Tag: UNC Golf

UNC highlights ACC dominance across the entire 2023-2024 college sports season

If you include all athletic programs, the ACC is the best conference in college sports.

It seems like whatever sport you talk about last year, the North Carolina Tar Heels enjoyed plenty of sustained success.

UNC’s lone national championship last season came from the field hockey team, which came back to beat Northwestern in a shootout, for its NCAA-leading 11th national title. Women’s tennis, men’s track and field, fencing and men’s golf also won ACC titles – in addition to field hockey.

North Carolina returned to men’s basketball glory during the 2023-2024 campaign, winning its first ACC Regular Season Title since 2018 and making the NCAA Tournament after a year’s absence. Most recently, the Diamond Heels won the ACC Regular Season Championship and made the College World Series.

UNC made its athletic presence felt in the ACC once again, but it wasn’t the conference’s only school to dominate in athletics last season.

To get an idea of the ACC’s dominance, just take a look at this graphic below:

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ACC is quietly one of the top conferences in women’s basketball, thanks in particular to NC State and Virginia Tech. For people saying the ACC had a “down” year in men’s basketball, five schools – North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, NC State and Virginia all made the NCAA Tournament, all but Virginia won a game and the Wolfpack enjoyed a run to the Final Four.

Every ACC football program but Virginia, Pitt and Wake Forest made a bowl game last year. Florida State was the most successful – despite entering bowl season a perfect 13-0, it didn’t make the College Football Playoff.

With the College Football Playoff being expanded to 12 teams this coming fall, will multiple ACC teams make it?

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Armando Bacot and Vance Honeycutt highlight recipients of UNC’s top athletic honor

UNC’s athletic accomplishments in the 2023-2024 sports calendar were highlighted by four of its student-athletes winning the same award.

The North Carolina Tar Heels, across all sports, enjoyed a successful 2023-2024 sports calendar.

UNC’s fencing, women’s tennis, men’s golf and men’s track and field teams all won ACC championships, but the most successful program was field hockey, which won a thrilling shootout against Northwestern to capture its 11th National Championship (most all-time).

North Carolina enjoyed a much-needed bounce-back season in men’s basketball, going from missing the NCAA Tournament last year to a Sweet 16 run this year. Armando Bacot became the program’s all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles.

Most recently, Vance Honeycutt led the Diamond Heels to their first College World Series since 2018. He hit multiple walk-offs in the NCAA Tournament, including UNC’s CWS opener against ACC rival Virginia, while winning his second-straight ACC Defensive Player of the Year award.

Fiona Crawley, who spent most of tennis season as North Carolina’s top singles player, won 14 of the 19 matches she played in. Austin Greaser will go down as one of the best golfers to come through Chapel Hill, with his 71.04 stroke average third in program history.

Due to last year’s combined success between Bacot, Honeycutt, Crawley and Greaser, each student-athlete received the Patterson Medal – UNC’s top athletic honor.

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Each of the above Tar Heels enjoyed amazing careers. Though Honeycutt is the only one who could return, his status as a projected first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft means his time in Chapel Hill is likely over.

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LOOK: UNC men’s golf team meets Michael Jordan at Grove XXIII

The UNC men’s golf program was able to meet Michael Jordan at The Grove XXIII while practicing in Jupiter, Florida.

As the North Carolina men’s golf program prepares for the upcoming Spring portion of their schedule, they took a little team trip down to Florida for some practice. And while down in Jupiter, the team visited The Grove XXIII, which is Michael Jordan’s golf course.

The GOAT himself was on hand to meet with the team and maybe even give them some advice on the sport as well.

The official X (Formerly Twitter) account of the men’s golf program posted photos of Jordan meeting with the team on Saturday at his golf course, sharing the awesome experience that the team had:

While we know what Jordan did on the court both at North Carolina and then in the NBA, his love of golf is something that also stands out. So it makes sense for him to check in on the Tar Heels while at his golf club to get some practice in.

You can also spot a Carolina Blue colorway of the Air Jordan 6 low golf shoe Jordan is rocking as well.

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Hole in one? UNC golfers are ready to play at Finley Golf Coure

The UNC men’s and women’s golf teams will soon get to call Finley Golf Course home again, with renovations nearing completion.

Finley Golf Course, home to the UNC men’s and women’s golf programs, is one of the country’s premier collegiate golf courses.

