University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Golf: Year in Review
June 8, 2023 | Men's Golf
Unprecedented Third-Straight Top 5 Finish In NCAA Championships, 5 Team Titles Highlight Season
• Carolina tied for third in the 2023 NCAA Championship, the Tar Heels’ highest finish since placing third in 1993.
• This was the third straight top-five finish for the Tar Heels (tied for fifth in 2021 and 2022). UNC did not have consecutive top-five finishes prior to 2022.
• Carolina, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Texas and Vanderbilt are the only teams to advance out of regionals to the NCAA Championship in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023).
• Carolina, Arizona State and Pepperdine are the only teams to advance to match play and finish in the top five in each of the last three NCAA Championships.
• Carolina is the first ACC team to finish in the top five in three straight NCAA Championships since Clemson in 2001-03.
• Carolina finished first in stroke play at the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. UNC won stroke play outright in 2023 by four strokes over Illinois and Florida. In 2022, the Tar Heels tied Oklahoma and Vanderbilt for first place after four rounds and 72 holes of stroke play.
• Carolina is the first team to finish first in stroke play in consecutive NCAA Championships since Viktor Hovland’s and Matthew Wolff’s Oklahoma State teams in 2018 and 2019.
• Four Tar Heels earned All-America honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America – David Ford (first team), Ryan Burnett (third team), Austin Greaser (third team) and Dylan Menante (third team). It is the third time in ACC history and the first time since 1975-76 an ACC team had four All-Americas on the first, second and third teams.
• Dylan Menante tied for fourth in stroke play at the NCAA Championships with a 5-under-par 275 (68-70-67-70). It was the second consecutive year a Tar Heel placed in the top five in the NCAA Championship.
• Menante and David Ford both went 2-0 in match play in the NCAA quarterfinals and semifinals. Menante won 14 of his 28 holes (lost just three holes); Ford came from 2 down to win both matches, including the Arizona State match when he won the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to win 1 up. Menante won six holes in a row against Georgia Tech’s first-team All-America Christo Lamprecht, winning 6&5.
• Menante was 4-0 in match play this season. He helped Carolina beat Florida State, 3-2, in the championship match in the Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club.
• Menante’s teams have finished in the top three in each of the last three NCAA Championships. He played for Pepperdine when the Waves won the 2021 NCAA title and advanced to the semifinals, tying for third in 2022. He transferred to UNC and finished third with the Tar Heels this season. He led UNC with a seventh-place finish in the ACC Championship, tied for sixth in the NCAA Regional and led UNC with a tie for fourth in Scottsdale.
• Menante is the first Tar Heel ever to finish in the top 10 in both an NCAA regional (T6) and the NCAA Championship (T4) in the same season since regionals began in 1989. He is also the first Tar Heel to finish in the top 10 in the ACC Championship (T7), NCAA regional and NCAA Championship in the same season.
• Carolina won in match play in the NCAA Championship for the first time. The Tar Heels, the No. 1 seed in match play, defeated No. 8 Arizona State, 3-1, and lost to No. 5 Georgia Tech, 3-2.
• Carolina was No. 2 in Golfstat, No. 2 by the Golf Coaches Association and No. 3 in Golfweek/Sagarin in the final national rankings.
• The Tar Heels won five team titles, tied for the third most in school history and the most since winning six in 1985-86. Carolina’s wins included:
– 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 ranked three of Carolina’s wins and the NCAA Championship when UNC finished first in stroke play among the five strongest fields in tournament golf this season. The Hogan Collegiate Invitational was ranked No. 2, the Stephens Cup was third, the NCAA Championship was fourth and The Calusa Cup was fifth.
• 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. In addition to the 15 team titles, Carolina finished first in stroke play in the 2021 and 2022 ACC Championships and the 2022 (tied) and 2023 NCAA Championships.
• Two Tar Heels won a total of three tournaments 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 became the first Tar Heel to win three collegiate titles since Ben Griffin.
• Burnett was 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 set school records for stroke average per round (280.08) and score to par per round (-4.46). The previous bests were set a year ago (281.35 and -3.84).
• This was the fourth consecutive season the Tar Heels set school records for scoring average and score to par per round.
• Sophomore David Ford became the first Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors (award began in 1992).
• Ford was 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 was the first to win ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year in consecutive seasons since Koepka in 2010 and 2011.
