North Carolina
NCAA Championship Day One
Men's Golf NCAA Championship Play Begins Friday
May 25, 2023 | Men's Golf
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
• Carolina is the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Championship. The Tar Heels have improved from the No. 22 seed in 2017 to No. 13 in 2018, No. 25 in 2019, No. 6 in 2021, No. 5 in 2022 and No. 2 this season.
• The Tar Heels will be paired with No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 3 Illinois in the first two rounds.
• Carolina is one of five schools to finish in the top 20 in the last five NCAA Championships with Arizona State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt.
• Carolina has the fifth-longest streak of advancing to the NCAA Championship round (16–Texas, 12–Oklahoma, 9–Vanderbilt, 8–Arizona State and 6–North Carolina).
• UNC has advanced out of regional play six straight times for the first time since advancing 12 consecutive seasons from 1989-2000.
• Carolina is the only ACC team to advance out of regional play to the NCAA Championship round in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
• UNC has finished in the top 20 in five straight NCAA Championships for the first time since 1993-97.
• The Tar Heels have finished T-18th in 2017, 15th in 2018, 19th in 2019, tied for 5th in 2021 and tied for fifth in 2022 (no NCAA Tournament was held in 2020 due to the pandemic).
• Carolina is playing in the NCAA Championship for the 48th time. The Tar Heels have 23 top-10 finishes, including eight top-five finishes.
• Including regional play in seasons UNC did not advance to the championship round the Tar Heels are playing in their 55th NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina's best finishes include a pair of second-places in 1953 and 1991, third in 1993, fourth in 1960 and 1984, fifth in 1978 and tied for fifth in 2021 and 2022.
• Harvie Ward won the NCAA title in 1949 in Ames, Iowa, and John Inman won in 1984 in Houston.
• Each of the 30 teams plays three rounds of stroke play May 26-28. The top 15 teams advance to a fourth round on May 29. Eight teams qualify for match play, with semifinal and quarterfinal matches on May 30 and the national championship match is slated for May 31.
• Carolina's lineup has played a combined 48 competitive stroke and mnatch play rounds at Grayhawk, led by Dylan Menante with 13.
Ryan Burnett, Peter Fountain, Austin Greaser and Menante are playing in their third NCAA Championship at Grayhawk (Menante played for Pepperdine in 2021 and 2022, winning an NCAA title with the Waves in 2021). David Ford is playing in his second NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.
• Burnett also played in the NCAA Championship as a freshman in 2019. He made the cut after shooting 70-71 in the second and third rounds at the Blessings in Fayetteville, Ark., and finished tied for 30th at 9-over 297.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE AT GRAYHAWK
2021 70-71-71-69 (7-over 287)
2022 71-69-70-70 (even-par 280) 2nd place in playoff
8 rounds: 70.88 average, low of 69 twice
0-2 in match play
2022 71-70-69-71 (1-over 281)
4 rounds: 70.25 average, low of 69
1-0 in match play
2021 73-68-69-72 (2-over 282)
2022 75-82-71-75 (23-over 303)
8 rounds: 73.13 average, low of 68
1-1 in match play
2021 78-70-73-68 (19-over 299)
2022 73-72-74-69 (8-over 288)
8 rounds: 73.38 average, low of 68
1-0-1 in match play
2021 70-74-72-67 (3-over 283)
2022 76-73-66-77 (12-over 292)
8 rounds: 71.88 average, low of 66
2-2-1 in match play
2022 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
• Carolina advanced to match play and tied for fifth place for the second straight year. It was the first time in UNC history the men's golf team finished in the top five in consecutive seasons.
• UNC shot 14-over 1134 to tie Oklahoma and Vanderbilt for first place after 72 holes of stroke play, the best finish ever by the Tar Heels in stroke play.
• Ryan Burnett tied for second and David Ford tied for fifth in stroke play. It was the first time UNC had two players in the top five in an NCAA Championship.
• Carolina was the only team to have two players in the top five in the NCAA Championship.
• Burnett tied for first after 72 holes of stroke play at even-par 280. He made par on the first hole of a four-man playoff, which Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent won with a birdie.
• Sargent was the only freshman to finish higher than Ford, who shot 1-over 281 and was one stroke out of the playoff.
• Burnett's second-place finish was the best by a Tar Heel since John Inman was champion in 1984 (Burnett became the fourth Tar Heel to finish in the top two in an NCAA Championship).