It rests just off NC-54 – near the Finley practice fields that Tar Heel lacrosse teams frequently hone their skills – and not too far from campus.

Carolina golfers had to play all their matches on the road last year, however, as Finley Golf Course underwent renovations to improve match-day experience.

There’s some good news coming to these Tar Heel golfers – their home course is almost complete.

On Friday, Sept. 29, longtime UNC journalist Lee Pace announced that Finley renovations were in their final stages.

While the course isn’t open for match play yet, Carolina golfers have been able to venture out there and practice their shots. They enjoy the new-look course.

“I was amazed,” UNC graduate student golfer Austin Greaser told GoHeels.com. “It’s a completely different golf course now. One of the cool parts is it’s actually pretty hard now for the top players. It can play significantly longer than before. We’re hitting more 7, 8 and 9 irons into greens now, where before we played a lot of wedges. It’s now a really good test of our game rather than being a course where you could wake up and shoot 3, 4, or 5 under no matter what.”

The coaches like the new look, too.

“The golf course is outstanding, Davis and his team did a great job,” UNC head women’s golf coach Aimee Neff told GoHeels.com. “It’s a more demanding golf course. The green complexes are much more challenging because there is so much more undulation. They’re big in size, but that can be misleading. Just being on the green doesn’t mean you have an easy two-putt. Before, the greens were pretty soft. Now approach shots and recovery shots are going to require a lot more skill.”

UNC’s women’s golf team, which is looking to grow even further in Year Three under Ness, unfortunately does not play at Finley this year. The Tar Heels host the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational on Monday, Oct. 8 and Tuesday, Oct. 9, but that will take place at the Governor’s Club on the south side of town.

The UNC men’s golf squad, which placed third at last year’s NCAA championships, will get to host match play at the brand new Finley Golf Course. Carolina will host a three-day, NCAA Regional next year from Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, May 15.

Next season, though, both the men’s and women’s programs will get to enjoys seasons full of matches at Finley.

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UNC men’s golf team honored Saturday at Kenan Stadium

The UNC men’s golf team was honored for its historic 2022 campaign during Saturday’s UNC-App State football matchup.

There’s a lot of dominant athletic programs at UNC – men’s basketball, field hockey and women’s soccer, to name a few.

You can go ahead and add men’s golf to that list.

The Tar Heels’ 2022 season was their best finish in the NCAA Tournament since 1993 (tied for third). They won individual stroke play in the same tournament, saw five players win regular-season titles and four (David Ford, Ryan Burnett, Austin Greaser, Dylan Menante) capture All-America and All-ACC honors.

For team efforts on the links, UNC was recognized during Saturday night’s football game against App State.

Carolina begins its men’s golf season on Friday, Sept. 15, heading out west to Illinois for the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitation. The highlight of Carolina’s season, however, is when it heads to Scotland next month for the inaugural St. Andrews Links Collegiate Tournament.

UNC has enjoyed past success at St. Andrews, host of the world’s oldest golf tournament (The Open), winning the 2006 International Collegiate Tournament and also playing there in 2002 and 2010.

Between now and then, though, Carolina will play tournaments in Texas and Wilmington, N.C.

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Noah Goldman named men’s golf assistant coach

UNC men’s golf team announces Noah Goldman as the new Assistant coach.

The North Carolina men’s golf team named Noah Goldman the program’s assistant coach.

UNC announced the decision Friday, with Go Heels sending a press release on the staff addition. In the press release, men’s golf coach Andrew DiBitetto talked about the decision to bring Goldman to Chapel Hill.

“Noah is a rising star,” says DiBitetto. “He joins our program from Oregon State, where Jon Reehoorn and the Beaver golf program are widely respected. Noah is relationship-based, communicates well, is incredibly intelligent and very competitive. He’s detail oriented, loves pressure and is committed to getting better each day. Noah had a strong playing career in college and is still a very good player today. During the interview process, I left each conversation more and more impressed. We are excited to learn more about Noah and work with him and welcome Noah, Ashley, Ellie and Mila into our Carolina Golf family.”

The signing should do wonders for the program, which has grown in the last few seasons—especially last year with UNC accounting for the ACC coach of the year DiBitetto and player David Ford.

This upcoming year has much promise, with standout golfer Ford leading the way for the Tar Heels.

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From Chapel Hill to Scotland: UNC golfers playing at historic St. Andrews in fall

Both the UNC men’s and women’s golf programs will head to Scotland’s historic, St. Andrews Links course in October for a collegiate tourney.

