Maxwell Ford Wins 4th Playoff Hole, UNC Edges GT At East Lake Cup

Tuesday, October 31

Atlanta, Ga. (Atlanta Athletic Club)

All Day

North Carolina

East Lake Cup Day Two

Maxwell Ford Wins 4th Playoff Hole, UNC Edges GT At East Lake Cup

October 31, 2023 | Men's Golf

By: Steve Kirschner

Maxwell Ford won the final two holes of regulation then won his match on the fourth extra hole to provide the winning margin as the top-ranked University of North Carolina men's golf team held off No. 5 Georgia Tech, 3-2, in the semifinals of the East Lake Cup at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

The match was a rematch of the 2023 NCAA semifinals, which the Yellow Jackets, won, 3-2.

Carolina will play Florida State in the championship match of the East Lake Cup on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. The final match will air on Golf Channel beginning at 3 p.m. UNC and FSU played last October in the finals of the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club, where the Tar Heels won, 3-2.

Maxwell Ford needed to win the final two holes against Kale Fontenot today to force a playoff. Ford won the 17^th with a par then birdied the par-5 18^th hole. The players halved the first three playoff holes before Ford stuck his chip shot to 2 feet to win with a par on the 22^nd hole.

Ford's victory came just moments after Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech's first-team All-America, defeated Kenan Poole on the 21^st hole.

Poole rallied twice late to tie the match, making a 25-footer for birdie on the 15^th and a 12-foot birdie on the 17^th. Lamprecht, who led the 2023 Open Championship after 18 holes, and Poole played the entire match with neither player leading by more than a hole. Lamprecht won six holes and Poole won five.

UNC All-Americas David Ford and Austin Greaser posted decisive victories to put the Tar Heels' first two points on the board.

David Ford won the first four holes against Hiroshi Tai and closed out the match with a birdie on the 14^th hole for a 5&4 victory. That was the only individual rematch from the 2023 NCAA semifinals, which Ford won 1 up.

Greaser was tied with Bartley Forrester through seven holes, won the eighth and ninth to go 2 up, added wins on 12 and 15 and secured the point with a half on 16 for a 3&2 win.

Georgia Tech's Carson Kim beat Peter Fountain 4&3 in the opening match.

UNC 3, Georgia Tech 2
Carson Kim (GT) def. Peter Fountain (UNC), 4&3
Austin Greaser (UNC) def. Bartley Forrester (GT), 3&2
David Ford (UNC) def. Hiroshi Tai (GT), 5&4
Maxwell Ford (UNC) def. Kale Fontenot (GT), 22nd hole
Christo Lamprecht (GT) def. Kenan Poole (UNC), 21st hole