The NC State men’s golf team traveled to Central America over the weekend to compete in the Puerto Rico Classic three-day tournament at the Rio Mar course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The team finished seventh overall in a competitive field with both ACC and non-ACC opponents.
Junior Stephen Franken set the tone early for the team after firing a tournament-record 62 in the first round to lead the tournament by five strokes. State finished tied for second at 276 strokes after the first round behind Franken’s hot start.
Things cooled down on the second day for Franken as he shot a three-over 74 and the Wolfpack shot a disappointing 294 (+10) in the second round to drop down the leaderboard.
The third round was even worse for the Pack as the team posted a 300 (+16) and finished the tournament seventh place out of 15 teams. Franken finished tied for third place individually with a final score of 209 (-4). It may be a disappointing finish for Franken considering the way he began the tournament, but he confirmed to his team and the rest of the ACC that he will continue to be an individual contender in every tournament they play.
No other Wolfpack team member placed better than 25th individually, with freshman Easton Paxton placing 26th (219) and junior Nolan Mills Jr. tying for 47th place (224).
If the Wolfpack wants to have a chance in the ACC this year it will have to have stronger performances from its second, third and fourth seeds—especially after seeing the strong performances Clemson and Georgia Tech had in a difficult tournament.
The Clemson Tigers (+2) narrowly defeated the Oklahoma Sooners (+3) to win the tournament against a stacked field. Clemson trailed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by eight shots heading into the final round, but the Tigers shot a team round of even-par 284 on the Ocean Course at Rio Mar to solidify their comeback victory. The Tigers won behind strong performances from Turk Pettit and Colby Patton, who placed second and tied for seventh, respectively.
The Wolfpack will return to the links March 10 at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