• Burnett's even-par finish was Carolina's best in an NCAA Championship since Ben Griffin shot 2 under in 2017.
• The last Tar Heel prior to Burnett and Ford to finish in the top five was Tom Scherrer, who was fourth in 1991.
• Burnett led the entire field in par-3 scoring over the four rounds of stroke play at 5 under par (2.69).
• Ford tied the lead for par-4 scoring at 1 over (4.02) and was tied for sixth in par-5 scoring at 3 under (4.63).
• Austin Greaser equaled the best scoring in the field on par 5s at 4 under (4.50).
TAR HEEL LINEUP (listed alphabetically)
Ryan Burnett– Fifth-Year Senior, Lafayette, Calif.
David Ford– Sophomore, Peachtree Corners, Ga.
Peter Fountain– Junior, Raleigh, N.C.
Austin Greaser– Senior, Vandalia, Ohio
Dylan Menante– Senior, Carlsbad, Calif.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Golfstat/Golfweek: UNC (2/3), Ryan Burnett (31/23), David Ford (10/7), Peter Fountain (227/172), Austin Greaser (27/31), Dylan Menante (38/38)
World Amateur Golf Rankings: David Ford (4), Austin Greaser (6), Dylan Menante (14), Ryan Burnett (42), Peter Fountain (99)
2022-23 SEASON RECAP
• The Tar Heels have won five team titles this season, tied for the third most in school history and the most since winning six in 1985-86.
– Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, Colonial CC, Fort Worth, Texas
– Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Seminole GC, Juno Beach, Fla.
– Williams Cup, Eagle Point GC, Wilmington, N.C.
– Valspar Collegiate Invitational, Floridian National GC, Palm City, Fla.
– The Calusa Cup, Calusa Pines GC, Naples, Fla.
• Golfweek/Sagarin ranks two of Carolina's wins among the top three toughest fields in tournament golf this season. The Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational is ranked No. 2 and The Calusa Cup is ranked third. Another Tar Heel win, the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, had the 13th-toughest field.
• This season the Tar Heels have played in four of the six most competitive tournament fields – No. 2 Hogan, No. 3 Calusa, No. 5 Southern Highlands and No. 6 Olympia Fields.
Strength of Field (as of May 22)
69.64 East Lake (four-team field)
70.22 Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational – UNC won
70.29 The Calusa Cup – UNC won
• Carolina has won 15 team titles in the last six seasons under the direction of head coach Andrew DiBitetto and associate head coach Matt Clark.
• Tar Heel players have also won three times this season:
– David Ford won the Stephens Cup (16-under 200)
– Ryan Burnett won the Calusa Cup (5-under 211)
– Burnett won the NCAA Salem Regional (17-under 199)
• Burnett is the first Tar Heel to win three collegiate titles since Ben Griffin.
• Burnett became the second Tar Heel to win an NCAA regional in as many seasons. Austin Greaser was the first Tar Heel ever to win a regional when he won the NCAA Yale Regional in 2022.
• Carolina's lineup includes five players who have played in previous NCAA Championships, five who have earned at least honorable mention All-America honors, five who have earned all-conference honors, three who have won conference player-of-the-year or conference championships, two who have won NCAA regionals, three that have represented or will represent the U.S. Palmer Cup competition and one member of an NCAA team championship.
• Carolina is on pace to set school records for stroke average per round (280.27) and score to par per round (-4.82). The previous bests were set a year ago (281.35 and -3.84).
• The Tar Heels are on pace to break the school records for stroke average and score to par for the fourth consecutive season.
• Sophomore David Ford became the first Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors (award began in 1992).
• Ford is the first sophomore to win ACC Player of the Year since 2010 when Florida State's Brooks Koepka and Virginia's Ben Kohles, both sophomores, were co-winners.
• Four Tar Heels earned All-ACC honors, the first time UNC ever had ever had four on the All-ACC team. Player of the Year David Ford was joined on the team by Ryan Burnett, Austin Greaser and Dylan Menante.
• David Ford is one of 10 finalists for the Fred Haskins Award. Ford and Austin Greaser were among the final 10 for the Ben Hogan Award.
• Ford and Greaser were named to the United States Palmer Cup team, will compete June 8-10 at the Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa., outside of Pittsburgh.
• Associate head coach Matt Clark is an assistant coach for Team USA at the Palmer Cup.
