Tar Heels Head to Mason Rudolph Championship

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The North Carolina Tar Heels are set to begin their second tournament of the year at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tennessee from Sept. 21-23. This will be the second consecutive year they have participated in the event hosted by Vanderbilt University. The team also competed in the tournament each year from 2009-2013.

The Heels will be bringing the same five as in the season-opening Cougar Classic. The five will be senior Kelly Whaley, junior Brynn Walker, sophomore Ava Bergner and the freshmen duo of Jennifer Zhou and Nicole Lu. Mariana Ocano, a junior, will be joining them and competing as an individual. They will be teeing off the No. 1 or No. 10 tee at 8:30 a.m. CT/9:30 a.m. ET.

The tournament will be held at the par-72 6,450-yard Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course.

"It is a great golf course," Tar Heel Head Coach Jan Mann said. "The first three holes are very tough holes. If they can focus on hitting greens they will have a great opportunity to score well."

Carolina finished 11th overall last year at the event. Bergner finished 18th individually shooting 4-under-par through the three-day event. Walker, Ocano and Whaley also all competed at the event last year.

This year features a strong field. Seventeenth-ranked Wake Forest, No. 22 Clemson and Louisville join Carolina from the ACC. No. 10 Arizona State, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 20 Auburn will also compete (Based on WGCA preseason rankings). UNC-Charlotte, Chattanooga, Houston, LSU, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Missouri and 25th-ranked host Vanderbilt round out the competitors.

After a ninth place finish at the Cougar Classic, the team will look to focus on playing a bit more conservative golf.

"One of the things we are just really focusing on this semester, as simple as it sounds, is simply hitting greens," Mann said. "Not going for those sucker pins or short-siding themselves. Even if they are 30 feet away they will still have great opportunity to two-putt or make the birdie."

This tournament will be the final tune-up for Carolina before hosting the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational Oct. 12-13 at Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill.

Course Information
Vanderbilt Legends – North Course – Par 72, 6,450 yards

Tee Times
9:30 a.m. ET (8:30 CT) off of holes No. 1 and No. 10

Live Scoring
www.GolfStat.com

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Players Mentioned

Ava Bergner

Nicole Lu

Mariana Ocano

Brynn Walker

Kelly Whaley

Jennifer Zhou