Junior Benjamin Shipp finished individually tied for first at the Puerto Rico Classic at Rio Mar Country Club this week to help the Wolfpack finish fourth in the tournament.
Shipp began the third round in a tie for first place, but got off to a slow start with three bogeys on the front nine. He rebounded with four birdies on the back nine for a final-day score of one-under par. Shipp finished the tournament with a 210, which tied him with Clemson’s Bryson Nimmer and Middle Tennessee State’s Marcus Byrd.
This tournament was the second win of the season for Shipp and the third of his career.
Senior Stephen Franken, who has arguably been the Pack’s best golfer this season, finished 13th. After a 67 in the first round, Franken finished slowly with back-to-back 71s.
Junior Christian Salzer shot a 74, 71 and 73 in that order, good for a 218 and a tie for 30th place.
Senior Harrison Rhoades finished one shot behind Salzer with a three-over par and 219 total score.
Sophomore Eason Paxton got off to a good start with a 70 in round one before struggling the final two rounds with a 78 and 75, good for a 223 and 50th-place finish.
On the team leaderboard, Georgia Tech and Georgia tied for first place with 848. Oklahoma finished third with an 852 and the Pack finished in fourth place, four shots behind the Sooners.
Other local teams in the tournament included Clemson, who finished sixth, UNC-Greensboro, who finished 10th while Virginia Tech finished in 13th place. East Carolina finished tied for 14th.
The Wolfpack returns to action on March 10 for the Bandon Dunes Championship in Bandon, Oregon.