• Tar Heels have won several major amateur events, including David Ford (2022 Southern Amateur and 2023 Jones Cup), Austin Greaser (2022 Western Amateur) and Dylan Menante (2021 and 2022 Northeast Amateurs). Greaser also was runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Amateur and played for Team USA at the 2022 World Team Amateur Championship in Paris. Menante was a semifinalist at the 2022 U.S. Amateur.
• Head coach Andrew DiBitetto was named ACC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. He joins former Georgia Tech coach Puggy Blackmon, current Yellow Jacket head coach Bruce Heppler and former Clemson head coach Larry Penley as the only individuals to win ACC Coach-of-the-Year honors in consecutive seasons.
2023 NCAA SALEM (S.C.) REGIONAL
• Ryan Burnett won the individual title by two strokes and UNC advanced by finishing third in a 14-team field at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls.
• Carolina shot 18-under-par 270 in the final round to finish third at 43-under 821 behind Georgia Tech (-53) and Arkansas (-45).
• Burnett (63-68-68) made his fourth and final birdie of the day on the 18th hole and was bogey-free for the round to shoot his second straight 68 and finish the tournament at 17-under 199, two ahead of Furman's Sam Lape, who shot a 64 in the final round.
• Burnett's 54-hole totals (17-under 199) equaled the third best in UNC history and were the best ever by a Tar Heel in an NCAA regional.
• Dylan Menante (70-70-64) made nine birdies and only one bogey to shoot a season-low 64 on the final day, which earned him a tie for sixth place at 12-under 204. Menante made six birdies and shot 6-under 30 on the front side.
• Burnett won his third collegiate title and second this season. He opened the regional by tying his career best with a 63. He also shot 63 as a freshman in the third round of the 2019 NCAA Stanford Regional.
• Burnett is the second Tar Heel to win medalist honors at an NCAA regional in as many seasons. Austin Greaser won the 2022 NCAA Yale Regional.
• Greaser (67-70-69) shot 69 in the final round in Salem to tie for 11th at 10-under 206. He also shot 10 under (200) last year in winning the regional in New Haven, Conn.
• David Ford (75-70-69) and Peter Fountain (73-74-71) both shot their best rounds of the regional in the final round.
• The Tar Heels shot 43 under par for the tournament, which tied the second-best score to par in UNC history. Carolina's 821 total matched its 54-hole total from the 2022 Yale Regional and equaled the third-best 54-hole result in any tournament in UNC history.
FIVE MEDALISTS IN THE LINEUP
• Each of the Tar Heels playing in Scottsdale have won college tournaments.
• Burnett is a three-time medalist. He won the Turning Stone (Missouri) Tiger Invitational in Verona, N.Y., as a sophomore in September 2019 and has two victories this season – in early April at the Calusa Cup and last week at the NCAA Salem Regional. He won wire-to-wire in both of his victories this season and led after the second round in his first title at Turning Stone (was tied for second two strokes off the lead after 18 holes at Turning Stone).
• Peter Fountain, Austin Greaser and Dylan Menante are each two-time medalists.
• Fountain won the Tar Heel Intercollegiate and ACC Championship as a freshman in 2021. He also tied for first in stroke play (13-under 203) in the 2022 ACC Championship.
• Gerard won twice as a junior, at Olympia Fields, when he holed out from the fairway on the final hole, and the NCAA Yale Regional.
• Menante picked up a pair of titles as a junior at Pepperdine, winning in consecutive starts at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and the Western Intercollegiate. He shot 64-65-70 for a 14-under 199 at the Floridian National Golf Club to win the Valspar and a final-round 67 to win the Western at Pasotiempo.
• David Ford won the stroke play portion of the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club back in October. He made eight consecutive birdies en route to a record-tying 10-under-par 62 in the second round. That tied the UNC record for strokes under par in a round and was one off UNC's 18-hole stroke record. Ryan Gerard shot a 10-under 61 in 2018 at Notre Dame.
• Ford made birdies on holes 3, 5 and 9 to shoot 3-under 33 on the front and 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 for a 7-under 29 on the back nine. His 62 at Seminole equaled his best competitive round and was his best in a collegiate event as a Tar Heel. He shot 62 in the second round of the 2022 Southern Amateur in St. Simons Island, Ga., and the third round of the 2020 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
ALL-TIME, SINGLE-SEASON SCORING LEADERS
• Current Tar Heels hold the top four spots in UNC career stroke average and eight of the 10-best single-season scoring averages in school history.
