The NC State men’s golf team, led by standout junior David Cooke, scorched its competition in the Wolfpack Spring Open, which was held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
As a team, the Wolfpack performed leaps and bounds ahead of the field of 11 schools. Aided by several stellar individual performances, NC State’s squad of five golfers finished with a score of 551 (-17). The team shot a consistent 276 and 275 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
State took full opportunity in its home-turf advantage, as the team was the only group to finish under par. The Wolfpack’s combined total boasted a giant 17-stroke scoring gap under Maryland, the tournament’s runner up with 568 (E).
In individual play, Cooke delivered a stunning weekend performance, finishing far ahead of his competitors to comfortably emerge as the standalone victor.
In his pair of outings, the third-seeder put up impressive numbers to say the least. Cooke tallied a 67 (-4) on Saturday and a 65 (-6) for a combined 132 (-10). On the tournament, the Bolingbrook, Illinois, native totaled 12 birdies and committed just two bogeys.
“I just tried to play it one shot at a time,” Cooke said. “I was hitting the ball pretty close on just about every hole. It left me with a lot of opportunities, and I just tried to stay patient and make good putts every time.”
Lonnie’s par-fours were all-too-friendly in Cooke’s first round. Of the course’s nine par-four holes, Cooke birdied five to gain the early edge. He took his game to the next level on Sunday when notching seven birdies to easily take the medal.
“Knowing this course as well as I do, I know how most of the putts break and I’m comfortable out here,” Cooke said. “Playing it so many times suits my game a lot because this is the type of course I play my best on. It’s definitely a big advantage.”
Cooke’s title marks the second of the season and of his career, having won the Wolfpack Intercollegiate in October of last year.
Cooke finished three strokes ahead of fellow teammate James Chapman, who took the runner-up spot. The five-seeded redshirt senior Chapman tallied as many birdies as Cooke, but was burdened by a string of bogeys in the second round. The Gastonia native shot a 65 (-6) on Saturday and 70 (-1) on Sunday to total 135 (-7).
Sophomore Jacob McBride followed suit, scoring 140 (-2) with 68 and 72, and tying for sixth place on the leaderboard. Redshirt sophomore Stanhope Johnson and junior Carter Page finished with 144 (+2) and 152 (+10), respectively.
“We’ve gotten better all spring, if we can just keep getting a little better,” head coach Richard Sykes said. “Anytime you win, it’ll get your enthusiasm up. We’re looking forward to playing in [the ACC Championship].”
From April 24-26, the Wolfpack will compete in the ACC Golf Championship in New London at the Old North State Country Club.
