NC State finished this men’s golf season in good standing as a program. The first tournament was a little shaky as the team finished 11th out of 14 teams in the FAMC Intercollegiate at The Grove Tournament. After that tournament, the Pack went on to finish fifth or better in the next four tournaments.
State’s best finishes as a team during that span came as they finished third or tied for third in three of those tournaments. The Wolfpack’s best performance of the fall half of the season came in the Alister Mackenzie Invitational. Freshman standout Benjamin Shipp, a top high school recruit, was a standout during that tournament. He had the best finish for the Pack, finishing 10th overall in the tournament.
The spring half of the season was rather impressive as the Pack displayed potential as a program despite having a young team. NC State, which only had two seniors, had some strong showings and the best came in the Wolfpack Spring Open. At the conclusion of that event, NC State had two of its golfers finish top two overall (1st and 2nd) in the tournament. Nolan Mills Jr. finished number one overall in the tournament and scored 13 under par, which was a dominating performance by the sophomore.
Additionally, senior Jacob McBride finished second with a score of nine under par, also a good performance. NC State had three more golfers finish in the top 20 at that tournament and Shipp was close by with a tie for finishing 10th. The Wolfpack had some other strong performances in the spring half of the season by finishing second in the Gary Koch Invitational and tied for third in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Tournament.
The ACC Championship tournament wasn’t as dominant as the previous tournaments in which the Wolfpack displayed poise and had some encouraging performances individually. The Wolfpack still finished fifth in the tournament out of 12th teams. NC State finished with a team score of 291, which was 14 holes behind the winner of the tournament, Duke. Despite a devastating loss, State still showed encouraging potential individually with Stephen Franken, a sophomore, finishing fifth overall with a score of four under par. The team went onto the NCAA Regional where it finished seventh out of 14 teams and only had two golfers finish top 20 overall.
Standouts on the season were Shipp, Franken and McBride who all finished top three on the team in overall statistics. Stephen Franken finished number one on the team followed by McBride and Shipp. All three golfers finished top-five overall in at least one tournament, which is impressive to say the least.
Despite a somewhat melancholy finish to end to the season, NC State displayed immense talent and ability in its men’s golf program this season. The Wolfpack had a very young team with only two seniors on the roster out of 11 players. McBride, a senior, leaves the program but the Wolfpack returns rising sophomore Shipp and also return team statistics leader, rising junior, Franken.
The most disappointing news on the season came at the conclusion of it when it was learned that head coach Richard Sykes was retiring after 46 years of coaching the Wolfpack. Sykes, who graduated from NC State in 1968, took over the coaching duties three years after he graduated and never looked back. Sykes will be missed, but he leaves the next coach in good hands with the talent returning next season. If the Wolfpack improves and the returning players continue to develop, the Wolfpack could run the ACC next year and for years to come.
