North Carolina
The Williams Cup presented by STITCH Golf Day One
Men's Golf Hosts 2nd Williams Cup Friday-Sunday At Eagle Point
October 20, 2022 | Men's Golf
Carolina men's golf could make it three wins in a row should it defend its title from a year ago when the Tar Heels head to Wilmington as the host of the second Williams Cup presented by STITCH Golf® at Eagle Point Golf Club.
The tournament was created by UNC head coach Andrew DiBitetto to honor former Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda, for their generous support of college athletics, the university and the men's golf program.
The 2022 tournament will be played Friday through Sunday, Oct. 21-23. The Tar Heels will compete against  Charlotte, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, Louisville, Michigan State, NC State and UNCW.
Carolina begins play Friday at 9:20 a.m. paired with Big Ten rivals Indiana and Michigan State.
The individual medalist earns an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour's UNC Health Championship at the Raleigh Country Club on June 1-4, 2023.
Golfweek ranks the Tar Heels No. 3 in the country (UNC is No. 8 in Golfstat). Carolina's lineup includes three players in the top eight in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings – senior Austin Greaser at No. 5, senior Dylan Menante at No. 7 and sophomore David Ford, coming off a win at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club, at No. 8.
Greaser (No. 2), Menante (No. 9) and fifth-year senior Ryan Burnett (No. 20) are positioned in the Top 20 in the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global rankings for senior players; UNC is the only team in the nation with three players in the top 20 in the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global rankings.
Carolina followed a disappointing 11th-place performance in September at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational with wins at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth and the Stephens Cup.
The Tar Heels shot 15 under par (278-272-275) to beat six top-10 teams at the Hogan with Greaser (third), Ford (sixth) and Menante (eighth) each posting top-10 finishes (and Burnett was 15th and Peter Fountain 27th for five players in the top 30).
A week later in south Florida, Carolina beat a seven-team field by 20 shots through 54 holes of stroke play, then edged Florida State, 3-2, in match play for the championship. The Tar Heels were 43 under par in stroke play (the third lowest score to par in school history) with rounds of 272-272-277, led by Ford's 62 in the second round en route to his first collegiate title. The Peachtree Corners, Ga., native finished 16-under 200, four shots clear of the field.
All five Tar Heels placed in the top 10 at Seminole with Greaser fourth, Burnett and Fountain sixth and Menante 10th. Burnett, Greaser and Menante provided the winning points in match play to bring home the hardware.
UNC won the team title in the 2021 Williams Cup by nine strokes over Georgia. The Bulldogs' Trent Phillips was the individual medalist to secure an exemption to the Korn Ferry Tour's Rex Hospital Open.
Carolina shot 283-281-283 for a 17-under 847. Ford (71-67-69) was second at 9-under 207, Greaser was fourth at 6 under and Fountain finished fifth at 2 under. Kenan Poole shot 67 in the final round as an individual entry.
Phillips shot 64-69-68 for a 15-under 201. He was the only player to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds.
NC State's Maximilian Steinlechner shot the low round of the tournament, a 63 in the second round. Ten of the 60 players in the field finished the 54 holes below par.
Eagle Point opened in 2000. The Tom Fazio-designed course is a nearly 7,300-yard trek through live oaks, sabal palms and the coastal waters of Wilmington. Golf Digest ranks Eagle Point one of America's Top 100 courses. In 2017, Brian Harman won the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point.
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Players Mentioned
