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The Daily Tar Heel

Peter Fountain leads UNC golf to win at Tar Heel Intercollegiate

UNC MEN'S GOLF

First year Peter Fountain completes a swing at the Chapman Center in Chapel Hill, NC on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Photo courtesy of Jeff Camarati for UNC Athletic Communications. 

Led by first-year Peter Fountain, the North Carolina men’s golf team swept through the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Tournament this weekend at Finley Golf Course.

What happened?

The Tar Heels started out strong, playing on their home turf for the first and only time this season. On Saturday, UNC braved the sopping wet green and got an early lead with three players finishing in the top five. 

First-year Peter Fountain tied for first, shooting seven-under-par 65. Sophomore Austin Greaser followed in fourth, finishing five-under 67 and junior Ryan Burnett placed fifth with 3-under 69. Senior Austin Hitt and junior Dougie Ergood rounded out UNC’s top five finishers in a six-way tie with even par 72.

On day two, Fountain maintained his top spot on the rankings, shooting an impressive nine-under-par 65. 

Hitt rose 12 places on the leaderboard to tie for seventh with a 3-under-par 72. Burnett and Greaser dropped in the rankings, but still hit one and two under, respectively. The Tar Heels maintained first place, but their round score was matched by Michigan State and beat by UNC Wilmington.

The team came back to fight on the third day, finishing with a tournament low score of 275. Greaser was on the come up, rising eight places and tying with Hitt for fourth place with a spectacular 5-under-par 67. Fountain shot a 6-under 66 to secure the lead in the individual competition.

North Carolina triumphed with a score of 836 (276-285-275), beating the tournament record for low team final to par by going under 28.

Who stood out? 

Fountain was an obvious standout, shooting 65-70-66 for a 15-under 201, which earned him a tie for his first tournament individual win. Fountain finished the tournament with 15 birdies and an eagle and led the field in the par 4’s with a 3.87 average. Ranked No. 56 on GolfStat, Fountain crushed the 2017-18 tournament record for the lowest individual score.

Greaser and Hitt were five strokes behind Fountain, tying for fourth place overall. After shooting a high 72 in the first round, Hitt made up the difference with 69s on the last two days. Greaser went an inconsistent 67-76-67, but still held his top spot throughout.

When was it decided?

UNC held the lead through the three days and was one of only three teams to finish under par for the tournament. 

The Tar Heels struggled the second day and were challenged by front runners Campbell and Michigan State. However, thanks to strong play in the third round with four players finishing in the top eight, the Tar Heels ran away from the rest of the competition. 

Why does it matter?

North Carolina has consistently finished in the top five of each of its five tournaments this season. In the seven times that UNC has hosted the Tar Heel Intercollegiate, it has now won four of these tournaments. This was a big step in the right direction, as the Tar Heels have only one more dual match and one more tournament to showcase their talent before the ACC Championship in late April.

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels travel to the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh to go head-to-head with N.C. State on Friday.

 @DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com 

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