Martin chases first tournament title for UNC golf

For Joshua Martin, expectations have always been high.

Two-time state champion. North Carolina Junior Player of the Year in 2014. Two-time U.S. Amateur Qualifier. The list goes on and on.

When Martin joined the North Carolina men’s golf team this past fall, there was no idling in his game. He kept his foot on the gas.

Martin played in all four of UNC’s fall tournaments and cracked the top-10 in two of the four, including a fourth-place finish at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate.

Martin added another top-10 finish Tuesday in the spring’s first event, finishing third at 3-under-par in the Sea Best Invitational in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

“He’d been playing great in practice, and he came off of a great winter break,” Head Coach Andrew Sapp said. “His golf game has been on for at least a couple months.”

Although the Tar Heel golf team has an abundance of depth on its roster, Martin is expected to be a key contributor this spring.

Martin is usually joined by William Register, Carter Jenkins, Ben Griffin and Henry Do in UNC’s starting lineup. All four of these golfers have won a tournament as an individual, and Martin is looking to join them.

“It’s very comforting,” Register said on the depth of the team. “It takes a whole lot of pressure off of everybody, and we get to play free knowing the team has our backs.”

Martin had a chance to win a tournament Tuesday, but a tumultuous third round proved to be the difference.

Yet the ceiling is high.

“I have made a lot of my goals to win a tournament this year,” Martin said. “It looks like I’m headed in the right direction.”

Martin’s tournament was highlighted by his 6-under-par first-round score of 64 — the third-lowest single-round score in program history. His round included a whopping eight birdies, five of which came on the back nine.

He followed up his mesmerizing first round with a 2-under-par score of 68 — but he faltered in the third and final round, carding a 5-over-par score of 75.

As the Tar Heels move into the spring season, Martin will undoubtedly be a key piece to Sapp’s puzzle. A team with only one senior will look to the youthful fire of Martin.

“We’ve got a pretty well-balanced attack when everyone is playing well,” Sapp said. “You throw Josh in it — just hopefully (that) will enable us to compete for an ACC and national title in the spring.”

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