NC State men’s golf opened its season at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan for the second annual Folds of Honor Collegiate.
The Pack finished tied for 10th in an 18-team field with an overall score of 884 — 24 strokes behind first-place Notre Dame. Redshirt junior Nick Mathews led the way for the Wolfpack, finishing in a tie for second with a score of even par.
Mathews was on top of the individual leaderboard after two rounds of play, but a score of 76 in the last round ended up costing him a first-place finish. While he didn’t play his best golf in the final round, Mathews excelled on par 4s throughout the entire tournament, finishing just one over par on them.
While Mathews was the best player for NC State, graduate senior Spencer Oxendine also had a solid tournament, finishing tied for 37th with a score of 8-over par. Oxendine was the most comfortable on par 3s, finishing 2-under par on them throughout the tournament.
Senior Ethan Choi and sophomore Joey Lenane finished in a tie for 58th with a score of 15-over par. Despite finishing outside the top 50, Lenane had his moment when he recorded one of the two eagles NC State had as a team.
Rounding out the lineup for the red-and-white was freshman Adam Pedersen, who finished 89th but did not play in the first round. Things look promising for the freshman as he was able to shoot under 80 strokes in both rounds he played.
Even though the Wolfpack finished two spots lower than it did last year at this event, there is a lot of potential based on the individual performances.
NC State will look to improve overall as a team as it heads to the Rod Myers Invitational in Durham, North Carolina, which will take place from Sept. 24-25.