The University of North Carolina men’s and women’s golf teams have the privilege of playing at Finley Golf Course, one of the country’s premier collegiate venues.

This fall, those same UNC golf teams are traveling to one of the world’s premier golf venues.

Earlier today, it was announced that North Carolina will travel to Scotland and face off against Georgetown, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt in the inaugural St. Andrews Links Collegiate tournament.

According to GoHeels.com, teams will play two rounds of stroke play at the Jubilee Course, plus one day of match play at the Old Course.

“We are thrilled and thankful to be part of the inaugural St. Andrews Collegiate,” UNC men’s golf team head coach Andrew DiBitetto told GoHeels.com. “It’s been a tremendous effort by NBC Sports, the GOLF Channel, and the St Andrews Link Trust to put this together. This new tournament will be an incredible experience and opportunity for our golf programs, especially our student-athletes.”

UNC is quite familiar with St. Andrews, playing in three previous tournaments (2002, 2006, 2010) and capturing the 2006 International Collegiate tournament.

To give you a little context on how historic St. Andrews is, it’s a 30-time host of The Open Championship, also known as the world’s oldest golf tournament. Savannah, Ga. native Brian Harman just won the 2023 tournament over the weekend, carding a 13-under-par to finish six strokes ahead of former world number one Jason Day.

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UNC Women’s Golf lands commitment over the weekend

The UNC women’s golf program landed a commitment on Sunday.

UNC women’s golf coach Aimee Neff and the program landed a recruit on Sunday afternoon.

Greensboro, North Carolina native Ellen Yu took to Instagram to announce that she will play her college golf at the University of North Carolina. Yu will stay close to home to play for Neff and the staff, adding a nice commitment to the program.

Yu will join UNC as part of the class of 2029 and will look to make an impact right away for Neff.

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UNC recently added Katherine Hamski as an assistant coach to the staff earlier in June after another successful season for the program.

As they look ahead to next school year, the goal remains the same for the Tar Heels and coach Neff. They will look to get better and make a run not only in the ACC but in the NCAA Tournament.

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David Ford named first-team All-America

North Carolina Sophomore golfer David Ford snags first-team All-America honors.

North Carolina sophomore golfer [autotag]David Ford[/autotag] has been named to first-team All-America honors.

The announcement came Wednesday morning, with Ford being 1 of 11 golfers selected for such a high honor. Ford was the only Tar Heel to crack the list and joins Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht as one of the two to represent the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The honor acknowledges Ford’s remarkable year and the work he’s put on the green. Ford played a significant role for UNC, helping lead the program to new heights as they tied for third in the NCAA championship.

Ford had a historic season, leading Carolina in scoring at 69.89, the second-lowest average in UNC history. The sophomore also became the first Tar Heel to win ACC Player-of-the-Year honors, penciling his name in the record books.

Ford becomes UNC’s eighth first-team All-America, the second under head coach Andrew DiBitetto.

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Tar Heels finish third in NCAA men’s golf tournament

The North Carolina men’s golf team finished third in the NCAA tournament after a 3-2 loss to Georgia Tech.

The North Carolina men’s golf team championship hopes came to a screeching end Tuesday after falling short to Georgia Tech 3-2 in the semifinal.

Despite the bitter ending, the Tar Heels made significant strides this season, tying for third in the NCAA championship, marking their best finish since 1993. Led by ACC’s golf coach of the year Andrew DiBitetto, UNC had a remarkable season, winning five team titles in other tournaments.

In a press statement released by the school, DiBitetto reflected on the loss.

“I’m incredibly proud of our guys because they play the game the right way. DiBitetto said. “They have so much grit, so much heart, they never gave up. Even going back to the quarterfinal match this morning, with three, four holes to go, it didn’t look like it was going to go our way. They just hung in there and kept hitting shots and kept marching along and executing. All of a sudden, we come out on top and then the same thing happens in the semifinal. It looked like that match might end pretty early. David Ford starts to flip it on the back nine and ends up winning his match. Peter Fountain was three down with six holes to play and gets it all the way to 18.”

DiBitetto ended the statement by crediting the Yellow Jackets for their performance.

“Credit to a really good Georgia Tech team. Especially Ross Steelman coming down the stretch. I didn’t see it, but I heard he made a clutch 12-footer on 16 and a 20-footer on 17. A big tip of the cap to them. They’re an incredible team.”

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