Vo Sends Men's Golf To ACC Finals With Extra-Hole Victory

Sunday, April 27

Bowling Green, Ky. (The Club at Olde Stone)

All Day

North Carolina

ACC Quarterfinal vs. Wake Forest and Semifinal vs. Florida State

Photo by: Andy Mead/YCJ

April 27, 2025 | Men's Golf

By: Steve Kirschner

Keaton Vo tied his semifinal match with a birdie on the final hole of regulation and won the first extra hole for the decisive point Sunday night to send the 10th-ranked University of North Carolina men's golf team to a 3-1 win over ninth-ranked Florida State in the second semifinal of the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.

Virginia defeated Clemson, 3-2, in the other semifinal. The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will play for the title on Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern. UNC won the 2024 ACC title by defeating FSU in the final match in Charlotte.

Vo, a junior from Austin, Texas, transferred to UNC from Texas after playing two seasons for the Longhorns. He trailed Jack Bigham today for 11 holes and led only twice, after the third hole and the 19th hole to send Carolina to the championship match.

Vo, freshman Sihan Sandhu and David Ford, the No. 1 ranked player in the nation, all won both of their matches on Sunday, defeating Wake Forest in the morning semifinals, and FSU.

Sandhu lost the first two holes in the afternoon semifinal and trailed the Seminoles' Tyler Weaver for 13 holes. The Ashburn, Va., native pulled within one with a win on the 12th hole, then tied the match on the 14th hole and won the 15th and 16th holes to lead by two. Sihan and Weaver halved the 17th to give Sandhu the match and Carolina a 1-0 lead.

Minutes later Ford gave UNC a 2-0 advantage. He won the first hole and never lost the lead, upping his advantage to 2 up with a par on the 16th and ending the match with another par on 17.

Patrick McCann defeated Ethan Paschal 4&2 to put the Seminoles on the board and FSU's Luke Clanton rallied from three holes down with three to play to draw even with Maxwell Ford on the 18th hole. The Ford-Clanton match ended when Vo won the first playoff hole and officially is recorded as "unfinished."

Earlier on Sunday, Sandhu overcame an early two-hole deficit, Vo led wire-to-wire and David Ford broke open a tie match with four wins in a six-hole stretch to give UNC a 3-0 win over Wake Forest in the quarterfinals.

Sandhu, a freshman who finished tied for third Saturday in the individual championship, defeated Scotty Kennon 4&3. Kennon won two of the first three holes before Sandhu won five of the next eight to take a 3-up lead through 11.

Vo won the first hole in his match against Jakob Melin and added wins on the third, fourth and fifth holes to lead 4 up. Vo closed out a 4&2 victory by winning the 16thhole.

Ford also won his match 4&2, defeating Collin Adams on the 16th. They were tied after 11 holes before Ford won the 11th, 12th, 15th and 16th holes to end the match.

ACC Semifinal
UNC 3, Florida State 1
Sihan Sandhu (UNC) def. Tyler Weaver, 2&1
David Ford (UNC) def. Gray Albright, 2&1
Patrick McCann (FSU) def. Ethan Paschal, 4&2
Keaton Vo (UNC) def. Jack Bigham, 19 holes
Maxwell Ford (UNC) vs. Luke Clanton (FSU), unfinished (all square after 18 holes)

ACC Quarterfinal
UNC 3, Wake Forest 0
Sihan Sandhu (UNC) def. Scott Kennon, 4&3
Grant Roscich (UNC) vs. Tom Haberer (WF), unfinished (Haberer led 1 up with one to play)
David Ford (UNC) def. Collin Adams, 4&2
Keaton Vo (UNC) def. Jakob Melin, 4&2
Maxwell Ford (UNC) vs. Marshall Meisel (WF) unfinished (Meisel was 4 up with four to play)