Men's golf team looks to fix weaknesses

The difference might be as little as a few feet.

With a strong showing in its last tournament of the fall season the UNC men's golf team enters the offseason with one thing in mind: putting.

The team finished in sixth place at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges tournament which ended Sunday led by senior Robert Riesen who finished ninth individually.

Coach John Inman was pleased with his team's overall performance" though he said the Tar Heels missed the mark on a few putts.

""It was great to see us finally finish a round well" Inman said. Either halfway through or near the end of the round" we'd kinda give shots back.

""This was one round where we actually gained some shots and played better at the end of the round.""

Freshman Jack Fields finished 25th"" and both sophomore Kevin O'Connell and junior David Holzworth finished in the top 50 golfers.

But it was Riesen who led the team with a final round 69.

""He has been working extremely hard" and it shows in his results; he's playing very well" Inman said.

With the end of the fall schedule, the team has more than four months until its next tournament. Due to the long break, the men's golf team has plenty of time to fine tune its errors — the most pressing issue is putting.

The thing that has been our weak point has been putting"" Inman said.

We hit the ball very well and hit a lot of greens in regulation. That is one of the things we will continue to work in the offseason.""

Looking forward" the team will compete at the General Hackler Championship on March 8. The Tar Heels should have plenty of time to work on all aspects of their game" including putting.

""The only way to find out if you're putting well is to do it in competition"" Inman said. We'll go out there and keep testing ourselves the best way we can throughout this offseason.""

It won't be long before the remainder of the season and the ACC Championship is upon this team.

Inman expects them to be ready.

""Every player on our team can win a golf tournament"" Inman said. All of our young men are capable of playing well.""

Only time will tell" but one thing is sure: The difference could be a few feet.



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