NC State men’s golf played its first matchplay tournament of the season, taking down Army at the Bush Cup 8.5-3.5 Tuesday at Old Chatham Golf Club.
The tournament featured a doubles event and a singles event, with the Pack winning the singles and tying in the doubles. The Pack picked up some much-needed points, and with just one event left to play before the ACC Championships — a home match at Lonnie Poole Golf Course coming up this weekend — positive momentum could be huge for the Pack.
Doubles
In a foursome format where four teams of two faced off in a doubles competition, the Pack split, winning two of the four matchups.
The top pairing, featuring senior Cade McLaughlin and redshirt senior Nick Mathews, lost its match by one hole. McLaughlin has had a quieter season, only playing in three events, but has had promising finishes of T-13, T-16 and T-30. Mathews, on the other hand, has had a chaotic season, with the highest of highs — winning the Rod Meyers Invitational — and a slew of low placements. This pairing ultimately could not get it done versus the Black Knights.
The other pairing to lose its match was sophomore Adam Pedersen and senior Michael Vick. Pedersen has struggled this season with no top-50 placements in three events. Vick is the other NC State golfer to have tallied a win this season. The pairing lost the match by two holes.
Junior Joey Lenane and freshman Xander Goboy destroyed their opponent, winning by five holes with four to play.
The grouping of freshman Hunter Stetson and senior Jake Wiktor, who had played in a combined five team events coming into this match — Stetson playing four of them — won the contest by two holes with one to play.
Singles
The Pack won six out of eight singles matches, also with a tie and a loss. In the majority of its matches, the Pack held a lead of more than four holes by its conclusion.
Lenane defeated Army’s second-highest ranked golfer, Joshua Kim, by four holes with three to play. Pedersen took down Army’s top-ranked player, John Heckel Jr., by eight holes with seven to play. Mathews defeated Dragon Theam by seven holes with six to play. Goboy defeated Army’s Griffin Garvin by four holes with three to play. Vick took down Army’s Drew Jeffords by one hole. Stetson defeated Zach Clark by four with two to play.
Wiktor halved his match with Army’s Rob Ferris, and McLaughlin dropped his to Army’s Tyson Sparks, losing by one hole.
The Pack will host the Stitch Intercollegiate this Friday and Saturday, which was postponed from the fall after inclement weather. It will feature a few in-state competitors, including App State, East Carolina, UNC-Wilmington and High Point.
