First-year Ryan Gerard posted his best finish so far as a Tar Heel as the UNC men’s golf team tied for second this week at the John Burns Invitational in Hawai’i.
What happened?
UNC’s team was coming off of a disappointing finish in their last event, the Sea Best Invitational, in which a poor final round saw the team finish in sixth place.
The Tar Heels headed to Lihue, Hawai'i, this week looking to bounce back against a strong field of twenty teams from around the country. They got off to a promising start, as senior Ben Griffin fired an impressive three-under par 69 to get things going.
The solid round came less than ten days removed from a heartbreaking second-place finish in his last tournament, in which he came one stroke away from winning before falling short in a sudden death playoff.
Sophomore Austin Hitt also came in under-par in the first round for UNC, posting a one-under 71. The team ended the day tied for third place on the overall leaderboard, but 14 strokes back of frontrunner UNLV.
Day Two saw Ryan Gerard storm up the leaderboard with a stellar four-under par 68 that featured an eagle on the par-five ninth hole. It was the second best round of the first-year’s short career, and just one stroke shy of his best.
Senior William Register also broke par with a one-under 71, while Griffin fell back a stroke with a one-over 73. The team finished the day tied for fourth place, twelve strokes back of first.
The final round proved to be the turning point for the week, as UNC held tough while other teams around them struggled. Register posted his best round of the week with a three-under 69 while Gerard came in with a steady even-par 72.