• David Ford (70.20), Austin Greaser (71.25), Ryan Burnett (71.33) and Peter Fountain (71.55) rank one through four in UNC career scoring.
• Dylan Menante's career average is 70.95, which includes three seasons at Pepperdine where he averaged 70.98 and this season, his first as a Tar Heel (70.88).
• Fountain set the single-season UNC record at 69.68 in 2020-21. Ford is currently second at 69.82 this season and also has the fifth-best average (70.54 in 2021-22).
• Burnett and Greaser also have two of the 10 best and Menante is eighth.
• Ford and Greaser are the only two Tar Heels to play multiple seasons and have cumulative scores below par. Ford is 76 under par in 70 rounds (1.09 below par per round) and Greaser is 5 under par.
• Ford has shot below par in 16 of 23 tournaments and 44 of 70 rounds over two seasons.
• Ford (-48), Burnett (-24), Greaser (-13) and Menante (-13) have each shot under par for the season.
RECORD NUMBER OF ALL-ACC HONORS
• Carolina has earned 10 All-ACC honors in the last three seasons.
• David Ford, Ryan Burnett, Austin Greaser and Dylan Menante earned All-ACC honors this season, the first in which four Tar Heels made the All-ACC team.
• Greaser is the first Tar Heel to earn three All-ACC awards since Dustin Bray was a four-time honoree from 2001-04.
• Greaser is the ninth Tar Heel to make the All-ACC team at least three times, joining Bray, John McGough, Frank Fuhrer, John Inman, Davis Love III, Tee Burton, Pat Moore and Max Harris.
• Menante also earned his third all-conference award. He played at Pepperdine from 2019-22 and was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
• David Ford became the first Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors (award began in 1992). The 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year earned his second All-ACC award.
• Ford is the first sophomore to win ACC Player of the Year since 2010 when Florida State's Brooks Koepka and Virginia's Ben Kohles, both sophomores, were co-winners.
• Ford is the first to win ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons since Koepka in 2010 and 2011.
• Fifth-year senior Ryan Burnett earned his first All-ACC honor. He would have qualified for All-ACC honors as a sophomore in 2020. He set the UNC single-season scoring record and Golfweek named him a second-team All-America but the ACC did not have all-conference teams in the spring due to the pandemic.
2021 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP AT GRAYHAWK
• Carolina tied for fifth after losing to Arizona State 3-1-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Tar Heels advanced to match play by finishing eighth over 72 holes of stroke play, seven shots ahead of Louisville and Sam Houston State.
• First-team All-America Peter Fountain defeated David Puig 2&1. Austin Greaser rallied from three holes down to force a tie with Cameron Sisk for a half point.
• Fountain tied for 13th in stroke play at 2-over 282 (73-68-69-72). He had the second-highest finish in the 2021 NCAA Championship by a freshman (Oklahoma State's Bo Jin was second).
• Burnett (70-77-71-69) and Ryan Gerard (72-68-74-73) tied for 34th at 7-over 287. Greaser tied for 71st (78-70-73-78) and fifth-year senior Austin Hitt tied for 75th (73-72-75-80).
RYAN BURNETT
Fifth-Year Senior, Lafayette, Calif.
Career– 71.33
Low Round: 63, 3rd round, 2019 NCAA Stanford Regional; 1st round, 2023 NCAA Salem Regional
Low 54 Holes (strokes):198, 2019-20 Turning Stone Missouri Tiger Invitational, Verona, N.Y.
Low 54 Holes (to par): -18, Turning Stone Missouri Tiger Invitational
Best Finish: 1st, 2019-20 Turning Stone Missouri Tiger Invitational; 2022-23 Calusa Cup; 2023 NCAA Salem Regional
NCAA Championship Appearances: 2019 (T30), 2021 (T34), 2022 (T2), 2023
2022-23: NCAA Salem Regional champion • All-Atlantic Coast Conference • Enters NCAA Championship No. 8 in the PGA Tour University rankings after an eight-spot jump after the Salem Regional • Won twice (both wire-to-wire) at The Calusa Cup and the regional • Second on the team in stroke average (70.55) and score to par (-24) • Scoring average is seventh best in UNC single-season history • Shot 63-68-68 for a 17-under 199 to win the Salem Regional • That was the first time this season and third time in his career he shot all three rounds in the 60s • Won The Calusa Cup, which Golfweek/Sagarin ranks the fifth strongest field in the country this season • Two wins, five top 10s and eight top 20s in 11 starts • Shot below par in 18 of 33 rounds with 11 in the 60s • Leads UNC in percentage of rounds counted toward team score (30 of 33, 90.9%) • Carolina's top finisher three times.
