UNC men's golf team returns to form, finishing second against Notre Dame

The No. 14 North Carolina men’s golf team went down to the wire with No. 12 Notre Dame at the Fighting Irish Classic in South Bend, IN this weekend, finishing in second place out of thirteen teams. The top-3 finish for the Tar Heels signaled a return to form for a team that had been struggling ever since winning the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate on September 2nd.

What happened? 

Day 1:

The Tar Heels returned to South Bend with confidence after a strong showing in last year’s tournament. 

After Monday’s first two rounds, the Tar Heels played their way into a two-way race to the finish with Notre Dame. A combined score of 561 saw them sit in second place at -7 while the Fighting Irish held a seven stroke lead with a -14 score of 554. 

Junior Ryan Gerard continued last year’s success, when he recorded the lowest round ever for a Tar Heel, by jumping out to a hot start, posting a 3-under 139 after Monday’s first two rounds. First-year Austin Greaser led the way for the Tar Heels, besting Gerard by one shot and securing a position in fifth place with a 4-under 138.

Sophomore Ryan Burnett struggled in his first one and a half rounds. After 27 holes, September’s ACC player of the month was 5-over-par. However, he caught fire on the back nine of his second round to propel UNC to the top of the leaderboard. Birdies on 10, 13, 15, 17 and 18 brought Burnett to a tie for 8th place going into the final round.

Day 2:

After his late round heroics on Monday, Burnett continued to be the linchpin for the Tar Heels in the final round, shooting a team-best 67 to finish tied for second with 6-under-par 207. Both Gerard and Greaser also assisted in erasing the seven-shot deficit. 

Gerard posted a 2-under-par 69 to finish tied for fourth with an overall score of 5-under-par 208. Greaser was the third Tar Heel to finish in the top-10, culminating his tournament with an even par 71 to lock in a 3-under-par 209 and secure a solo finish in sixth place. 

Sophomore Dougie Ergood jumped up seven places on the leaderboard on Tuesday with a 2-under 69 to finish his tournament placed tied for 23rd and senior Austin Hitt rounded out the Tar Heel starters with a 7-over-par 220. 

Despite shooting the best round of any team, the Tuesday comeback for the Tar Heels was not to be. They closed out the tournament one shot behind Notre Dame, finishing second overall with a 15-under-par team score of 837. 

Who stood out? 

Burnett continued his impressive run to begin his sophomore season. His second place finish is the third time in four starts that Burnett has finished in the top five for the fall season. While he was 3-over-par in first 27 holes, rattled off nine birdies in his final 27 holes to carry him to yet another solid finish.

When was it decided? 

Despite his unquestioned domination of the course last year, it was a mistake by Gerard that ended up sinking the Tar Heels’ chance at a third round comeback. Notre Dame and UNC were tied at 16-under-par when Gerard and his opponent, Davis Chatfield, stepped up to the final hole. Chatfield was able to get up and down for a crucial par while Gerard bogeyed, proving to be the stroke that kept the Notre Dame victory alive. 

Why does it matter? 

UNC’s performance in South Bend proves that they can face anyone in the country, no matter the location. Playing on Notre Dame’s home course, the Tar Heels gave the Fighting Irish all they could handle down the stretch and demonstrated their ability to gain ground in the final round. 

When do they play next?

The North Carolina will return to the course on October 18th in the Golf Club of Georgia Intercollegiate in Atlanta, GA. 

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