2017-18 Men's Golf Roster
Austin Hitt
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- null
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Hometown:
- Longwood, Fla.
- High School:
- Lake Mary
Career: Played in 162 rounds over five seasons • Has the fourth-best stroke average in Carolina men’s golf history (72.20) • Played in the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 NCAA Championships among 54 tournaments • Was the first Tar Heel to play in four NCAA Championship rounds since Max Harris in 1997-2000 • Had 14 top-10 finishes with a career-best T2 at the 2019 Tar Heel Intercollegiate and T3 at the 2018 NCAA Regional in Kissimmee, Fla. and 2021 ACC Championship • Low rounds were 66s as a junior in the second round at Wake Forest and the second round of the 2021 ACC Championship • Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
2020-21: Earned All-ACC and All-East Region honors for the second time in his career • Had three top-5 finishes (T4 at The Prestige, T4 at the Tar Heel and third at the ACC Championship) • Tied for third on the team this season in stroke average at 71.60, which was the 12th best in UNC history • Birdied the 16th and 18th holes in the final round as Carolina tied Arizona State for the team title at The Prestige • Sank a 25-footer for birdie on the final hole of the tournament to give UNC a share of the title • Tied his career low round with a 66 in the second round of the ACC Championship, where he tied for third (68-66-68 for 8-under 202) • Became one of three Tar Heels to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds of stroke play in an ACC Championship.
2019-20: Averaged 72.54 strokes in eight events • Tied for seventh at Turning Stone and Olympia Fields and T-14 at General Hackler • Shot 67 in the final round at Turning Stone to help UNC win the team title • Final-round 68 at Olympia Fields to lead UNC to a fourth-place finish against a national field • Member of the ACC Honor Roll.
2018-19: Earned honorable mention All-America, PING All-East Region and All-ACC honors as a junior • Played in all 14 events • Led Carolina in stroke average at 71.29, the fourth-lowest in UNC single-season history • Also led the Tar Heels in score to par (3 over), sub-par rounds (20) and rounds in the 60s (13) • Had five top-10 finishes and placed in the top 20 in 10 events • Second at the Tar Heel, fourth at San Diego and sixth at Duke, Wake Forest and Arizona State • Three rounds in the 60s at Wake Forest (69-66-67) • Helped Carolina advance out of the NCAA Stanford Regional by shooting 69-70 in the final two rounds • Was second on the team with 150 birdies and had the fewest scores over par among the starters • Low round of 66 at the Old Town Club Collegiate in Winston-Salem.
His 202 total at the Wake Forest’s Old Town Club Collegiate equaled the fifth-lowest 54-hole total in UNC history.
2017-18: Tied for third at the 2018 NCAA Kissimmee Regional after shooting 10-under-206 (68-68-70) • Was 10 under on the par 5s in Kissimmee • Joined Jose Montaño as the only Tar Heels to shoot three straight rounds in the 60s in NCAA regional play • Posted Carolina’s best finish in a regional since 2002 and 10 under was the best ever by a Tar Heel in a regional • Six top-20 finishes in 11 events.
2016-17: Started in all 13 of UNC’s tournaments as a freshman • One of three Tar Heels to start in every event • Posted the fourth-lowest stroke average on the team at 73.35 in 37 rounds • Scored counted in 30 of those rounds • Season-best tied for 10th at Duke (1-under 215) • Four top-20 finishes, including T10 at Duke, T12 in Puerto Rico (where he led UNC), T13 at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate and T19 at the Cabarrus County Irish Creek Intercollegiate • Shot 13 sub-par rounds (second most on the team) and seven in the 60s • Season-low 67 in the second round at the Sea Best Invitational at TPC Sawgrass Valley Course and in the third round of the NCAA Stanford Regional • Made five birdies in the final round of the regional, including three on the final nine holes, as UNC advanced to the NCAA Championship by a single stroke • His 67 was the best round by a Tar Heel in the final round of an NCAA Regional since 2005.
Prep/Amateur: Won the 2019 U.S. Amateur qualifier at UNC Finley, then tied for ninth in stroke play in the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4 • Fifth at the 2019 Porter Cup (was sixth in 2018) and sith at the 2019 Players Amateur in Hilton Head, S.C. • The 12th-ranked junior • 2015 3-A state champion • Led Lake Mary High School to the 2014 and 2015 state titles and four conference, district and regional championships • Won the Florida Junior, Qdoba Tournament of Champions and AJGA title at Timacuan in 2015 and the Orlando City Amateur in 2014 • Placed third at 2016 Florida Juniors and an AJGA Invitational at Carlton Woods • 2015 Florida Golfer of the Year and Orlando Sentinel Player of the Year • Earned all-conference and all-district honors four times, all-region honors three times and all-state once • Represented the East and won in singles at the 2016 AJGA Wyndham Cup.
Personal: Born Austin Hitt on Dec. 17, 1997, in Longwood, Fla. • Son of Chip and Jennifer Hitt • His father played golf at Roanoke College and his mother was a collegiate diver • Played for Coach Lou Suarez at Lake Mary (Fla.) High School • Member of the honor roll in each of his four years at Lake Mary • Enjoys basketball, tennis, swimming and water sports • Favorite non-golfer athlete is LeBron James • Person in history he would most like to meet is Steve Jobs • Greatest golf achievement was winning back-to-back team state championship and winning the individual title as a senior • Best competitive round is the 64 he shot in the 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifying round at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla. • Favorite course is Cypress Point • Favorite golfer is Kevin Na • Always makes a downhill left to right putt on the practice green before he tees off • Go-to club under pressure is the driver • Greatest shot he ever hit was in 2015 – a 3 wood from 293 yards for an ace on the par 4 13th hole at Streamsong Golf Resort in Bowling Green, Fla.• Dream golf foursome is with Michael Jordan, Jordan Spieth and Will Ferrell.