Career: Three-time medalist • All-ACC in 2023 • GCAA honorable mention All-America in 2022 and Golfweek second-team All-America in 2020 • Is 16th in PGA Tour University rankings • No. 3 all-time at UNC in stroke average at 71.33 and third in score to par (plus 0.09 per round) • Played 156 rounds in 51 events • Has three wins, four seconds, two thirds, 12 top-five and 19 top-10 performances • Shot 47 rounds in the 60s • Even par or better in 89 of 156 rounds • Career-low 63s in the final round of the 2019 NCAA Stanford Regional and the first round of the 2023 NCAA Salem Regional • One of four individuals (with Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt, Parker Coody of Texas and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra of Oklahoma State) to tie for first in stroke play in the 2022 NCAA Championship • Made a 12-footer for par on the 72nd hold to post 280 • Parred the 18th hole again in the playoff but Sargent made birdie for the win • Tie for second was best finish by a Tar Heel since John Inman was medalist in 1984 • Joined Inman, champion Harvie Ward (1949) and runner-up Bill Williamson (1953) as the only Tar Heels to finish in the top two in an NCAA Championship • Led the field in par-3 scoring over four rounds in the NCAA Championship at 5 under par (2.69). • Made fourth-round cut as a freshman at the 2019 NCAA Championship (T-30).
DAVID FORD
Sophomore, Peachtree Corners, Ga.
Career– 70.20
Low UNC Round: 62, 2nd round, 2022-23 Jackson T. Stephens Cup
Low Overall Round: 62, 2nd round, 2022 Southern Amateur, Sea Island Golf Club's Plantation Course, St. Simons Island, Ga.; 2020 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, 3rd round, PGA National Fazio Course, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; 2nd round, 2022-23 Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Fla.
Low 54 Holes (strokes): 200, 2022-23 Fighting Irish Classic, Notre Dame, Ind.; 2022-23 Jackson T. Stephens Cup
Low 54 Holes (to par): -16, Jackson T. Stephens Cup
NCAA Championship Appearances: 2022 (T5), 2023
2022-23: ACC Player of the Year • All-ACC • Haskins Award finalist • Hogan Award semifinalist • Palmer Cup Team USA automatic qualifier • First Tar Heel to win ACC Player of the Year (award began in 1992) • First sophomore to win ACC Player of the Year since 2010 • First to win ACC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in consecutive seasons since Florida State's Brooks Koepka in 2010-11 • Leads Carolina in scoring (69.82, the second-lowest in UNC history), score to par (-48, the lowest in UNC history), rounds at par or better (26) and rounds in the 60s (15) • Has a win, three seconds, five top-5s and eight top-10s in 11 starts • Carolina's top finisher six times • Shot 68-62-70 for a 16-under 200 to win the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club • Made eight consecutive birdies in the second round to shoot 62, which tied his competitive low round • Runner-up at Notre Dame (in playoff with Colorado's Dylan McDermott), the Williams Cup and Valspar • Shot at least one round in the 60s in nine of 11 starts, two rounds five times and all three once (67-68-68 at Valspar) • Finished below par in nine of 11 tournaments.
Career: Leads Carolina in stroke average (70.20 in 70 rounds over 23 tournaments) and score to par (-76) • Averages 1.09 strokes below par per round • Two-time All-ACC • Third-team All-America (Golfweek), Freshman All-America (GCAA), ACC Freshman of the Year in 2022 • Has the second and fifth-best scoring averages in a season in UNC history • Has a win, four seconds, seven top 5s and 14 top 10s in 23 starts • Shot par or better in 50 of 70 rounds with 30 rounds in the 60s • Tied for fifth in the 2022 NCAA Championship at 1-over 281 (71-70-69-71) • Shot 1 over or better in all four rounds in the national championship when the average score was 3.13 over par • Tied the lead for par-4 scoring in the field at 1 over (4.02) and was tied for sixth in par-5 scoring at 3 under (4.63) • Birdied the 17th hole and parred the final hole of match play to defeat Joe Highsmith of Pepperdine 1 up in the NCAA quarterfinals • Won the 2022 Southern Amateur and 2023 Jones Cup, two of the most prestigious amateur events.
