April 23, 2006
New London, N.C. –
Georgia Tech and North Carolina were declared co-champions Sunday at the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship after the Tar Heels made up 11 shots in the final round and neither team could win in two playoff holes.
Cameron Tringale, a freshman from Laguna Niguel, Calif., won medalist honors after a final round 72 that gave him a one-shot victory over Wake Forest’s Kyle Riefers. Tringale had posted a 65 in the rain-delayed second round Sunday to take the individual lead, and his birdie at the par-5 18th hole gave him the victory at 10-under-par 206.
Tech won its first ACC title since 2002, ninth overall and third on the Old North State Club course. Tringale became Tech’s first ACC individual champion since Bryce Molder in 2000, and won his second tournament this year.
By agreement of the coaches and the ACC golf committee, Tech was awarded the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship based on its higher national ranking.
“North Carolina had played great, our guys had played great. We tried to play it off for two more holes and still ended up tied,” said Tech coach Bruce Heppler. “This was good for us. We finished second here last year and came back well, so I’m proud of our guys.
“It’s where you play well. We came out this morning and played the last nine holes in 16-under.”
The Yellow Jackets had shot 21-under-par 267, their best score ever in the conference championship, in the second round to forge a 10-shot lead over Clemson and 11 over North Carolina at the start of the final round. Tringale and freshman Taylor Hall each shot 65, matching the competitive course record set Friday by teammate Mike Barbosa, and Kevin Larsen shot 67 for the Jackets.
But the Tar Heels made up all 11 shots in the final round to forged a tie with a 9-under-par 279, led by their No. 5 player, Ted Smith, who fired a six-under-par 66. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, struggled throughout their final round (2-over 290), with Roberto Castro posting Tech’s only subpar score (71). Both teams finished 54 holes at 31-under-par 833.
Tech still had a one-shot lead through 17, but Barbosa put his drive into the woods on the right and bogeyed the hole, while the Tar Heels’ Martin Ureta couldn’t take the title outright for his team after three-putting for par.
On the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, both teams managed only a pair of pars and two bogeys (the low four scores counted for each team). The teams moved back to the par-3 17th for the second playoff hole, and all five players made par. Tringale had a 6-foot birdie putt in the second playoff hole that would have given the Jackets the team title outright, but slid it left.
“Eleven,” said Tringale when asked how many times out of 10 chances might he make the same putt. “It feels pretty good to win (medalist honors), but it’s more about the team than me. It’s a nice treat.
Clemson, which had drawn within just a few shots of Tech early in the final round, wound up seven shots off the pace at 24-under-par 840. NC State finished fourth at 853, followed by Wake Forest at 860 and Florida State at 863.
Individually, all five Tech players finished 54 holes under par and among the top 20 individuals. Hall tied for ninth place at 5-under-par 211, though his 76 did not count for the Jackets Sunday. Larsen shot even-par 72 in the final round and tied for 12th place at 4-under 212, while Castro’s final round 71 left him in a tie for 16th at 213. Barbosa, with a closing 75, tied for 19th at 214.
ACC MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPOld North State Club at Uwharrie Point, New London, N.C.Final Results
TEAM STANDINGS T1 North Carolina 278 276 279 833 -31 T1 Georgia Tech 276 267 290 833 -31 3 Clemson 285 268 287 840 -24 4 North Carolina State 284 284 285 853 -11 5 Wake Forest Univ. 292 281 287 860 -4 6 Florida State Univ. 285 287 291 863 -1 7 Maryland, U. of 284 286 295 865 +1 8 Duke University 287 293 286 866 +2 9 Virginia Tech 291 286 295 872 +8 10 Virginia, U. of 293 290 295 878 +14 11 Boston College 314 299 308 921 +57
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS 1 Cameron Tringale Georgia Tech 69 65 72 206 -10 2 Kyle Reifers Wake Forest Univ. 72 67 68 207 -9 T3 Brian Duncan Clemson 68 67 73 208 -8 T3 Robert Riesen North Carolina 68 70 70 208 -8 5 Ted Smith North Carolina 74 69 66 209 -7 T6 Ryan Blaum Duke University 70 71 69 210 -6 T6 Chase MacFarland North Carolina 71 66 73 210 -6 T6 Nathan Spoon North Carolina State 69 67 74 210 -6 T9 Taylor Hall Georgia Tech 70 65 76 211 -5 T9 David May Clemson 72 65 74 211 -5 T9 Chris McCartin Wake Forest Univ. 72 69 70 211 -5
GEORGIA TECH PLAYERS 1 Cameron Tringale 69 65 72 206 T9 Taylor Hall 70 65 76 211 T12 Kevin Larsen 73 67 72 212 T16 Roberto Castro 72 70 71 213 T19 Mike Barbosa 65 74 75 214
