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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's golf finishes ninth in regional, misses cut for NCAA Championship

The North Carolina women’s golf team finished ninth in the NCAA San Francisco Regional on Wednesday, failing to advance to the NCAA Championships and ending its spring season.  

What happened?  

North Carolina entered the regional as the No.6 seed and faced five other teams ranked in the Golfstat top-25.  

The Tar Heel golfers for the tournament were Brynn Walker, Kelly Whaley, Ava Bergner, Bryana Nguyen and Mariana Ocano.  After the first round, the team combined for a score of one-over-par and had 14 birdies, good enough to tie the Tar Heels for seventh place.  In the second round, the Tar Heels shot four-over-par, which left them tied in seventh place and seven strokes away from the lead.  

Only the top-six teams advanced to the NCAA Championship, in Stillwater, Okla., so the third round was its last chance to move up a spot and break into the top-six. 

After the third round, North Carolina shot two-over-par. For the tournament, the team shot a combined seven-over-par to finish right in the middle of the field.  

Who stood out?  

Whaley stood out as the highest finishing Tar Heel in a five-way tie for 17th place. After she shot one-under-par, a one-over-par in the second round, she parred the third round for a strong finish. For the season, Whaley now has the lowest single-season stroke average in UNC history at 73.24. 

Walker also played well. Walker shot an even par the first round, which landed her in a tie for 25th place. In the next round, she shot one-under-par and moved her up into a tie for 12th place. Walker faltered some in the last round to a two-over-par overall score and finished tied for 22nd place.  

When was it decided?  

Though the Tar Heels were tied for seventh place throughout the first two rounds of competition, they were unable to secure a top-six place finish and qualify for the NCAA Championship.  

In the third round, they shot a 2-over-par which dropped them into ninth place on the team leaderboard.  

Why does it matter?  

The results of this regional decided which teams would advance to the NCAA Championship. Since the Tar Heels did not finish in the top-six their season is now over.  

Instead of preparing for the NCAA Championship, the Tar Heels will be headed home until the start of their fall season.  

Last year, the Tar Heels had a third round comeback at the NCAA regional during the third round, they shot one-under-par and placed sixth. With that sixth-place finish the Tar Heels qualified for the NCAA Championship. 

When do they play next?   

The Tar Heels won't be back in action until the fall season. 

@TorreNetkovick 

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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