The NC State men’s golf team travelled across the country for the weekend and continued its fine run of form, finishing third out of 19 teams at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in Maui, Hawaii.
The finish stretches the Pack’s top three placements to four consecutive tournaments, and also means that the team has never finished above fifth place in match-play this year.
The only thing missing from this team’s resume is a first-place finish, which is also something that it is currently fine without. Consistency continues to be the key factor to the team’s success this year, as it has put another impressive team performance on display, this time in style on the island of Maui.
The field of 19 teams boasted three top-25 schools: No. 13 Georgia, No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 20 South Carolina, with NC State sitting at No. 35. Oklahoma topped off the leaderboard with a team score of 837 [-15], followed by Georgia with an 849 [-3]. NC State’s team score of 862 [+10] was enough to place it in third, despite finishing 25 strokes behind a dominant Georgia.
The tournament began Friday, and NC State finished with a combined score of 279 [-5] to put it in second place behind Oklahoma’s team score of 276 [-9].
The Pack posted another great result on Saturday with a team score of 286 [+2], but dropped to third place after Georgia put in a wonderful team effort and scored a combined 278 [-6] to surpass the Pack on the leaderboard, with Oklahoma still at the reigns.
The team struggled on the third day and shot its worst combined score with a 297 [+13], but held its position by one stroke. The Pack placed above South Carolina and finished with a three-round team score of 862 [+10].
Freshman Stephen Franken paved the way for the Wolfpack with rounds of 69 [-2], 74 [+3] and 71 [E], bringing his total score to a 214 [+1]. Senior David Cooke followed with scores of 68 [-3], 73 [+2] and 73 [+2], and also finished with a combined total of 214 [+1]. The two finished tied for 15th on the player leaderboard.
Junior Jacob McBride also put in a noteworthy performance, finishing with a three-round score of 215 [+2] and placing him tied for 21st on the player leaderboard. Freshman Davis Richards’ combined score of 219 [+6] placed him tied for 29th.
These performances meant that four Wolves placed inside the top 30, which has yet to happen all year. The consistency within the team is growing, and play continues to improve for a young Wolfpack golf team.
The Pack now enjoys a break of longer than two months, and has two weeks to reflect upon its performances in 2015 before beginning play in 2016 with the Puerto Rico Classic from Feb. 21-23.