PETER FOUNTAIN
Junior, Raleigh, N.C.
Career– 71.52
Low Round: 63, 2nd round, 2021 ACC Championship, Milton, Ga.
Low 54 Holes (strokes): 200, 2021 ACC Championship
Low 54 Holes (to par): -15, 2020-21 Tar Heel Intercollegiate, Chapel Hill
Best Finish: 1st, 2021 ACC Championship and 2020-21 Tar Heel Intercollegiate
NCAA Championship Appearances: 2021 (T13), 2022 (T71), 2023
2022-23: Shot par or better in 13 rounds with a low of 68 in the first round of the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club • Posted two of his three rounds in the 60s at Seminole (also a final-round 69 at Colonial Country Club in the final round of the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational) • Three top 10s (T6 at the Stephens Cup, T9 at The Calusa Cup and T10 at the Williams Cup) • Scored between 68 and 75 in all 33 rounds.
Career: Is No.4 all-time in stroke average by a Tar Heel at 71.52 • Freshman season stroke average of 69.68 is the best in UNC history • Been part of 10 team wins • Has two individual victories, another tie for first, among 11 top-10 finishes in 32 starts • Played three ACC Championships at 20 under par over nine rounds • As a freshman in 2021 he was the ACC champion and earned PING Golf Coaches and Golfweek first-team All-America, All-Nicklaus team, GCAA Freshman All-America, ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC and All-East Region honors • UNC's first first-team All-America since 2003 and the first Tar Heel freshman ever to earn first-team All-America honors • Tied for 13th at the 2021 NCAA Championship, the second-highest finish in the 2021 NCAA Championship by a freshman behind Oklahoma State's Bo Jin, who finished second • Won his NCAA quarterfinal match, defeating the 10th-ranked player in the country, Arizona State's David Puig, 2&1.
AUSTIN GREASER
Senior, Vandalia, Ohio
UNC Career Average– 71.25
Low UNC Round: 63, 2nd round, 2022 NCAA Yale Regional, New Haven, Conn.
Low Overall Round: 62, 2021 U.S. Amateur qualifier, Edgewood CC, Charleston, W. Va.
Low UNC 54 Holes (strokes): 200, 2022 NCAA Yale Regional
Low UNC 54 Holes (to par): -11, 2019-20 Turning Stone Missouri Tiger Invitational, Verona, N.Y.
Best UNC Finish: 1st, 2021-22 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, Olympia Fields, Ill., and 2022 NCAA Yale Regional
NCAA Championship Appearances: 2021 (T71), 2022 (T25), 2023
2022-23: Earned All-ACC honors for the third straight season • Palmer Cup Team USA selection • Was a semifinalist for the Hogan Award • Enters NCAA Championship No. 5 in the PGA Tour University rankings • Stroke average of 70.97 is his second best as a Tar Heel and ranks ninth in UNC single-season history • Is 13 under par over 30 rounds • Low round of 64 in the first round at Southern Highlands in Las Vegas • Shot par or better in 21 rounds with nine in the 60s • Four top 10s with a season-best T3 at the Ben Hogan Collegiate at Colonial • Shot 70-66-68 for a 6-under 204 at the Hogan • Shot two rounds in the 60s three times (Hogan, Stephens Cup and NCAA Salem Regional) • Season-best 10 under par at the NCAA Salem Regional • Carolina's top finisher three times • Fifth after the regional in the projected PGA Tour University rankings.
