Looking to build off its success this past fall, the NC State men’s golf team begins its spring season Sunday, Feb. 20 in Watersound, Florida at the Watersound Invitational.
With two wins and a second-place finish through five tournaments in the fall, there’s a lot to be proud of and a lot to learn from the first half of the season.
“We had a good fall, we played well in a couple events, winning twice, it’s always nice,” said head coach Press McPhaul. “Golf tournaments are hard to win because you’re not playing one opponent, you’re playing 12 or 15, so anytime you win one it’s a nice accomplishment. Then we had a couple of rounds that didn’t go as well, but we learned a lot in those rounds about the things that we want to get better at as a team. So, I think that informed [us] and gave each individual player better information about who they are as a player and what they want to work on in the offseason.”
The road to the ACC and NCAA Championships starts in Florida at a course brand new to this Wolfpack team. It’s also the same venue slated to host the ACC Championship at the end of April.
“I’ve never been to the golf course down there,” McPhaul said. “It’s where we’re going to play the ACC Championship later in the year so it will be nice to see it and get a sense for what that golf course is like for the championship in April. I don’t know what to expect very much from the venue, I kind of just have to get down there and see it.”
The next five tournaments for the team all take place in the Carolinas, starting with the Wake Forest Invitational in Pinehurst before back-to-back events in South Carolina at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach and the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw.
Returning to Raleigh at the beginning of April, the Pack hosts the Stitch Intercollegiate at Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus April 8-9 before traveling just down the road to the Carolina Country Club the following weekend for the I-40 Cup.
Rounding out the spring schedule is the ACC Championship scheduled for April 22-25 in Panama City Beach, Florida and the NCAAs. Regionals will take place in the middle of May and the Championship will be from May 27-June 1 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
With plenty of depth, there’s no shortage of players on the roster this season who can help build upon the fall’s success. Two names to look out for include graduate student Easton Paxton and junior Maximilian Steinlechner.
A fifth-year senior with plenty of experience, Paxton has spent the last two years working on his technique and fundamentals and has a prime opportunity to take advantage of that this spring. He placed third in the Wolfpack Intercollegiate back in October, with the highest finish of anyone representing the Pack.
Steinlechner, perhaps the best player from the fall, is a shining light for the Pack and on the cusp of winning his first tournament. In the fall, he placed second in the Rod Meyers Invitational and third in the Williams Cup, breaking the course record, and leading all athletes from NC State in both of those events.
“We got a team that loves the game, that loves to play the game and loves to compete at it,” McPhaul said. “We’re just really excited and grateful that we’re able to get out and travel this spring.”
The Watersound Invitational begins this Sunday, Feb. 20 at the Shark’s Tooth Golf Club.
