For the second consecutive year, the North Carolina men’s golf team ended its fall season on a high note at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate on Sunday.
Of the 13 teams in the field, UNC finished in first place at the Grandover Resort East Course in Greensboro. The No. 12 Tar Heels won with a 15-under-par, 849 total score, which was 12 strokes ahead of second place Virginia Tech. In addition to the team victory, freshman Ben Griffin won the individual title with a 10-under, 206.
Coach Andrew Sapp was proud of his team for being able to retain its title.
“We came into this tournament to defend our title and we did,” Sapp said. “It’s always difficult to repeat as champions because the rest of the field is coming after us, but I thought we embraced the challenge."
While the Tar Heels won the team event by a comfortable margin, the individual event came down to the very end.
Griffin edged out Virginia Tech senior Scott Vincent by just one stroke despite starting the final round four shots back. Griffin quickly erased that deficit by birdieing seven of the first 10 holes en route to a final round score of five-under, 67.
“I went into the final round knowing that I needed a low score to win,” Griffin said. “Scott Vincent is a great player, so I knew I needed to get hot. Being four strokes back, I was trying to play aggressively and make as many birdies as possible.”
Sapp had plenty of praise for Griffin following his come-from-behind victory.
“Ben played great on Sunday to win individually,” Sapp said. “It was a great experience for him to come back against a great competitor and get his second win of the season.”
