2022-23 Men's Golf Roster
Dylan Menante
- Height:
- 5-8
- Weight:
- null
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Carlsbad, Calif.
- High School:
- Sage Creek
through 2024 NCAA Championship
Career– 70.99 overall (71.01 at UNC, No. 2 in career scoring)
Best Finish: 1st, 2021-22 Valspar College Invitational and 2021-22 Western Intercollegiate
Best Finish at Carolina: T3, 2023-24 Williams Cup
Low Round: 62, 1st round, 2020-21 Pasadera Collegiate Invitational
Low Round to Par: -8, 1st round, 2020-21 Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and 3rd round, 2022-23 NCAA Salem Regional
Low Round at Carolina: 64, 3rd round, 2023 NCAA Salem Regional
Low Round to Par at Carolina: -8, 3rd round, 2023 NCAA Salem Regional
Low 54 Holes (strokes): 196, 2020-21 Pasadera Collegiate Invitational
Low 54 Holes (strokes at Carolina): 200, 2023-24 Amer Ari Invitational
Low 54 Holes (to par): -16, 2023-24 Amer Ari Invitational
NCAA Championship Appearances: 2021 (T17), 2022 (T43), 2023 (T4), 2024 (T31)
Career: Four-time all-conference and all-region and three-time All-America • No. 2 in career scoring at both Carolina and Pepperdine • Played on teams that advanced to match play and earned top-five finishes in the NCAA Championships in each of his last four seasons (twice at Pepperdine and twice at UNC) • Carolina’s top performer as the Tar Heels tied for third place in the 2023 NCAA Championship • Tied for fourth in stroke play in the 2023 NCAA Championship and went 2-0 for the Tar Heels in match play, helping UNC earn its highest NCAA finish in 30 seasons • Played 2019-22 at Pepperdine • The Waves won the 2021 NCAA title and tied for third in 2022 • Two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022 • Earned All-America and PING all-region honors from 2022-24 • Third-team All-America in 2021 and 2023 and honorable mention in 2022 • Tied for 17th in stroke play and went 1-1-1 in match play as Pepperdine won the 2021 title • Team counter in all four rounds of stroke play and shot 67 in the fourth round, lowest by a Wave in any of the four rounds • Shot 66 in the third round in the 2022 NCAA Championship • Went 11-5-1 in collegiate match play.
Collegiate stroke average of 70.99 over 169 rounds in 57 starts • Second in career scoring average at UNC at 71.01 in 72 rounds • Second in stroke average at Pepperdine (70.98 over 97 rounds) • Led the Waves in scoring average in 2021 and 2022 • Cumulative 39 under par • Posted two wins, four seconds, 10 top 5s and 25 top 10s • 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).
Member of United States team that won the Walker Cup in 2023 at the Old Course at St Andrews • Teamed with Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent for a 3&2 win in foursomes and earned a draw against Matthew McLean in singles • Made an 8-footer for par on the 17th hole (the famous road hole) to help secure the half-point • Won a bronze medal in the 2023 Pan Am Games, representing the U.S. in Chile • Shot 66-69-70-66 to finish 17-under 271 to win the bronze, beating numerous professionals, including Joaquin Niemann of Chile, Guillermo Pereira of Chile, Alejandro Tosti of Argentina and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz • Won four matches to advance to the semifinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur • Played for Team USA in the 2021 and 2022 Palmer Cups • Two-time winner of the Northeast Amateur.
2023-24: Earned his second All-ACC award and fourth all-conference honor • Averaged 71.40 over 35 rounds with a season-best 65 in the first and third rounds in the Amer Ari Invitational • Five top 10s (T3 Williams Cup, T6 Hayt, 7th Amer Ari Invitational, T7 Haskins and T9 St Andrews Links Collegiate) • 3-under 69 in the second round at his home course at La Costa was Carolina’s low round in the NCAA Championship • Shot 66 in the opening round of the St Andrews Links Collegiate at the Jubilee Course • Won his ACC semifinal match 7&6 over Wake Forest’s Collin Adams and gave the Tar Heels their only point in the NCAA quarterfinal with a 2&1 win over Florida State’s Cole Anderson.
2022-23 at Carolina: 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 • Also the first Tar Heel to finish in the top 10 in the ACC Championship (T7), an NCAA regional and NCAA Championship in the same season • Third-team GCAA and Golfweek All-America and earned NCAA PING/East Region and All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors • • Earned Academic All-ACC honors • Shot 68-70-67-70 for a 5-under 275 to tie for fourth and won both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk • Joined medalist Fred Biondi of Florida as the only two competitors in the 156-player field to shoot par or better in all four rounds • Led the field in birdies with 21 in stroke play and was tied for the lead in both par-3 and par-5 scoring (3 under for an average of 2.81 on the par 3s and 5 under for an average of 4.38 on the par 5s) • Won 14 of 28 holes and lost just three in his two matches in the NCAA Championship • Defeated Arizona State’s Luke Potter 5&3 in the quarterfinal win and first-team All-America Christo Lamprecht of Georgia Tech 6&5 in the semifinal • Won eight holes, including six in a row, in the win over the Yellow Jacket • Went 4-0 in match play for the season • Third on the team in scoring average (70.65, his lowest in four seasons and the seventh best in UNC history) • Was 18 under par in 37 rounds • Shot par or better 27 times with a low round of 64 in the final round in the NCAA Salem Regional • That was one of 13 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 four tournaments (Fighting Irish Classic, Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, Valspar and the NCAA Championship) • Finished below par in eight of 12 tournaments, including each of the last four (ASU Thunderbird, ACC, NCAA Salem Regional and NCAA Championship) • Seven top 10s with a season-best T4 at the NCAA Championship • Tied for fifth in his first start as a Tar Heel 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 in two of the three post-season starts (ACC and NCAA Championships) • Final ranking of No. 24 Golfstat and No. 25 Golfweek/Sagarin.
