-281-278– 842, -22)
2012-13: Duke (285-282-289– 856, -8)

Tar Heel Intercollegiate Previous Medalists
2019-20: canceled due to Covid-19
2018-19: Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Illinois (69-68-70– 207, -9)
2017-18: Ben Griffin, North Carolina (67-63-67– 197, -19)
2016-1: Jake McGlone, UNCG (71-67– 138, -6) and Alfredo Ruiz, Coastal Carolina (68-70– 138, -6)
2015-16: rained out
2014-15: Ben Griffin, North Carolina (67-69-70– 206, -10)
2013-14: Seth Reeves, Georgia Tech (69-69-70– 208, -8)
2012-13: Albin Choi, NC State (66-71-68– 205, -11)

TAR HEEL INTERCOLLEGIATE RECORDS
Low Team Final Score: North Carolina, 815, 2017-18
Low Team Final to Par: North Carolina, -49, 2017-18
Low Individual Final Score: 197 by Ben Griffin, North Carolina, 2017-18
Low Individual Final to Par: -19 by Ben Griffin, North Carolina, 2017-18
Low Round Team: 270, North Carolina, 2nd and 3rd rounds, 2017-18
Low Round Individual: 63, Ben Griffin, North Carolina, 2nd round, 2017-18

Players Mentioned

Ryan Burnett

Mason Elmore

Peter Fountain

Austin Greaser

George McNeely

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