It was a busy spring break for the NC State men’s golf team, who traveled within South Carolina to participate in both the Palmetto Invite and the General Jim Hackler Championship, finishing in sixth and fifth place, respectively.
The only team to feature along with NC State in both tournaments was Virginia, the only team ranked in the top 25 of the Palmetto and one of three top-25 teams in the General Jim Hackler Championship, the other two being UNC-Chapel Hill and South Carolina.
The Wolfpack was on the back of its toughest challenge of the year at the Puerto Rico Classic, finishing 11th out of 15 teams in a stacked field of schools, so the team now has experience with top schools and was looking to prove its worth over the two tournaments during spring break.
Freshman Stephen Franken led the way in the Palmetto Invite with two 69’s after his first two rounds, putting him at two under par. However, he shot a 74 in the final round to end with an overall score of 212 [+2].
Junior Jacob McBride also shot a 69 [-1] in his second round to help move the Pack to fifth place in the standings after two rounds. Both Franken and McBride finished in the top 20 of the field, placing 12th and 19th respectively.
NC State dropped one spot to sixth place in a tie with Georgia Southern, finishing with an overall score of 863 [+23].
Freshman Nolan Mills Jr. shot a 69 [-1], a major improvement from his scores of 83 [+13] and 79 [+9] in the previous two rounds.
The Wolfpack improved slightly with a fifth-place finish in the Hackler Championship, which featured a more difficult field. Of the top-five teams in the tournament, NC State and Kent State were the only two that are not nationally ranked in the top 25.
Teams played two rounds on the first day, and among the 10 rounds played by Wolfpack golfers, only three were above par. This strong performance was led by a 68 [-4] from McBride on the first day, and the team finished the first two rounds sitting in third place out of 15 teams.
By the end of the third round, the Pack had dropped to fifth place despite a strong performance where only two more NC State golfers shot above par.
McBride and senior Carter Page, who was the ACC Golfer of the Month in February, led the way with a pair of 71s [-1], followed by a score of 72 [E] from Franken. All three golfers finished in the top 15 of the impressive field, placing at fifth, 12th and 15th respectively.
The Wolfpack once again found success on par three’s, averaging 3.13 in the Palmetto and 2.93 in the Jim Hackler, both of which were top three in each tournament field.
Next, the Wolfpack will compete at the Chris Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Georgia, March 18–20.