2021-22: Led Pepperdine to the national semifinals and a tie for third place in the NCAA Championship • West Coast Conference Player of the Year for the second straight season • GCAA and Golfweek honorable mention All-America • All-WCC and All-PING West Region • Final rankings were No. 39 in the country (Golfweek) and No. 42 (Golfstat) • Led the team in scoring at 71.20 (12th-best in Pepperdine history) over 41 rounds • Averaged 70.20 in the third rounds • Cumulative 1 under par • Won the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, shooting 64-65-70 for a 14-under 199 to win by a stroke over Florida State’s Frederik Kjettrup • Helped Pepperdine win the team title at Valspar by 14 strokes • That was one of three team titles won by the Waves • The following start he shot 70-72-67 (7-under 209) to win the Western Intercollegiate by three strokes • Including the two wins he had four top 10s and seven top-20 finishes • Defeated eventual Haskins Award winner Chris Gotterup of Oklahoma 1 up in the East Lake Cup semifinals • T6 at the Southwestern Invitational (4-under 212) and T7 at the NIT (10-under 206) • T-15 at the WCC Championship, T39 at the NCAA Bryan Regional and T-43 at the NCAA Championship • Shot 66 in the third round at Grayhawk in the NCAA Championship • Defeated 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 • Low round of the season was an 8-under 64 at the NIT in Arizona • GCAA All-America Scholar • Earned WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll silver honors and was a Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
2020-21: Led Pepperdine to an NCAA championship (tied for 17th in stroke play and went 1-1-1 in match play) • Third-team GCAA and Golfweek All-America and West Coast Conference Player of the Year • Also All-WCC and PING All-West Region • Team counter in all four rounds of stroke play in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk • Shot 67 in the fourth round of the NCAA Championship, lowest by any Pepperdine player in any round • Final rankings of No. 30 (Golfweek) and No. 38 (Golfstat) • Averaged a team-best 70.74, fifth in school history • Finished second four times (was in three playoffs) among six top 10s and nine top 20s • Shot below par in 18 rounds, seventh most in school history • Cumulative 9 under par over 35 rounds of stroke play • Season-best 14 under par in two different tournaments: 14-under 196 (62-65-69) at the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and 14-under 202 (67-65-70) at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational • Shot 11-under 205 (67-67-71) to finish second at the conference tournament • Also runner-up at Pasadera, Haskins and the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational • T4 at The Prestige • Went 2-0 in match play against Texas Tech and Oklahoma to help Pepperdine with the East Lake Cup • A GCAA All-America Scholar, earned first-team Academic All-WCC first team honors, WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll silver honors and was a Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
2019-20: Averaged 70.95, second best by a freshman in Pepperdine history • Played in seven tournaments • Cumulative 16 under par over 21 rounds • Had three top 10s and five top 20s • Shot 12 below-par rounds • T6 at the Bill Cullum Invitational (9-under 207), T8 at the Mea Lanakila individual and T8 at the Southwestern Invitational • Shot 68-67 over the final two rounds to tie for 12th at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational • Season-best 65 in the final round at the Amer Ari Invitational • Went eagle-birdie-eagle over the final three holes to lead the Waves to a comeback win at the Amer Ari • Earned WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll bronze honors and was a Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
Amateur: Competed for the U.S. team in the 2021 and 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup • Won three matches in the 2022 event in Switzerland and has a 5-3 record in the Palmer Cup over two seasons • Competed in five U.S. Amateurs (2018 and 2020-23) • Won four matches and advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 U.S. Amateur, where he lost 1 up to Sam Bennett • Won his round of 32 match with a birdie on the 17th hole and his round of 16 match with one on the 18th • Won the 2021 and 2022 Northeast Amateurs and tied for ninth in 2023 • Won the 2022 Northeast Am by nine shots and set the tournament record by four strokes with a 19-under-par 257 (62-64-64-67) • Runner-up in the 2023 Southern Amateur • 2019 AJGA Rolex second-team All-America and was honorable mention in 2018 • Three-time AJGA champion • Third at the 2017 California State Boys Junior Amateur Championship • Ranked as high as 12th in the AJGA/Polo Golf rankings and No. 13 by Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Prep: Played three years of varsity golf for Coach David Walther at Sage Creek High School in Carlsbad, Calif. • Earned first-team All-CIF honors in 2018 and was second team in 2017 • Also earned a CIF Academic award.
Personal: Born Dylan Dean Menante on May 19, 2001, in Reno, Nev. • Son of Lisa and Dean Menante • His father was a golfer and mother played tennis at Nevada • Has three sisters – Chloe, Ashley and Lexie • Enjoys playing ping pong, pickleball, tennis and spending time at the beach • Favorite food are carne asada tacos • Favorite vacation spot is Bolivia • Likes to listen to Calvin Harris • Favorite non-golf athlete is Rafael Nadal.
Top achievement in golf is winning the 2022 Northeast Amateur by nine strokes over an outstanding field • Best shot he ever hit came on the second-to-last shot in the Northeast Amateur when he hit a 54-degree sand wedge from 105 yards to a back pin over a ridge – lipped out to a foot and a half that led to a birdie and the tournament-record score• Favorite course is Cypress Point • Favorite golfer is Max Homa • Best friend in golf is former Pepperdine teammate and professional Joey Vrzich • Dream foursome includes Nadal, Homa and Cameron Smith.
