The N.C. State men’s golf team competed in the Puerto Rico Classic at the Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Mar, Puerto Rico Sunday through Tuesday and took home a ninth place team finish.
Over the three-day tournament, the Wolfpack improved their standing every day, going from 13th after Sunday’s first round to 12th after Monday’s competition before finishing ninth.
The event was the Pack’s first of the spring portion of the season.
Junior Albin Choi continued his stellar season by finishing as the top individual in the competition, the third time in six tournaments he has done so this year. Like his team, Choi advanced up the leaderboard every day of the tournament. He was tied for 10th after the first round, but shot a 3-under 69 on Monday to move into the top five.
That paled in comparison to his performance in the final round, as Choi fired a 7-under 65 to take the individual crown. He finished 12-under, two strokes ahead of three other golfers who tied for second place.
Choi’s third round score was the second-best in N.C. State history, one stroke behind Kelly Mitchum’s 64 in 1992.
As a team, the Wolfpack was seven strokes under par at 281 on the final day. The highest State golfer after Choi was junior Logan Harrell, who was competing in his first tournament as a member of the Wolfpack. The transfer from South Carolina posted a three-day score of 222 strokes and tied for 45th place overall. Senior Mitch Sutton was three strokes behind Harrell, tying for 53rd with 225, and freshman Carter Page tied for 59th with a 229. Senior Hunter Howell rounded out the Wolfpack lineup, tying for 70th place at 233.
The Wolfpack finished three spots ahead of in-state rival UNC-Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels were 23-over with a total of 883 strokes. The other ACC participants were Virginia Tech and Clemson, which finished ahead of the Pack at seventh and eighth place, respectively.
Day one featured the Wolfpack shooting a 15-over 303 as a team as they got a feel for the course. Choi led the way with a 2-under 70, featuring four birdies. Sutton and Harrell also had a pair of birdies each.
The second round was a vast improvement for State, as they cut 12 strokes off of their first round score. Due to some strong golf from other participating teams, however, they were only able to move up one spot in the standings. Choi improved by one stroke over Sunday, including six birdies. He ended the day tied for fourth place on the individual leaderboard.
Choi began the final day with an eagle on the 12th hole and never looked back, firing seven birdies on the day to bring his total to 17. The Wolfpack made one final push, finishing at 11-over as a team to garner ninth place out of 15 teams.
The Wolfpack will take a couple of weeks off before traveling to Dade City, Fla. to compete at the USF Invitational. The three-day tournament will be held from March 3rd-5th at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.
