Wolfpack men’s golf ties season low in Awendaw

Nick Sinopoli, Assistant Sports Editor • March 28, 2018

Men’s golf team member Stephen Franken, a third-year studying business administration, warms up before practice at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Sept. 14, 2017. “We practice six days a week,” Franken said.

To round out the Hootie Intercollegiate at Bulls Bay in Awendaw, South Carolina, the NC State men’s golf team shot a season-low 14-under-par 274 to finish in eighth place out of 15 teams.

The Pack’s final-round score of 274 tied its season low from Sept. 17 — in the first round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Four Wolfpack golfers came in clutch on the final day of the tournament, shooting their low rounds of the three-day event.

Leading the Pack with a tremendous six-under-par 66 was junior Benjamin Shipp, especially considering how he rebounded from a double bogey on the second hole on the final day of competition.

Shipp would regain his composure and eagle hole No. 4 leading to his stellar closing at Bulls Bay. After birdieing the first hole and eagling the fourth, the Duluth, Georgia, native birdied the fifth, sixth, 11th, 13th and 18th holes to finish tied for 10th place — his third top-10 finish of the season.

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Junior Stephen Franken was just three shots behind Shipp on day three, shooting a 69 (-3), including six birdies, for his best mark of the tournament. After notching a 71 (-1) and 73 (+1) in the previous two rounds, Franken finished tied for 14th.

Fellow Raleigh native and junior Harrison Rhoades nearly matched his first-round mark of 69 on the final day, but still managed to score a two-under-par 70. Rhoades’ second-day 77 (+5) held him back, but he still finished in 26th place. Also worth noting, his overall score of 216 (E) was his best of the 2017-18 season.

Riverton, Wyoming, native Easton Paxton’s scores improved each day of the tourney. After posting a 77 and 74 (+2) in the first two rounds, the freshman shot a third-round 69, a season low, thanks to four birdies.

Junior Nolan Mills, Jr. rounded out the fivesome and improved each round like Paxton. He struggled on day one with a nine-over-par 81, but got a hold of the golf ball and posted a 76 (+4) and 74 in the latter rounds.

NC State finished 19 strokes behind the first-place finisher Ole Miss, largely in part to Rebel golfer Branden Thornberry claiming first place with an impressive overall score of 13-under-par. Kent State and Kentucky rounded out the top three trailing by one and three strokes, respectively.

The next time the Wolfpack is on the links it will travel just down the road to Cary on April 13 for the Stitch Intercollegiate at MacGregor Downs.