No. 2-ranked FSU Topples Men's Golf in ACC Semifinal

Sunday, April 25

Milton, Ga. (Capital City Club-Crabapple Course)

8:30 a.m.

North Carolina

ACC Championship Round Three

April 25, 2021 | Men's Golf

Final Stroke Play Results

Fountain First UNC Freshman to Win ACC Golf Title

By: Steve Kirschner

ACC SEMIFINAL MATCH PLAY SUMMARY VS. FLORIDA STATE
(UNC WINS STROKE PLAY AND PETER FOUNTAIN'S ACC TITLE FOLLOWS)

Florida State, the No. 2-ranked men's golf team in the nation, defeated the University of North Carolina, 4-1, in match play Sunday afternoon in one semifinal at the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship at the Capital City Club's Crabapple Course in Milton, Ga.

The Seminoles will play Clemson, in Monday's championship match. The Tigers defeated NC State, 3-1-1, in the other semifinal.

Earlier Sunday, concluding about half an hour before the semifinal match began, the Tar Heels won the stroke play portion of the tournament, setting a school record and an ACC Championship record with a 26-under-par 814 finish. UNC's 814 strokes are the fewest in any tournament in UNC history and the fewest by any school in a three-round ACC Tournament.

However, this is the first season the ACC men's golf champion is determined after two rounds of match play, rather than stroke play. It was the first time UNC won the stroke portion since 2006.

Carolina had defeated the Seminoles by 31 shots in the three rounds of stroke play. FSU earned the fourth seed in match play by holding off both Georgia Tech and Wake Forest by a stroke.

"Our emotions are all over the board," says UNC head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "We won, but we didn't, then we lost, all in a matter of a few hours. And we can't stand losing. The schedule was thrown off due to the weather on Saturday which created a situation where some teams had less than two hours between stroke play and match play and others had about 45 minutes. We had 45 minutes and there was a lot going on, especially with (Austin) Hitt, (Ryan) Burnette and (Austin) Greaser in contention for the individual title and Peter (Fountain) winning the ACC individual championship. Match play came quickly and we probably weren't where we needed to be mentally. However, this is exactly why the format was changed at the ACC Championship. It was changed to better prepare all ACC teams for the format at the NCAA Championship. We learned a lot and will be better because of our experiences today.

"Our guys were unbelievable during stroke play. They dominated a difficult golf course that was very firm and fast for the first two rounds, they soundly beat one of the best golf conferences in the country, leading from start to finish and broke several records. It was a historic and remarkable performance. All of our guys played with poise, confidence and tremendous discipline. We are happy and thrilled for all of them."

UNC freshman Peter Fountain won the ACC individual title at 10-under-par 200. He became the first Tar Heel to win the title since 2003, the first UNC freshman to ever win the ACC title and the 10th freshman in league history to do so.

"Peter was phenomenal again," says DiBitetto. "He's really good, clutch and has tremendous belief in himself. This was a big-time win and we are very proud of him. Hitt, Burney and Greaser were excellent as well and if a couple things go their way, any of them could've won. Having four guys finish in the top 5 in one of the best, if not the best, conference in the country is amazing."

Senior Austin Hitt finished third, his highest finish in four career ACC Championships, at 8-under 202.

Fountain and Hitt both lost their semifinal matches, 5&4.

Frederik Kjettrup won the first two holes and added wins on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes to defeat Fountain.

Hitt won the first hole against Greyson Porter, but Porter pulled even at the fourth, won the fifth and sixth holes to lead by two and won another three consecutive holes to begin the back nine.

Austin Greaser, who tied for fifth place in stroke play, delivered Carolina its one point, defeating No. 1 nationally-ranked John Pak, 4&3. Greaser jumped out to an early lead, winning the first two holes and added another win at the seventh to lead by three. He finished off the top-ranked Seminole with wins on the 14th and 15th holes.

Greaser was one of only three players (with Clemson's Jacob Bridgeman and Kyle Cottam) who finished among the top eight in stroke play to win his semifinal match. The top eight included Fountain, NC State's Benjamin Shipp and Hitt – who went 1-2-3 in stroke play – along with Pak and Carolina's Ryan Burnett, who lost to FSU's Brett Roberts.

Burnett led by two holes through 10, but Roberts won the 11th and 12th holes to square the match and took the 15th and 16th holes to win 2&1.

FSU's Vincent Normann defeated UNC senior Ryan Gerard 3&1. The match was even through 12 holes before Normann reeled off wins at 13, 16 and 17.

Carolina returns to competition in one of six NCAA regionals on May 17-19. Bids to the NCAA Men's Golf Tournament will be announced on the Golf Channel on May 5 at 2 p.m.

