The NC State men’s golf team finished in a tie for third place with Georgia Tech at the Puerto Rico Classic, hosted by Purdue University at the Rio Mar River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Fifteen teams made the trip to weekend tourney.
The tournament was won by Clemson, who finished with a three-round score of 845 (-19). The Pack shot an 859 (-5) and finished just three strokes back of runner-ups Georgia (856, -8). State was led by the performance of sophomore Stephen Franken, who tied for 10th place with a score of 214 (-2). Luke Schniederjans of Georgia Tech won the tournament, shooting a 206 (-10).
Freshman Benjamin Shipp finished in 28th for the Pack, shooting a 218 (+2). Sophomore Harrison Rhoades was right behind Shipp, tying for 29th with a 219 (+3), highlighted by a final-round 69 (-3).
Sophomore Davis Richards also posted a 69 on the final day of competition, finishing with a three-round score of 221 (+5), good for a 36th place tie. Lastly, senior Jacob McBride tied for 48th place with a 224 (+8).
State had a strong performance on the first day of the tournament, finishing the opening round in second place with a score of 283 (-5), two strokes back of leader Georgia. The Pack got an incredible first round performance from sophomore Stephen Franken, who jumped into first place with a 67 (-5).
Rhoades finished the first 18 holes tied in seventh after shooting a 70 (-2). McBride and Shipp both shot 73 (+1) to start their tournaments, putting them into a 10-way tie for 27th place. The first round for the Pack was rounded out by an 80 (+8) from Richards.
The Wolfpack slipped up on the second day of play, dropping four strokes and falling back to fourth place. State shot a team score of 292 (+4) on the middle 18 holes of the tournament, bringing its overall score to 575 (-1). In contrast, Clemson found its groove on day two, shooting an incredible 276 (-12) to jump into first place. Clemson’s two-day score of 560 (-16) put them five strokes clear of second-place Georgia, and 15 strokes ahead of the Pack.
Franken lost his individual lead on the second day of play, dropping back to sixth place. His second-round score of 74 (+2) was seven strokes worse than his score on the opening 18 holes, and brought his total score to 141 (-3), five strokes behind leader Bryson Nimmer of Clemson.
Shipp and Richards both improved on their opening round scores during day two, as they both shot 72 (E) on their second 18 holes. Shipp jumped up to a tie for 23rd with his strong second round that brought his overall score to 145 (+1). Richards moved up from 65th to 58th with his second-day par and stayed at 8-over for the tournament with a score of 152.
Rhoades and McBride both regressed during their second rounds, with Rhoades shooting an 80 (+8) and McBride tallying a 74 (+2). McBride’s two-day score of 147 (+3) dropped him down to 36th place for the tournament, and Rhoades fell 41 places to 48th with a score of 150 (+6).
The Wolfpack finished strong, with a final-round score of 284 (-4), second only to Georgia Tech’s 281 (-7) on the last day. Franken played the third round one stroke better than the second, shooting a 73 (+1) to secure a top-10 finish. Shipp maintained his consistency in the third round, shooting his second 73 (+1) of the tournament.
Rhoades and Richards had the strongest finishes for the Pack, as they both shot their tournament best, 69 (-3), during the final round. Rhoades jumped up 19 spots, from 48th to 29th, with this great performance. Richards made an even greater jump, improving from 58th to 36th, a 22-spot leap.
McBride was the only member of the Pack that shot worse than one-over-par in the third-round, as he shot a 77 (+5), his worst score of the week.
State will be back in action Saturday and Sunday, as it co-hosts the Heel/Pack Invitational with UNC-Chapel Hill. The second round of the tournament will be at Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh.
