University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Golf Opens Sept. 11 at Duke
August 26, 2021 | Men's Golf
Five New Events Highlight 2021-22 Schedule
Carolina will compete this season in a blend of new and recurring tournaments and courses as coaches Andrew DiBitetto and Matt Clark, in their fifth year together, chart an ambitious path for the future of Tar Heel men's golf.
UNC will open the season in just over two weeks on September 11-12 at Duke in the Rod Myers Invitational. That is one of at least four tournaments on the schedule Carolina has played in the very recent past. A fifth could be the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., which will host the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year beginning in late May.
Carolina is also returning to Olympia Fields Country Club in mid-September for the Fighting Illini Invitational, Florida State's Camp Creek Seminole Invitational in Watersound, Fla., in February and Arizona State's Thunderbird Collegiate in Phoenix in April in the final regular-season tournament of the spring.
The Tar Heels tied for fifth in the 2021 NCAA Championship, securing one of eight spots to advance after 72 holes of stroke play. UNC lost to Arizona State in the quarterfinals, but returns four All-Americas – Ryan Burnett, Peter Fountain, Ryan Gerard and Austin Greaser – and add freshman David Ford, the No. 1 ranked junior in the country.
Fountain won the 2021 ACC championship and earned first-team All-America and Nicklaus Team honors as a freshman; Greaser was an honorable mention All-America and All-ACC selection last season, then reached the semifinals of the Western Amateur and finals of the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont earlier this month; Burnett was a second-team All-America in 2020 and has the lowest career average in UNC history; and Gerard returns for a fifth season due to NCAA Covid-related rules with the third-best stroke average ever by a Tar Heel. Gerard also earned All-America honors two seasons ago.
First up among five new tournaments for the Tar Heels is the Blessings Collegiate Invitational presented by Tyson Foods at the Blessings Golf Club in Johnson, Ark., site of the 2019 NCAA Men's and Women's Championships. Both the Carolina men's and women's teams will be competing at the Blessings with nine other schools in a 54-hole event that GOLF Channel will broadcast live October 4-6.
The final tournament of the fall is The Williams Cup presented by Stitch Golf® October 25-26 at the Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington. The event, hosted by Carolina, honors former Tar Heel men's basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda.
"We wanted to acknowledge in a special and memorable way Roy and Wanda's generosity that has made an enormously positive impact on college athletics, the University of North Carolina and our golf program," says DiBitetto, who has led UNC to top-20 finishes in each of the last three NCAA Championships contested (2018, 2019 and 2021).
UNC will host the 10-team tournament, which also includes Georgia, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Michigan State, NC State, UNCW and Vanderbilt.
The 2022 portion of the schedule features a trio of events UNC is adding to its schedule as well as a new home for the ACC Championship. The Tar Heels open the spring February 14 in The Bahamas at Auburn's Albany Collegiate Invitational.
In March, Carolina makes its first trip since 2015 to the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation in Georgia and a first-ever appearance in the Valspar Intercollegiate at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
The ACC Championship, in its second season of combining three rounds of stroke play followed by two flights of match play to crown a champion, heads to the Greg Norman-designed Shark's Tooth Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla.
This is the second time in ACC history its champion will be crowned in the state of Florida. Last season, Carolina won the stroke play portion in record-setting fashion, shooting 26-under 814, the fewest strokes in school history in a 54-hole tournament and the fewest in ACC Championship history.
"We're really excited about the schedule we set up this year," says DiBitetto. "We will play in several parts of the country, as well as on different types of grass and conditions which helps prepare us for the post-season. Our guys are embracing the idea of competing against the best teams in the country throughout our entire schedule this season.
"It's fair to say our guys are looking forward to the Albany Collegiate in The Bahamas and we're ecstatic about our new event at Eagle Point in Wilmington. Eagle Point is a phenomenal overall experience and golf course and having Roy and Wanda Williams as a part of that event is incredibly special."
2021-22 Men's Golf Schedule
September 11-12
Rod Myers Invitational
Washington Duke G.C.
Durham, N.C.
September 17-19
Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
Olympia Fields C.C.
Olympia Fields, Ill.
October 4-6
Blessings Collegiate Invitational presented by Tyson Foods
Blessings G.C.
Johnson, Ark.
October 25-26
The Williams Cup presented by STITCH Golf®
Eagle Point G.C.
Wilmington, N.C.
February 14-16
Albany Collegiate Invitational
Albany G.C.
New Providence, The Bahamas
February 20-22
Camp Creek Seminole Invitational
Camp Creek G.C.
Watersound, Fla.
March 20-22
Linger Longer Invitational
Reynolds Plantation, Great Waters G.C.
Greensboro, Ga.
March 28-29
Valspar Intercollegiate
Floridian National G.C.
Palm City, Fla.
April 15-16
ASU Thunderbird Collegiate
Papago G.C.
Phoenix, Ariz.
April 22-25
ACC Championship
Panama City Beach, Fla.
Shark's Tooth G.C.
May 16-18
NCAA Regionals
May 27-June 1
NCAA Championship
Grayhawk G.C.
Scottsdale, Ariz.
