NC State men’s golf came out flat at the ACC Championship this weekend in Bowling Green, Kentucky, placing an underwhelming 12th in the 15 team field — but not all was blue in the Bluegrass State.
Redshirt senior Nick Mathews held a share of the lead after the second round, lighting up The Club at Olde Stone with 13 birdies through two rounds. By the end of the tournament, he had posted 16 birdies — tied for second most. Nonetheless, his final round even-par 72 was not enough to secure the lefty his second win of the season, and he finished T5 at 6-under par.
Mathews has had a rollercoaster of a season, but he is hitting his peak at the right time, just like last year. He placed T15 at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championship, and over the past year has further solidified himself as a force to be reckoned with in collegiate golf.
But along with the peaks, there were a few valleys. After a first-place earning 14-under total at the season-opening Rod Meyers Invitational, Mathews placed outside of the top-40 in the next two tournaments. At the General Hackler Championship, he finished T63. But in total, Mathews posted six top-15 finishes and led the team in almost every metric.
The next highest finisher for the Pack was senior Michael Vick, shooting 3-over par finishing T36. The senior has won twice this season, but he did not have his best stuff at Olde Stone. Off to a slow start, he posted seven bogeys before carding a birdie on the 16th hole. After the tough 15-hole stretch, he played the rest of the tournament at 4-under par — including a second round 71 and final round 72.
Junior Joey Lenane also finished in the top-50, placing T46 at 6-over par. Lenane has been a consistent performer this season with five placements in the top-20, but closed the season with placements of T71, T52 and T46 — trending in the wrong direction in the final events.
The final two spots for the Wolfpack were a bit of a platoon, with sophomore Adam Pedersen, freshman Hunter Stetson and senior Cade McLaughlin each playing two rounds. Pedersen fared the best at 8-over par with scores of 74 and 78. Stetson and McLaughlin both finished their two rounds at 9-over par, with Stetson’s 75 and 78 and McLaughlin’s 77 and 76.
Considering the 81 team format for the NCAA Regionals, the Pack’s postseason hopes are still very much alive after a solid season, even with its subpar performance at the ACC Championship. The field will be announced on the Golf Channel Apr. 30 at 1 p.m.
