The NC State men’s golf team finished tied for fourth place with a score of 47-over par at the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina March 7-8. This was an improvement from a seventh-place finish in its first tournament of the spring season.
Leading the way for the Wolfpack for the second consecutive tournament was graduate Easton Paxton with a sixth-place finish at 5-over par on the brutal U.S. Open golf course. He was consistent all tournament shooting 72, 72 and 71. He made five birdies during his final round, including this one.
In a tie for 13th on the leaderboard was sophomore Ethan Choi with a score of 10-over par. Choi closed his tournament with a final round of 71 to end on a high note. The 13th-place finish marks a career-best performance for Choi.
Finishing tied for 29th was junior Carter Graf with a score of 16-over par. An opening round of 81 set him back, but he bounced back with 71 and 74 to end his tournament to secure a top-30 spot on the leaderboard.
Also finishing tied for 29th at 16-over par was junior Brandon Einstein. He came out with two rounds of 75 on the opening day, before ending the tournament with a score of 76.
Rounding out the NC State starting lineup was junior Spencer Oxendine who finished tied for 53th with a score of 25-over par. His final two rounds of 77 jumped him a few spots up the leaderboard after opening with an 81.
Senior Thomas Deal competed as an individual for the Wolfpack and finished 65th at 44-over par.
Taking home the team title was Clemson at 18-over par while Zack Gordon and Colby Patton from the Tigers tied for first on the individual leaderboard with scores of 2-over par.
NC State will hit the road again March 13-14 to compete in the General Hackler Championship at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
