Menante's 8 Birdies Lead UNC To Solid Start At NCAA Championship

Friday, May 26

Scottsdale, Ariz. (Grayhawk G.C.)

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA Championship Day One

Photo by: Todd Drexler - www.sesportsmedia.com

Menante's 8 Birdies Lead UNC To Solid Start At NCAA Championship

May 26, 2023 | Men's Golf

NCAA Championship Round 1

Tar Heels Tied For 4th, Two Shots Back

By: Steve Kirschner

North Carolina senior Dylan Menante led the field with eight birdies and shot 2-under 68 and ACC Player of the Year David Ford finished even-par 70 to lead the second-seeded Tar Heels to a tie for fourth place after round one of the 2023 NCAA Men's Golf Championship Friday at the Grayhawk Golf Course in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Tar Heels posted 2-over-par 282, which equaled the best team score of the afternoon wave. Georgia Tech has the 18-hole lead at even-par 280, Pepperdine and Arkansas are second at 1-over 281 and Carolina, top-seed Vanderbilt and Texas Tech are fourth at 2 over.

Menante, one of four Tar Heels in the lineup playing at Grayhawk in the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive season, made four birdies on both the front and back nines. A member of the 2021 national champions while playing for Pepperdine, the Carlsbad, Calif., native converted three birdies in a row on his first nine (the back side) and ended his round with back-to-back birdies on his final two holes.

Ford made pars on his first 12 holes then finished his round with two birdies and two bogeys to shoot even par.

Austin Greaser was 4 over through 15 holes but closed with birdies on his final three holes to shoot 71.

Ryan Burnett shot 73 and Peter Fountain had a 74.

Georgia Tech's Ross Steelman is the individual leader at 6-under 64. Menante is tied for sixth and Ford, who tied for fifth a season ago, is tied for 19^th.

Round two is Saturday when the Tar Heels tee off in the morning wave at 6:10 a.m. local (Mountain Standard) time.