Men's Golf Tackles ACC-Strong Field in Florida

Sunday, February 20

Panama City Beach, Fla. (Shark's Tooth G.C.)

All Day

North Carolina

Watersound Invitational Day One

Photo by: Andy Mead

February 19, 2022 | Men's Golf

Shark's Tooth Golf Course Also Home to '22 ACC Championship

By: Steve Kirschner

Carolina men's golf returns to action February 20-22 at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City Beach, Fla., competing in a 14-team field that includes a dozen Atlantic Coast Conference squads plus two from the SEC.

The Tar Heels are ranked in the top five in the nation in all three men's golf polls – No. 4 by Golfstat and No. 5 by Golfweek and the Bushnell Coaches poll.

Watersound is Carolina's second start this semester. The Tar Heels finished fourth, shooting 38-under-par, two weeks ago in Hawai'i in the Amer Ari Invitational.

Freshman David Ford tied for sixth with a 14-under 202 that included a second-round 64, his low round of the season.

Ford is one of three Tar Heels named to the watch list this week for the U.S. Team for the Arnold Palmer Cup. Ryan Gerard is ranked No. 12; Ford is 15^th and Austin Greaser is No. 21.

Joining UNC in the Watersound field are Boston College, Clemson, Duke, tournament host Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest from the ACC and Alabama and Arkansas from the SEC.

The Shark's Tooth Golf Course is not only the site of the Watersound Invitational, but the course will also host the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in April.

"This tournament is unique in that during the regular season we never see a full dose of ACC teams," says Tar Heel head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "With the entire league here at Shark's Tooth, we pretty much have a preview of what's to come in April at the ACC Championship. The field is excellent, but like always, our focus will be on our own games and the golf course."

Golfstat's fourth-ranked Tar Heels are the highest-ranked team in the tournament. Arkansas is No. 6, Wake Forest is 12^th, Notre Dame is 15^th and Georgia Tech is 17^th. Twelve of the top-50 ranked players in the country are representing teams in the tournament.

The Tar Heel lineup includes fifth-year senior Ryan Gerard, junior Austin Greaser, Ford, sophomore Peter Fountain and senior Ryan Burnett.

Four Tar Heels are ranked in Golfstat's top 100 – Gerard is 17^th, Ford is 20^th, Greaser is 34^th and Fountain 88^th. Carolina and Oklahoma State, which is ranked No. 3, are the only schools with three players in Golfstat's top 35.

Greaser (71.37), Burnett (71.60) and Gerard (71.80) enter Watersound with the three-lowest stroke averages in Carolina history.

Gerard (26 under), Greaser (19 under), Ford (16 under) and Fountain (5 under) have played the first five tournaments this season in a combined 66 under par, while Burnett is coming off his finest start of the season with a 6-under finish in Hawai'i.