• Ford was named first-team All-America by the Golf Coaches Association of America. He is the second Tar Heel to earn first-team All-America honors under sixth-year head coach Andrew DiBitetto (with Peter Fountain in 2020-21).
• Ford is UNC’s eighth first-team All-America, joining Bill Thornton in 1958, Pete Green in 1961, John Inman in 1984, Davis Love III in 1985, Greg Parker in 1987, Dustin Bray in 2003 and Fountain.
• Four Tar Heels earned PING/East Region and All-ACC honors, the first time UNC ever had four players on the All-ACC team. Ford, Ryan Burnett, Austin Greaser and Dylan Menante earned all-region and all-conference honors.
• This was the first time four Tar Heels earned All-ACC honors in the same season. It is one of 11 instances in ACC history a team had four players on the All-ACC team.
• This is the third consecutive season at least three Tar Heels made the All-ACC team.
• 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.
• Greaser became the first Tar Heel to earn at least 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 earned his third all-conference award. He played at Pep¬perdine from 2019-22 and was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
• Carolina scored a perfect 1000 in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rates (APR) for the seventh consecutive year, the longest active streak among UNC’s men’s programs.
• Ford was one of 10 finalists for the Fred Haskins Award. Ford and Greaser were among the final 10 for the Ben Hogan Award.
• Ford led UNC in scoring average at 69.89 per round, the second-lowest in UNC single-season history. Ford set a single-season UNC record shooting 46 under par. He averaged 1.24 strokes below par per round, second best in school history.
• Ford also became Carolina’s career leader in stroke average (70.22), strokes under par (-74) and strokes below par per round (-1.00).
• Ford made eight consecutive birdies and shot a season-low 10-under-par 62 in the second round en route to medalist honors at the Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club.
• Carolina’s four All-Americas posted four of the eight-best stroke averages in UNC single-season history. Ford’s 69.89 is second, Burnett’s 70.62 is sixth, Menante’s 70.65 is seventh and Greaser’s 70.85 tied his average from a season ago for eighth. (Peter Fountain set the record at 69.68 in 2021).
• Burnett became the first Tar Heel ever to shoot under 200 in two tournaments. He shot 18-under 198 in winning the Turning Stone Invitational in September 2019.
2023 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
• Carolina tied for third in the 2023 NCAA Championship, the Tar Heels’ highest finish since 1993, when they were third.
• The Tar Heels shot 282-284-275-273 for a 6-under-par 1,114 total.
• Carolina was tied for fourth after 18 holes, tied for third after 36 holes, fourth after 54 holes and edged Illinois and Florida by four strokes after 72 holes.
• The Tar Heels finished first in stroke play for the second straight year and their 6-under 1,114 stroke play total was the lowest by any team in the three seasons the NCAA Championships were played at Grayhawk Golf Course in Scottsdale, Ariz. In 2021, Arizona State finished first in stroke play at 3-under 1,117. In 2022, the Tar Heels tied Oklahoma and Vanderbilt for first place at 14-over 1,134.
• Carolina’s four-day total of 1,114 broke the school record for lowest 72-hole total in an NCAA Championship by 20 strokes (1,134 at Grayhawk in 2022). The 6-under-par finish was the second-best by UNC in an NCAA Championship (-9 in 2000).
• Carolina is the first team to finish first in stroke play in consecutive NCAA Championships since Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff’s Oklahoma State teams in 2018 and 2019.
• Carolina, Arizona State and Pepperdine are the only teams to advance to match play and finish in the top five in each of the last three NCAA Championships.
• Carolina shot 7-under-par 273 in the fourth round, which marked the second day in a row UNC shot its lowest round ever in an NCAA Championship (275 in the third round, 278 twice before).
• Carolina entered stroke play as the No. 2 seed but was the top seed in match play. The Tar Heels defeated No. 8 Arizona State, 3-1, in the quarterfinals and lost to No. 5 Georgia Tech, 3-2, in the semifinals.
• Ryan Burnett won a point against Arizona State, while David Ford and Dylan Menante won points in both matches. Ford’s point was the third and decisive point in the victory over the Sun Devils.
• Peter Fountain rallied from 2 down after 13 holes in his match vs. ASU first-team All-America Preston Summerhays but won the 13th, 14th and 17th holes to go 1 up. Their match was unfinished on the 18th hole when Ford won his match to secure the team victory.
