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University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, April 2
Naples, Fla. (Calusa Pines G.C.)
All Day
North Carolina
vs
The Calusa Cup Day One
Photo by: Andy Mead/YCJ
No. 3 Men's Golf Faces Another Stern Test In Naples
April 1, 2023 | Men's Golf
The University of North Carolina men's golf team returns to competition just five days after winning for the fourth time this season when the Tar Heels tee off in the Calusa Cup, hosted by Iowa, at the Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Fla., Sunday through Tuesday, April 2-4.
UNC shot 12 under par in the final round to defeat Texas Tech, Arizona State and three other top-10 teams to win the Valspar Collegiate Invitational March 28 at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
The Tar Heels head across the Sunshine State to take on another national championship caliber field in the Calusa Cup.
Carolina moved up one spot to No. 3 in the Golfstat rankings after the win at Valspar. The Calusa Cup field includes top-ranked Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 5 Arizona State, and four other teams ranked in the top 40 (No. 26 Ohio State, No. 29 Georgia, No. 35 Wake Forest and No. 39 Purdue).
Carolina has won four of seven starts this season, including the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas; the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., the Williams Cup at Eagle Point in Wilmington, N.C.; and the Valspar.
The four wins are the most in a season by the Tar Heels since 1997-98. The last time Carolina won at least five times in a season was in 1984-85, when UNC had six wins.
The Tar Heels are averaging 279.52 strokes and 4.48 strokes below par per round, both the best figures in Carolina history. It is the fourth straight season Carolina has lowered its season-best score to par.
UNC enters the Calusa Cup ranked No. 2 by Golfweek, No. 3 by Golfstat and No. 4 by the Golf Coaches Association. Vanderbilt, which has five wins this season, is the No. 1 team in the nation in all three polls.
The Tar Heels and Commodores have competed in the same event one time this season, in October at the Hogan Invitational where UNC shot 278-272-275 to win at 15-under 825. The Commodores were fifth at 1 under.
"This is our first time playing in the Calusa Cup but we know it's another tournament where we get to tee it up on an incredible golf course against the best players and teams in the country," says DiBitetto, who has led the Tar Heels to 14 team titles in his seasons as head coach. "It's what our guys love and it'll be another great opportunity for us."
Five of the top nine in Golfstat's player rankings could compete in the Calusa Cup: No. 2 Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech, who won the Valspar and is No. 2 in the world; Carolina's David Ford, who tied for second at Valspar and is No. 4 in the world; No. 5 Preston Summerhays of Arizona State; No. 7 Wells Williams of Vanderbilt; and No. 9 Austin Greaser, who has finished in the top 10 in three of UNC's four wins this season.
(The No. 1 player in the world and NCAA champion Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt will not compete as he is playing in the Masters.)
Aberg is one of three Texas Tech players in the top six in the current international player rankings for the Palmer Cup, while Ford (3), Summerhays (4), Williams (6), Greaser (7) and Ohio State's Maxwell Moldovan (10) are the top contenders for Team USA for the Palmer Cup.
Joining Ford and Greaser in the UNC lineup for the Calusa Cup are Ryan Burnett, Dylan Menante and Peter Fountain.
Ford shot 67-68-68 for a 10-under 203 to tie for second place at Valspar. It was the sixth time in seven tournaments this season the sophomore finished in the top six – that includes a win at the Stephens Cup when he threatened the course record after making eight straight birdies, three seconds, a fifth and a sixth at the Hogan. The Peachtree Corners, Ga., native leads the Tar Heels this season with a stroke average of 69.14.
The Calusa Cup will be Ford's 20th tournament as a Tar Heel, which would make him eligible for the UNC career record in stroke average and give the current roster the top four spots in school history. Ford enters Calusa at 70.03 in 19 starts; Greaser is currently first at 71.14 in 34 tournaments. Peter Fountain is second at 71.37 and Ryan Burnett is third at 71.42.
Greaser is the only Tar Heel to have a career average score to par below one with Ford about to join him on that very short list. Greaser is a combined 10 under par in 104 career rounds, good for a school record average of -0.10 below par per round. Fountain and Burnett are currently second and third all-time.
Burnett, who was one of three players to finish second to Sargent in a playoff in the 2022 NCAA Championship, shot two rounds of 69 to tie for 20th at Valspar.
