Peter Fountain birdied the final hole of regulation and the first extra hole to win his match as fourth-ranked North Carolina battled No. 3 Texas Tech to a 3-3 draw in the ACC-Big 12 Men’s Golf Showdown Friday at the Hapuna Golf Club in Waimea, Hawai’i.
The match play event was contested in place of the Amer Ari Invitational, which was scheduled for Wednesday through Friday but was canceled after high winds halted play the first two days.
The Tar Heels and Red Raiders agreed to compete head-to-head in match play as did No. 12 Georgia Tech and No. 18 Texas.
Both UNC and Texas Tech won three individual matches with the Red Raiders compiling wins on 31 holes in the six matches compared to 24 hole-wins for the Tar Heels, giving the Red Raiders the advantage in a tie breaker.
In the other match, the Longhorns defeated the Yellow Jackets, 4-1-1.
Carolina’s three points came from Fountain, who edged Tyran Sanders in 19 holes; Dylan Menante, who beat Baard Skogen, 5&4; and Kenan Poole, who won the final hole of his match to defeat Matthew Comegys, 1 up.
Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, won five straight holes, including three holes with birdies, to beat David Ford, ranked No. 6 in the world, 7&6.
The Red Raiders’ Calum Scott, ranked No. 4 in the country in the collegiate rankings, beat Ryan Burnett, 5&3, and Jack Wall won three of the final four holes to edge Carolina’s Nanu Mohan, 2 up.
Fountain, a junior from Raleigh, trailed Sanders three different times by a hole, but made an 18-footer for par on the final hole of regulation to square the match and sank a 20-footer for a birdie on the first extra hole for the win.
Menante, a senior from Carlsbad, Calif., easily won his match, winning six holes and dropping just one. The two-time All-America and seventh-ranked amateur in the world closed out the match with wins on four of the last six holes.
Poole, a senior from Raleigh, lost his first two holes but pulled even four holes later. The match was even when he and Comegys headed to the final hole of regulation, which he won with a par 3.
“It’s unfortunate we had such windy conditions for a couple days and the tournament was cancelled,” says Tar Heel head coach Andrew DiBitetto. “However, we made the most of an opportunity to play a match against Texas Tech. It was great to be in a competitive situation against one of the best teams in the country in very challenging, windy conditions. What we did today will benefit our guys as we move forward with our season.”
Source: goheels