• Austin Greaser had UNC’s low round of the NCAA Championship with a final-round 66. That included an ace on the par-3 fifth hole. Greaser’s 66 equaled the second-lowest round by a Tar Heel in NCAA Championship play and was the lowest since Max Harris shot 66 in the second round in 2000.
• Menante (68-70-67-70) tied for fifth at 5-under 275. Menante’s 275 is the second-lowest total by a Tar Heel in an NCAA Championship (John Inman shot 271 to win an NCAA title in 1984). Menante’s 5-under-par total equaled the third-best in school history in an NCAA Championship behind Inman’s 17 under and Brad Hyler (-7 in 2000). Harris also was 5 under in 2000.
• Menante led the 159-player field with 21 birdies over the four rounds. He shared the lead in par-3 and par-5 scoring, shooting a combined 3 under on the par 3s and 5 under on the par 5s.
• Fountain also tied the lowest cumulative score on the par 5s and was one of 22 players to shoot even par or better on the par 3s.
• Carolina and Florida, which won the NCAA title, co-led in scoring on the par 4s at 17 over, while the Tar Heels led the field in par-5 scoring at 16 under.
• Carolina was the No. 2 seed to begin the NCAA Championship. The Tar Heels’ seeding has 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.
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.
SIX MEDALISTS
• Six different Tar Heels on the roster this season have won collegiate tournaments.
• Fifth-year senior Ryan Burnett was a three-time medalist. He won the Turning Stone (Missouri) Tiger Invitational in Verona, N.Y., as a sophomore in September 2019 and had two victories this season – The Calusa Cup and 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).
• Burnett’s win in the The Calusa Cup came against the fifth-strongest field in any tournament this season.
• 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 2020-21. He also tied for first in stroke play (13-under 203) in the 2022 ACC Championship.
• Greaser won twice in 2021-22 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 in 2021-22 as a junior at Pepperdine, winning 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 in October ‘22. 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.
• Ford’s win in the Stephens Cup at Seminole came against the third-strongest field in tournament golf this season.
• Senior Kenan Poole was co-medalist in the Elon Phoenix Invitational last season.
ALL-TIME, SINGLE-SEASON SCORING LEADERS
• Members of the 2022-23 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 (70.22), Austin Greaser (71.21), Ryan Burnett (71.33) and Peter Fountain (71.51) rank one through four in UNC career scoring.
• Dylan Menante’s career average is 70.89, which includes three seasons at Pepperdine, where he averaged 70.98, and this season, his first as a Tar Heel (70.65).
• Fountain set the single-season UNC record at 69.68 in 2020-21. Ford became the second Tar Heel to average sub-70 for a season when he shot 69.89 this season. Ford’s freshman average is the fifth best in a season (70.54 in 2021-22).
• Burnett and Greaser each have two of the 10 best single-season averages and Menante has the seventh.
• Ford and Greaser are the only two Tar Heels to play multiple seasons and have cumulative scores below par. Ford is 74 under par in 74 rounds and Greaser is 5 under par in 120 rounds.
• Ford has shot below par in 16 of 24 tournaments and 45 of 74 rounds over two seasons.
RECORD NUMBER OF ALL-AMERICA, ALL-ACC HONORS
• David Ford, Ryan Burnett, Austin Greaser and Dylan Menante were named to the 2023 Golf Coaches Association All-America team, the first time in UNC men’s golf history, and the first time in 47 seasons four ACC players from one school, made the All-America team (first, second or third teams).
• Ford was named a first-team All-America, while Burnett, Greaser and Menante made the third team. The Tar Heels were one of eight programs this season with multiple players on the first, second or third teams, but the only one with four honorees.
• The last time an ACC team had four first-, second- or third-team All-Americas was in 1975 and 1976, when Wake Forest accomplished the feat (with Curtis Strange and Jay Haas).
• The last time and only other time UNC had multiple players on the GCAA’s first, second or third teams was 1986 when John Hughes made the second team and Bryan Sullivan was third team.
• Ford, Burnett, Greaser and Menante earned PING/East Region and All-ACC honors, the first time four Tar Heels made All-ACC in one season.
• Carolina has earned 10 All-ACC honors in the last three seasons.
• 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.
• 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.