Menante is coming off a final-round 65 at Valspar, which equaled his best 18 holes of the season. He began his third round making birdie-birdie-eagle en route to his eighth career round of 65 or better.
UNC shot 12 under par in the final round to defeat Texas Tech, Arizona State and three other top-10 teams to win the Valspar Collegiate Invitational March 28 at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
The Tar Heels head across the Sunshine State to take on another national championship caliber field in the Calusa Cup.
Carolina moved up one spot to No. 3 in the Golfstat rankings after the win at Valspar. The Calusa Cup field includes top-ranked Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 5 Arizona State, and four other teams ranked in the top 40 (No. 26 Ohio State, No. 29 Georgia, No. 35 Wake Forest and No. 39 Purdue).
Carolina has won four of seven starts this season, including the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas; the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., the Williams Cup at Eagle Point in Wilmington, N.C.; and the Valspar.
The four wins are the most in a season by the Tar Heels since 1997-98. The last time Carolina won at least five times in a season was in 1984-85, when UNC had six wins.
The Tar Heels are averaging 279.52 strokes and 4.48 strokes below par per round, both the best figures in Carolina history. It is the fourth straight season Carolina has lowered its season-best score to par.
UNC enters the Calusa Cup ranked No. 2 by Golfweek, No. 3 by Golfstat and No. 4 by the Golf Coaches Association. Vanderbilt, which has five wins this season, is the No. 1 team in the nation in all three polls.
The Tar Heels and Commodores have competed in the same event one time this season, in October at the Hogan Invitational where UNC shot 278-272-275 to win at 15-under 825. The Commodores were fifth at 1 under.
"This is our first time playing in the Calusa Cup but we know it's another tournament where we get to tee it up on an incredible golf course against the best players and teams in the country," says DiBitetto, who has led the Tar Heels to 14 team titles in his seasons as head coach. "It's what our guys love and it'll be another great opportunity for us."
Five of the top nine in Golfstat's player rankings could compete in the Calusa Cup: No. 2 Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech, who won the Valspar and is No. 2 in the world; Carolina's David Ford, who tied for second at Valspar and is No. 4 in the world; No. 5 Preston Summerhays of Arizona State; No. 7 Wells Williams of Vanderbilt; and No. 9 Austin Greaser, who has finished in the top 10 in three of UNC's four wins this season.
(The No. 1 player in the world and NCAA champion Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt will not compete as he is playing in the Masters.)
Aberg is one of three Texas Tech players in the top six in the current international player rankings for the Palmer Cup, while Ford (3), Summerhays (4), Williams (6), Greaser (7) and Ohio State's Maxwell Moldovan (10) are the top contenders for Team USA for the Palmer Cup.
Joining Ford and Greaser in the UNC lineup for the Calusa Cup are Ryan Burnett, Dylan Menante and Peter Fountain.
Ford shot 67-68-68 for a 10-under 203 to tie for second place at Valspar. It was the sixth time in seven tournaments this season the sophomore finished in the top six – that includes a win at the Stephens Cup when he threatened the course record after making eight straight birdies, three seconds, a fifth and a sixth at the Hogan. The Peachtree Corners, Ga., native leads the Tar Heels this season with a stroke average of 69.14.
The Calusa Cup will be Ford's 20th tournament as a Tar Heel, which would make him eligible for the UNC career record in stroke average and give the current roster the top four spots in school history. Ford enters Calusa at 70.03 in 19 starts; Greaser is currently first at 71.14 in 34 tournaments. Peter Fountain is second at 71.37 and Ryan Burnett is third at 71.42.
Greaser is the only Tar Heel to have a career average score to par below one with Ford about to join him on that very short list. Greaser is a combined 10 under par in 104 career rounds, good for a school record average of -0.10 below par per round. Fountain and Burnett are currently second and third all-time.
Burnett, who was one of three players to finish second to Sargent in a playoff in the 2022 NCAA Championship, shot two rounds of 69 to tie for 20th at Valspar.
Menante is coming off a final-round 65 at Valspar, which equaled his best 18 holes of the season. He began his third round making birdie-birdie-eagle en route to his eighth career round of 65 or better.
Players Mentioned
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