The NC State men’s golf team hosted its annual Fall Wolfpack Intercollegiate on Tuesday, finishing tied for second amidst a field of 16 schools at Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
The team was coming into the tournament ranked 40th in the nation after a record-breaking performance in Iowa in late September, and was looking to continue its superb start to the season this week in Raleigh.
The Pack shot a two-round score of 575 [+7], which was enough to push to a second-place finish, tying UNCG and finishing only behind Augusta University.
The team has opened its season with three top-five finishes, and the result on Tuesday is its second top two finish this year.
Senior and co-captain David Cooke, who claimed first place in both home Wolfpack events last season, was left off the roster due to injury, but the group put forth a respectable team finish without him.
The rainy weekend conditions left the course in a difficult state Monday and spared no mercy for the participants of the Intercollegiate, as only four golfers shot below par.
The average score on the course was a 75, and only two holes recorded an average score below par, holes 1 and 6. Hole 18 played the toughest, at +0.67 strokes compared to par.
The Wolfpack scored a team result of 292 [+7] on the first day, which, despite the unforgiving turf and cold and windy conditions, was enough to place it tied for third.
Junior Jacob McBride led the way for the Wolfpack on Monday, scoring a 71 [E], placing him tied for fifth out of a field of 91 golfers on the individual leaderboard after day one.
Freshmen Davis Richards and Nolan Mills Jr. also had solid rounds and finished at 72 [+1] and 73 [+2] respectively.
With the top-three finish, both freshmen were able to improve their “rounds counted” totals on Monday. Each golfer has played in seven rounds for the Pack, with Richards finishing within the team’s top four a perfect seven times, and Mills finishing five times in the top four.
The second day brought much better conditions, and the Wolfpack shot a combined team score of 283 [-1], a nine-stroke improvement from day one.
Jacob McBride matched his Monday round with another 71 [E], and finished with a total score of 142 [E], placing him tied for fifth in the field. The result marks the first top five finish of his career, and the fifth time he has placed in the top 10.
“You know, Jake has become a very solid player,” said head coach Richard Sykes, discussing McBride’s impressive performance. “We’re going to depend on him a lot. He’s quite a good player and I was proud of him. He didn’t putt well. If he had putted well, he might have won.”
Junior Stanhope Johnson also played well on Tuesday, recording a score of 70 [-1], six strokes better than his score on Monday.
“He showed he’s got a little toughness,” Sykes said. ”He’s starting to really grow and become a good player. And the funny thing is, he had to rush off as soon as he sank his last putt because he had to take a test.”
Through three tournaments, the Wolfpack now boasts a team record of 33-6-1. Sykes had some words at the end of the match regarding the team’s fantastic start.
“We have some good returning players and some really good rookies,” he said. “When we get the right combination, I think we’re going to be pretty good.”
The Pack will remain out of competitive action for the next three weeks, giving it time to rest before traveling to Vero Beach, Florida, for the 2015 Quail Valley Intercollegiate on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27.
