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Senior UNC men's golf teammates push each other in record-breaking weekend

UNC golfer Ben Griffin chooses a club for his next shot during the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Final at Finley Golf Course on Sunday.

UNC golfer Ben Griffin chooses a club for his next shot during the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Final at Finley Golf Course on Sunday.

The North Carolina men’s golf team sank putts and school records en route to its first place finish this weekend at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Final.

Senior Ben Griffin had a historic round Saturday at the Tar Heels’ home course, UNC Finley Golf Club.

“I think we’re all very comfortable with this golf course,” Griffin said. “Obviously we all play here just about every day, so we’re comfortable just being out there on our home turf.”

Griffin — who previously set the course record at Finley with a 62 in fall qualifying — proved just how comfortable he was. His 63 on Saturday afternoon is tied for the lowest single-round score in school history and was enough to win the tournament. His 19-under-par weekend score broke the school 54-hole record by two strokes. 

Griffin set the bar high, but senior Jose Montaño gave him a run for his money. On Sunday, the Cochabamba, Bolivia, native shot a 64, a personal best, and he finished second in the tournament.

“We pretty much dominated the golf course in every way that you can,” head coach Andrew DiBitetto said. "For Jose to do what he did today, for Ben to do what he did all week was absolutely incredible.”

Montaño and Griffin led the way in a strong team performance overall for UNC. On Saturday, they tied the record for second-best round as a team in school history. Not a single starter shot over par for the Tar Heels.

“We felt really comfortable, especially with attitude," Montaño said. "We talked about that this week. We were really positive and very determined this week.”

Griffin said that even with the rain last night, the course was dry and the ball rolled predictably. The Chapel Hill native credited aggressive play for his record-breaking performance.

“There’s a lot of birdies to be made out there,” he said. "And you’ll get behind if you keep making pars.”

Griffin took advantage of all those birdies out there — racking up 19 and adding an eagle.

Coming off a close loss earlier in the week at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate Final, in which UNC held a late lead, DiBitetto knew it was important for the Tar Heels to play well in the final round on Sunday and close out the weekend with a victory.

UNC held only a six-stroke lead over Jacksonville heading into the final round, but the team ended up winning by 23 strokes.

“I really like the way that our team is progressing,” DiBitetto said. “The results haven’t been exactly what we wanted just yet. You know, we had a little bit of a hiccup earlier in the week where we had a chance to win, and we didn’t get it done, but the whole time these guys have been tremendous. I think they’re buying into the mentality that we’re trying to create and that was on full display this weekend."

Griffin said he had to stay focused Sunday to follow up on a record-setting round Saturday in order to finish strong and win the tournament.

“Especially with this kid coming from behind with a 64 today,” Griffin said, playfully nudging his teammate Montaño with his elbow.

“Yeah,” Montaño said with a grin. “It was a good round.”

@holtmckeithan

sports@dailytarheel.com

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