NC State men’s golf placed ninth out of 16 teams at the General Hackler Championship, a three-day tournament held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
NC State only placed one player in the top 25% of the field, and just two players in the top half. The field was stacked, as the Pack was competing against No. 1 Auburn, No. 19 Duke and No. 16 UNLV, but the next strongest team was No. 39 Louisville. Compared to the field, the No. 44 Pack may have underperformed, considering it was bested by East Tennessee State and Kent State.
Auburn is dominating in more than just the men’s basketball, as it won the tournament by a whopping 17 shots.
Junior Joey Lenane posted a team-best tournament score of 2-under par to tie for 18th, with a first round of 72, a second round of 69 and a final round of 73. Lenane has finished in the top 20 in five out of six tournaments this season, and three times has been the Pack’s top scorer.
The other golfer to finish in the top 50 was senior Michael Vick, who finished tied for 28th with a tournament score of 1-over par. A first-round score of 76 set Vick back, but he recovered slightly with a second round of 69 and finished with an even par round to finish the tournament.
Next on the leaderboard was freshman Hunter Stetson, finishing tied for 57th with a score of 8-over par, with a first round at even par, second round 77 and a final round score of 75. In his freshman campaign, Stetson’s average placement so far is 53rd.
One of the great mysteries of this men’s golf season has been redshirt senior Nick Mathews. Mathews has had a rollercoaster season with a victory to start the season at the Rod Myers Invitational but had subsequent finishes outside of the top 40. He followed with a pair of sixth-place finishes to get back on track. In Myrtle Beach, he placed tied for 63rd with a score of 9-over par. A first-round score of 79 doomed his tournament, following it up with a 75 in the second round and finishing strong with a final round of 71.
Freshman Xander Goboy tied for 69th at 11-over par, with rounds of 76, 74 and 77.
Next up, the Pack will head back down to Awendaw, South Carolina for the Hootie at Bulls Bay tournament from March 23-25.