UNC will open the season in just over two weeks on September 11-12 at Duke in the Rod Myers Invitational. That is one of at least four tournaments on the schedule Carolina has played in the very recent past. A fifth could be the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., which will host the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year beginning in late May.
Carolina is also returning to Olympia Fields Country Club in mid-September for the Fighting Illini Invitational, Florida State's Camp Creek Seminole Invitational in Watersound, Fla., in February and Arizona State's Thunderbird Collegiate in Phoenix in April in the final regular-season tournament of the spring.
The Tar Heels tied for fifth in the 2021 NCAA Championship, securing one of eight spots to advance after 72 holes of stroke play. UNC lost to Arizona State in the quarterfinals, but returns four All-Americas – Ryan Burnett, Peter Fountain, Ryan Gerard and Austin Greaser – and add freshman David Ford, the No. 1 ranked junior in the country.
Fountain won the 2021 ACC championship and earned first-team All-America and Nicklaus Team honors as a freshman; Greaser was an honorable mention All-America and All-ACC selection last season, then reached the semifinals of the Western Amateur and finals of the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont earlier this month; Burnett was a second-team All-America in 2020 and has the lowest career average in UNC history; and Gerard returns for a fifth season due to NCAA Covid-related rules with the third-best stroke average ever by a Tar Heel. Gerard also earned All-America honors two seasons ago.
First up among five new tournaments for the Tar Heels is the Blessings Collegiate Invitational presented by Tyson Foods at the Blessings Golf Club in Johnson, Ark., site of the 2019 NCAA Men's and Women's Championships. Both the Carolina men's and women's teams will be competing at the Blessings with nine other schools in a 54-hole event that GOLF Channel will broadcast live October 4-6.
The final tournament of the fall is The Williams Cup presented by Stitch Golf® October 25-26 at the Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington. The event, hosted by Carolina, honors former Tar Heel men's basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda.
"We wanted to acknowledge in a special and memorable way Roy and Wanda's generosity that has made an enormously positive impact on college athletics, the University of North Carolina and our golf program," says DiBitetto, who has led UNC to top-20 finishes in each of the last three NCAA Championships contested (2018, 2019 and 2021).
UNC will host the 10-team tournament, which also includes Georgia, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Michigan State, NC State, UNCW and Vanderbilt.
The 2022 portion of the schedule features a trio of events UNC is adding to its schedule as well as a new home for the ACC Championship. The Tar Heels open the spring February 14 in The Bahamas at Auburn's Albany Collegiate Invitational.
In March, Carolina makes its first trip since 2015 to the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation in Georgia and a first-ever appearance in the Valspar Intercollegiate at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
The ACC Championship, in its second season of combining three rounds of stroke play followed by two flights of match play to crown a champion, heads to the Greg Norman-designed Shark's Tooth Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla.
This is the second time in ACC history its champion will be crowned in the state of Florida. Last season, Carolina won the stroke play portion in record-setting fashion, shooting 26-under 814, the fewest strokes in school history in a 54-hole tournament and the fewest in ACC Championship history.
"We're really excited about the schedule we set up this year," says DiBitetto. "We will play in several parts of the country, as well as on different types of grass and conditions which helps prepare us for the post-season. Our guys are embracing the idea of competing against the best teams in the country throughout our entire schedule this season.
"It's fair to say our guys are looking forward to the Albany Collegiate in The Bahamas and we're ecstatic about our new event at Eagle Point in Wilmington. Eagle Point is a phenomenal overall experience and golf course and having Roy and Wanda Williams as a part of that event is incredibly special."
2021-22 Men's Golf Schedule
September 11-12
Rod Myers Invitational
Washington Duke G.C.
Durham, N.C.
September 17-19
Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational
Olympia Fields C.C.
Olympia Fields, Ill.
October 4-6
Blessings Collegiate Invitational presented by Tyson Foods
Blessings G.C.
Johnson, Ark.
October 25-26
The Williams Cup presented by STITCH Golf®
Eagle Point G.C.
Wilmington, N.C.
February 14-16
Albany Collegiate Invitational
Albany G.C.
New Providence, The Bahamas
February 20-22
Camp Creek Seminole Invitational
Camp Creek G.C.
Watersound, Fla.
March 20-22
Linger Longer Invitational
Reynolds Plantation, Great Waters G.C.
Greensboro, Ga.
March 28-29
Valspar Intercollegiate
Floridian National G.C.
Palm City, Fla.
April 15-16
ASU Thunderbird Collegiate
Papago G.C.
Phoenix, Ariz.
April 22-25
ACC Championship
Panama City Beach, Fla.
Shark's Tooth G.C.
May 16-18
NCAA Regionals
May 27-June 1
NCAA Championship
Grayhawk G.C.
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
UNC Women's Basketball: Tar Heels Fend Off Columbia, Go 3-0 in Cancun Challenge
Saturday, November 29
UNC Women's Basketball: Tar Heels Outshoot Kansas State, 85-73
Friday, November 28
WBB: Post-South Dakota State - Nov. 27, 2025
Thursday, November 27
UNC Women's Basketball: Nivar Records Triple Double in Win vs SDSU, 83-48
Thursday, November 27