Career: Two-time All-America, All-PING East Region and three-time All-ACC selection • First Tar Heel to earn three All-ACC honors since four-time honoree Dustin Bray 2001-04 • Ninth Tar Heel to earn three or more All-ACC honors • Won twice and has 10 top 5s and 16 top 10s in 38 collegiate starts • No. 2 in UNC history in stroke average (71.25) • One of two Tar Heels (with David Ford) with cumulative scores below par (-5 in 116 rounds) • Won twice as a junior at Olympia Fields (holed out from the fairway for birdie on the final hole) and the NCAA Yale Regional • Collegiate-best 63 in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Yale Regional • Is combined 20 under par in the 2022 and 2023 NCAA regionals • Finished third in 211-player field in the 2022 World Amateur Team Championship near Paris, France • Led Team USA at 15-under 271 and was one of only two players to shoot all four rounds in the 60s • Teamed with 2022 NCAA champion Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt and Stanford's Michael Thorbjornsen to lead Team USA to third place • Shot 68-67 in two rounds at Le Golf National, site of 2018 Ryder Cup • Won the 2022 Western Amateur, defeating Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira of Argentina (University of Arkansas) 1 up in the championship match at the Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill. • Fourth Tar Heel to win the Western Amateur, joining Greg Parker (1986), John Inman (1984) and Frank Fuhrer (1981) • Made the cut at 2 over par in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. • Was one of four amateurs and 64 players in the 156-man field to make the cut at the U.S. Open • Missed the cut at the 2022 Masters by three shots after shooting 74-77–151 • Runner-up in the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club • Lost 2&1 in the 36-hole championship match to Michigan State's James Piot • Tied for 25th at the NCAA Championship after a final round 1-under 69 • Defeated Pepperdine's William Mouw, in the NCAA quarterfinals • Birdie on the 17th hole gave him a 2&1 win over Mouw • Earned a tie against Cameron Sisk of Arizona State in 2021 NCAA quarterfinal after trailing early by three holes.
DYLAN MENANTE
Senior, Carlsbad, Calif.
Career– 70.95
Low Round: 62, 1st round, 2020-21 Pasadera Collegiate Invitational, Monterey, Calif.
Low 54 Holes (strokes): 196, 2020-21 Pasadera Collegiate Invitational
Low 54 Holes (to par): -14, three times
Best Finish: 1st, 2021-22 Valspar College Invitational, Palm City, Fla., and 2021-22 Western Intercollegiate, Santa Cruz, Calif.
NCAA Championship Appearances: 2021 (T17), 2022 (T43), 2023
2022-23: Earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors • Third on the team in scoring average (70.88, his second lowest in four seasons) • Is 13 under par in 33 rounds • Shot par or better 23 times with a low round of 64 in the final round in the NCAA Salem Regional • That was one of 11 rounds in the 60s and three at 65 or better • The final-round 64 at Salem included a 6-under 30 on the front nine • Shot two rounds in the 60s in three tournaments (Fighting Irish Classic, Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational and Valspar) • Has finished below par in seven of 11 tournaments, including each of the last three (ASU Thunderbird, ACC and NCAA Salem Regional) • Six top 10s with a season-best T5 at Notre Dame • Tied for seventh at the ACC Championship at 5-under 211 and was T6 at the regional with a 12-under 204 • Carolina's top finisher at the ACC Championship.
Career: Earned all-conference honors in each of the last three seasons • Played three seasons at Pepperdine before transferring to Carolina • Helped lead Pepperdine to the 2021 NCAA title • Tied for 17th in stroke play and went 1-1-1 in match play in the 2021 championship • Team counter in all four rounds of stroke play and shot 67 in the fourth round, lowest by a Pepperdine player in any of the four rounds • Shot 66 in the third round at Grayhawk in the 2022 NCAA Championship • Defeated UNC's Ryan Burnett in match play in the NCAA Quarterfinals • Won the 18th hole to force a playoff and the 19th hole for the first point in Pepperdine's 3-2 win over the Tar Heels • Played for Team USA in the 2021 and 2022 Palmer Cups • Two-time winner of the Northeast Amateur • Collegiate stroke average of 71.95 over 130 rounds in 44 starts • Cumulative 39 under par • Posted two wins, four seconds and 19 top 10s • Two-time All-America, West Coast Conference Player of the Year, All-WCC, PING All-West Region and Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete • Won four matches to advance to the semifinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur • Second all-time in stroke average at Pepperdine (70.98) • Led the Waves in scoring average in 2021 and 2022 • Won back-to-back tournaments in 2022 at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and the Western Intercollegiate • The Valspar win earned him a berth in the PGA Tour's 3M Open in Blaine, Minn., where he shot 3 over and beat 62 players in his professional debut in July 2022 • Career-low round 62 as a sophomore at the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational at The Club at Pasadera in Monterey, Calif. • Shot under 200 twice (196 at the Pasadera as a sophomore and 199 at the Western as a junior).
Players Mentioned
