Following Carter Jenkins’ record-breaking performance at the Primland Collegiate Invitational, the North Carolina men’s golf team hoped to continue its momentum going into its next tournament.
But the wait was longer than anticipated. The Tar Heel Intercollegiate was cancelled the weekend of Oct. 3 due to Hurricane Joaquin, forcing the team go about three weeks without participating in a tournament.
On Sunday, the Tar Heels returned to action in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in Windermere, Florida. With a field boasting 10 out of the top 50 teams in the current Golfweek rankings, UNC faced some of its toughest competition of the fall season.
Top-ranked Illinois ultimately won the three-day tournament with a score of 865 to finish at 1-over-par. The Tar Heels tied with Florida for fifth place with a score of 882, good for 18-over-par.
UNC struggled on short holes throughout the tournament, as the team only averaged a score of 14-over-par on Par 3s and 22-over-par on Par 4s. The Tar Heels tallied 45 birdies over the course of the tournament, but did not make a single eagle.
Sophomore William Register led the way for UNC individually, posting the best individual round for the Tar Heels with a 70 on Sunday and scoring 11 birdies over the course of the tournament.
Register finished in a tie for 13th with a score of 219, nine shots behind individual winner Jon Rahm from Arizona State. Sophomore Ben Griffin also had a solid tournament, finishing in a tie for 16th with a score of 220.
Jenkins, who set the UNC record for the best single-round score in a golf tournament in the Primland Collegiate Invitational, had a strong start by going even par with a score of 72.
But he struggled in the following two rounds, putting up a score of 78 in two consecutive rounds. Jenkins finished with a 12-over-par score of 228, which resulted in a four-way tie for 49th.
