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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC men's golf overcomes rough Friday to finish fourth at Olympia Fields

The North Carolina men’s golf team continued their strong start to the season by placing fourth in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invite in Olympia Fields, Illinois, this weekend.

What happened?

The Tar Heels started the weekend poorly by finishing with a score of 294, or 14-over par, on Friday. Sophomore Joshua Martin turned in a solid performance, however, shooting even par on the tough Olympia Fields golf course, which has hosted the NCAA Tournament and the U.S. Open in the past. The challenges presented by the course affected the rest of the team in the first round, as they finished well behind Martin.

The team turned in a much better showing on Saturday, as Martin posted the team’s only round under par for the tournament with a 69, or 1-under par. Junior William Register and first-year Austin Hitt also played well on Saturday, posting scores of 70 and 71, respectively. The strong play on Saturday translated into the Tar Heels best round of the tournament, posting a score of 285, or 5-over par.

Who stood out?

Hitt was able to adjust to the difficulty of Olympia Fields over the weekend by leading the way for the Tar Heels on Par-3 holes, where he shot a combined 1-under-par. He also led the team in birdies with nine. Joshua Martin also turned in a solid performance by leading the team on Par-4 holes and totaling eight birdies.

When was it decided?

The Tar Heels were able to have another strong performance in the third round, but the hole created on Friday was too large to overcome. 

Martin struggled in the final round and was only able to manage a score of 73, or 3-over par, but Martin still led the Tar Heels in the individual leaderboard by tying for 10th place. Register picked up the slack by scoring an even 70, which propelled him into a tie for 17th place with Texas A&M sophomore Chandler Phillips. 

Why does it matter?

The Tar Heels were able to start the 2016-17 season strong by finishing in fourth place at the Rod Myers Invitational at Duke University, and hoped to build on the strong performance from the season opener. Coach Andrew Sapp acknowledged the challenges that Olympia Fields presented throughout the weekend, but was proud of his team’s performance and their ability to overcome adversity. Sapp added that the team needs to work on its driving accuracy if the Tar Heels want to compete for victories later in the season.

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels will travel to Virginia to participate in the Primland Collegiate Invitational from September 26-27, where they are looking to defend their championship from 2015.

@BrandonWhite95

sports@dailytarheel.com

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