UNC men's golf finishes sixth overall at Watersound Invitational

On Tuesday, the UNC Men’s Golf team finished up a decent showing in Panama City Beach, FL at the Watersound Invitational, finishing sixth overall.

What happened?

The North Carolina’s men’s golf squad traveled down south for the Watersound Invitational at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City Beach, FL. The 14-team event featured schools from both the ACC and SEC and started on Sunday and ended on Tuesday. 

After an exceptional first round by the Tar Heels, they were just one shot behind the leading No. 17 Georgia Tech. The second round saw a less successful UNC performance, yet still saw the Tar Heels placed at fourth by the end of the day. 

Georgia Tech stretched its lead even further to six strokes in front of Virginia Tech on Day 2. The Tar Heels hoped to put out some great performances in order to climb the leaderboard on Day 3.

Who stood out? 

While UNC ended its trip in Florida with a sixth-place finish at the Watersound, the third day was full of stellar performances. The Tar Heels performance this week was highlighted by junior Austin Greaser and first-year David Ford. 

While Greaser started his day in fifth place on the player leaderboard at four under par, he gained just one stroke on the day putting him at three under and tied for ninth place. Despite the drop in the standings, Greaser had a great day overall with two birdies and 13 pars on the day, shooting a respectable 73.

Ford also finished with 73 strokes on the third day of action, but his round was a bit more all over the place. Ford made the turn to the back nine with four shots over par, yet turned his day around with four birdies on the latter half of his round. The first-year from Georgia finished tied for 13th in the event.

When was it decided?

The Watersound Invitational was decided very early in the event. Georgia Tech left it all out on the course and ended its performance at 15 shots under par as a team, besting North Carolina’s score of one under par. Regardless of GT’s success ruining UNC’s chances, Alabama’s Canon Claycomb shot the lights off of this tournament and finished his third round at 14 shots under par for the entire event. The closest golfer to him ended his play at six under par.

Why does it matter?

This event matters for the Tar Heels because it proved to be a wake-up call for their team. Although they can take away many points where they succeeded in the Watersound, this golf team learned that there is a lot of great competition in the ACC, and the Tar Heels will need to improve upon this week’s showing in order to contend for that title at the end of the season.

When do they play next?

North Carolina men’s golf plays in the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, GA this weekend. The event will be held at Great Waters Golf Course and will be played from Sunday, March 20th through Tuesday, March 22nd.

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com