The North Carolina men’s golf team struggled with consistency at the Puerto Rico Classic this week, stumbling in the final round for the second tournament in a row to finish 11th out of 15 teams.
What happened?
The week got off to an underwhelming start for the Tar Heels, as none of the team was able to break par on day one. Austin Hitt finished with an even-par 72, while Preyer Fountain and Ben Griffin followed closely behind, posting a pair of 2-over 74s.
Round two featured more ups and downs for North Carolina, but the team was unable to make up any ground over the course of the day, finishing with an overall score of 7-over par and remaining near the bottom of the leaderboard. The lone bright spot of the round was Griffin’s performance, as he finished with a roller coaster 3-under par 69. It started uneventfully with a 3-over 39 on the front nine before the junior from Chapel Hill lit up the back nine with an electric 6-under par 30.
For the second tournament in a row, UNC again struggled in the final round, with two players failing to break 80 on day three. A 3-under 69 from Hitt led the way, but the team could only manage an overall score of 295 at the end of the day, leaving the team in 11th to finish the tournament — a whopping 36 strokes behind first place Clemson.
Who stood out?
Austin Hitt put in a solid performance for the Tar Heels, finishing the week tied for 12th in the individual standings with a total score of 1-under par.
“He played well until the final round (last tournament) in Florida, but he bounced back and played well this week, so he showed a lot of character,” head coach Andrew Sapp said.
Sapp also praised Griffin’s performance in round two, specifically on the back nine.