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Match Play Semifinals

Florida State 4, UNC 1

Frederik Kjettrup (FSU) defeated Peter Fountain (UNC) 5&4

Greyson Porter (FSU) defeated Austin Hitt (UNC) 5&4

Brett Roberts (FSU) defeated Ryan Burnett (UNC) 2&1

Vincent Norrman (FSU) defeated Ryan Gerard (UNC) 3&1

Austin Greaser (UNC) defeated John Pak (FSU) 4&3

SUNDAY'S EARLIER STORY SUMMARIZING STROKE PLAY AND PETER FOUNTAIN WINNING ACC INDIVIDUAL TITLE

Peter Fountain shot a final-round 66 on Sunday to win the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference men's golf individual title, the first Tar Heel to win the league championship since 2003 and the first UNC freshman ever to do so.

Four Tar Heels finished in the top five in the individual standings, which propelled Carolina to a first-place finish in the 54-hole stroke play portion of the championship. UNC won the top seed in the match play semifinals against Florida State, which finished fourth.

The ACC Championship is being contested at the Capital City Club's Crabapple Course (par 70) in Milton, Ga.

Clemson and NC State finished second and third, respectively, in stroke play behind Carolina and square off in the other semifinal.

The Tar Heels shot 26-under-par 814 for the three rounds of stroke play, 15 strokes ahead of Clemson (829). NC State was third (831) and Florida State fourth (845). Georgia Tech and Wake Forest tied for fifth place at 846.

Carolina's 814 total is the lowest 54-hole score in UNC men's golf history. The previous record was 815 in the 2017 Tar Heel Intercollegiate at UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill. Ben Griffin, Jose Montaño, Preyer Fountain (Peter's brother), William Register and Hitt combined for the record.

Carolina was tied with NC State for the best first round (6-under 274), had the best round ever in ACC Tourney play and school record for fewest strokes in round two (15-under 265) and the best team score in today's third round (5-under 275). Clemson was 2 under today, the only other team in the 12-team field to shoot under par on Sunday.

The Tar Heels also finished first in stroke play, therefore winning the league title, at ACC Championships in 1956, 1960, 1965, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1995, 1996 and 2006.

"Our guys were unbelievable during stroke play," says UNC head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "They dominated a difficult golf course that was very firm and fast for the first two rounds, they soundly beat one of the best golf conferences in the country, leading from start to finish and broke several records. It was a historic and remarkable performance. All of our guys played with poise, confidence and tremendous discipline. We are happy and thrilled for all of them."

Fountain is the 10^th freshmen to win an ACC Championship and the first since Georgia Tech's Cameron Tringale in 2006.

The Raleigh, N.C., native tied the all-time record for fewest strokes in an ACC Championship. Fountain shot 71-63-66 for a 10-under-par total of 200. Virginia's Thomas Walsh also shot 200 on the par-72 Old North State Course in New London, N.C., in 2018.

Fountain tied the ACC Championship's 18-hole record on Friday with a second-round 63 that lifted him into a tie for third place at 6-under-par, two strokes off the lead. Rain postponed play on Saturday and Fountain started slowly in today's third round, bogeying the first and third holes to fall three strokes behind NC State's Benjamin Shipp after four holes.

Fountain made birdies at the fifth and seventh holes, then began a birdie run at the 12^th hole to tie Shipp and UNC senior Austin Hitt for the lead at 8 under. Shipp regained the lead with a birdie of his own at 12, but Fountain surged ahead with birdies at 13, 14 and 15, and Shipp made bogey at 13, to give the Tar Heel freshman a three-stroke advantage.

Fountain made pars at 16 and 17 and bogeyed 18 for the eventual one-stroke margin of victory over Shipp and two over Hitt. It was Fountain's second win (he also has two second-place finishes) in seven tournaments this spring.

"Peter was phenomenal again," says DiBitetto. "He's really good, clutch and has tremendous belief in himself. This was a big-time win and we are very proud of him. Hitt, Burney and Greaser were excellent as well and if a couple things go their way, any of them could've won. Having four guys finish in the top 5 in one of the best, if not the best, conference in the country is amazing."

Hitt's third-place finish was the best of his career in four ACC Tournament starts and his sixth career top-5 in any collegiate tournament. He shot 68-66-66 for 8-under 202.

Burnett (66-67-73) and Greaser (69-69-68) tied for fifth at 4-under 206.

Hitt and Greaser join Ben Griffin (2018) as the only Tar Heels to shoot all three rounds in the 60s in an ACC Championship.