The North Carolina men’s golf team sank putts and school records en route to its first place finish this weekend at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate Final.
Senior Ben Griffin had a historic round Saturday at the Tar Heels’ home course, UNC Finley Golf Club.
“I think we’re all very comfortable with this golf course,” Griffin said. “Obviously we all play here just about every day, so we’re comfortable just being out there on our home turf.”
Griffin — who previously set the course record at Finley with a 62 in fall qualifying — proved just how comfortable he was. His 63 on Saturday afternoon is tied for the lowest single-round score in school history and was enough to win the tournament. His 19-under-par weekend score broke the school 54-hole record by two strokes.
Griffin set the bar high, but senior Jose Montaño gave him a run for his money. On Sunday, the Cochabamba, Bolivia, native shot a 64, a personal best, and he finished second in the tournament.
“We pretty much dominated the golf course in every way that you can,” head coach Andrew DiBitetto said. "For Jose to do what he did today, for Ben to do what he did all week was absolutely incredible.”
Montaño and Griffin led the way in a strong team performance overall for UNC. On Saturday, they tied the record for second-best round as a team in school history. Not a single starter shot over par for the Tar Heels.
“We felt really comfortable, especially with attitude," Montaño said. "We talked about that this week. We were really positive and very determined this week.”
Griffin said that even with the rain last night, the course was dry and the ball rolled predictably. The Chapel Hill native credited aggressive play for his record-breaking performance.
