The Tar Heels failed to perform well as a team Monday and Tuesday, finishing in seventh place out of nine teams with an overall score of 15 under par. Register finished at 17 under par, and won the tournament individually. Meanwhile, he did it in record-breaking fashion.
His combined score of 199 (66-65-68) is now the lowest individual tournament score in UNC history. His 17-under-par mark ties the all-time individual tournament score vs. par record, set by Brad Hyler in 1998 and tied by Kevin O’Connell in 2007.
“It was an awesome feeling. I’ve been playing very well for the past year and have failed to win anything,” Register said. “It felt great to finally finish off a tournament win.”
Coach Andrew Sapp was thrilled with the performances of Register and fellow freshman Ben Griffin, who’ve both captured tournament victories early in the season.
Griffin, who got his first collegiate victory earlier in the year at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Tournament hosted by UNC, also had a strong tournament in Virginia finishing tied for 10th at nine under par (69-69-69).
“They add a lot to the team — that goes without saying,” Sapp said, “We expected them to contribute, but I’m really excited for them to win as early as they did.”
Despite Register and Griffin’s performances, the Tar Heels failed to capitalize as a team, finishing 23 shots off the winning Demon Deacons.
UNC finished the par-5s at 15 under par for the tournament, 16 shots worse than Wake Forest which ended up going 31 under par.