In its last tournament of the fall season, the NC State men’s golf team finished in fourth place out of 10 teams with a score of 5-over par at the Williams Cup Presented by Stitch. The tournament was contested at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington Oct. 25-26.
After a great start to the first two rounds, a disappointing team score of 13-over par on the last round dropped NC State two spots on the leaderboard. A windy day in Wilmington played its effect on the Wolfpack’s ability to shoot low scores as it had done on Monday.
Finishing in third place at 8-under par was junior Max Steinlechner. Despite coming up short of an individual title once again after being in contention, it was a special tournament for him. In the second round, Steinlechner shot a 9-under par 63 to break the course record at Eagle Point. This round consisted of nine birdies, plus an eagle on the seventh hole.
Another top finisher for the Wolfpack was junior Spencer Oxendine at 1-under par and tied for eighth place. His best round of the tournament was in the second round, shooting a 70. The Fayetteville native has played well this fall, and this tournament marks his second straight finish in the top-10.
Next for the Wolfpack was sophomore Ethan Choi, finishing tied for 32nd with a score of 7-over par. His best bout was even par 72 in the first round. Not far behind him was graduate Easton Paxton at 8-over par, which had him in a tie for 36th. Paxton played very well in round two, shooting 67, which was 12 shots better than his opening round of 79.
Rounding out the starting lineup for NC State was junior Brandon Einstein who had a disappointing week finishing 59th at 22-over par. Competing as an individual for the Wolfpack was redshirt freshman Jake Herring, who finished in 58th place at 21-over par. Opening rounds of 86 for both Einstein and Herring set their tournaments off on the wrong foot that they could never really recover from.
UNC-Chapel Hill won the tournament with a team score of 17-under par while Trent Phillips of Georgia won the individual tournament with a score of 15-under par.
NC State will be off until Feb. 20-22 when it begins the spring season at the Camp Creek Seminole Invitational in Watersound, Florida. The Wolfpack won two tournaments this fall.
