With conference championships on the horizon, some of Division I men’s college golf’s best teams and individuals put on a show in the Valspar Collegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
Atlantic Coast Conference power North Carolina closed by matching the best team round of the tournament, a sparkling 12-under-par 272 over the 6,943-yard, par-71 Floridian National layout, in Tuesday’s final round to overtake Big 12 power Texas Tech and finish six shots clear of the Red Raiders with a 27-under 825 total.
It was the fourth team crown of the wraparound 2022-2023 season for the Tar Heels, who moved up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 4 to No. 3 in the aftermath of the Valspar.
North Carolina opened with a solid 9-under 275 and added a 6-under 278 in the afternoon round of Monday’s double round.
North Carolina had to overcome another strong showing by Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, a senior from Sweden and the No. 2 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Aberg spent most of March teeing it up in PGA Tour events as he made the cut and played the weekend in both the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge and in the Valspar Championship at the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course last weekend across the Florida peninsula from Palm City on the Gulf Coast.
Aberg took control of the individual chase at Floridian National right from the start as he opened with a sizzling 6-under 65 and added a 4-under 67 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-under 70 for an 11-under 202 total that gave him a one-shot margin of victory over North Carolina’s super sophomore David Ford, a Peachtree Corners, Ga. native who is No. 5 in the WAGR, and Georgia Southern’s Ben Carr, a fifth-year player from Columbus, Ga. who is No. 46 in the WAGR.
It was the sixth career individual victory for Aberg.
Texas Tech took a three-shot lead over North Carolina into Tuesday’s final round after the Red Raiders added an 11-under 273 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 7-under 277. Texas Tech closed with a 3-under 281 to finish with a 21-under 831 total that left it six shots behind the Tar Heels.
Texas Tech, which grabbed the final spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. a year ago before falling to Vanderbilt in a quarterfinal match, moved up a notch in the Golfstat rankings from No. 3 to No. 2 following its runnerup finish in the Valspar.
Reigning national champion Texas, Texas Tech’s cross-state and Big 12 rival, finished six shots behind the Red Raiders in third place with a 15-under 837 total. The Longhorns added a 1-under 283 in Monday afternoon’s second round to their opening round of 4-under 280 before closing with their best round of the tournament, a solid 10-under 274.
The third-place finish for Texas moved it up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 10 to No. 9.
North Carolina’s ACC rival, Florida State, was another two shots behind Texas in fourth place with a 13-under 839 total. The Seminoles matched the low team round of the tournament, a 12-under 272, in the opening round before backing off with a 2-over 286 in Monday afternoon’s second round.
Florida State, which dropped a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 7 to No. 8 with its showing in the Valspar, finished up with a 3-under 281 in Tuesday’s final round.
It was a strong showing at Floridian National by Big Ten power Ohio State as the Buckeyes finished a shot behind Florida State in fifth place with a 12-under 840 total. Ohio State added a 2-under 282 in Monday afternoon’s second round to its opening round of 3-under 281 before finishing up strong with a 7-under 277.
The Buckeyes’ fifth-place finish enabled them to jump from No. 34 to No. 26 in the Golfstat rankings.
The Pac-12’s Arizona State, which fell to Texas in the Final Match in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring, and Texas A&M, out of the Southeastern Conference, finished in a tie for sixth place in the loaded 16-team field, each landing on 9-under 846, three shots behind Ohio State.
The Sun Devils, traveling across the country, opened with a solid 6-under 278 and added a 3-under 281 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 284. Arizona State dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of the Valspar.
The Aggies, who maintained their No. 14 ranking, carded a pair of 2-under 282s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 5-under 279.
Ford led the way for North Carolina as he put together solid rounds of 4-under 67 and 3-under 68 in Monday’s double round and was trailing Aberg by three shots in the individual chase going into Tuesday’s final round.
Ford finished up with his second straight 3-under 68 to get a share of second place with a 10-under 203 total.
Austin Greaser, a senior from Vandalia, Ohio and No. 4 in the WAGR, backed up Ford for the Tar Heels as he finished alone in eighth place with a 7-under 206 total. Greaser, the runnerup to James Piot in the 2021 U.S. Amateur at iconic Oakmont Country Club, sandwiched a sparking 5-under 66 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of solid 1-under 70s.
Ryan Burnett, a fifth-year player from Lafayette, Calif. and No. 53 in the WAGR, gave North Carolina a third finisher inside the top 20 as he ended up among the group tied for 20th place with a 3-under 210 total. Burnett sandwiched a 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 2-under 69s.
Dylan Menante, a senior from Carlsbad, Calif. and No. 11 in the WAGR, finished in the group tied for 26th place at 2-under 211, closing with the Tar Heels’ low round of Tuesday’s final round, a sparkling 6-under 65. Menante had opened with a 2-under 69, but struggled in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 77.
Pretty strong lineup when you can pencil in three of the top 11 players in the WAGR.
Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Peter Fountain, a junior from Raleigh, N.C. and No. 88 in the WAGR who finished among the group tied for 48th place with a 3-over 216 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Fountain added a 1-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second before closing with a 2-over 73.
Ford, Greaser, Burnett and Fountain were all in the lineup when North Carolina fell, 3-2, to Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring.
One of the points for the winning Waves was recorded by Menante, who decided to take the extra year of eligibility awarded by the NCAA due to the spring of 2020 lost to the coronavirus pandemic at North Carolina. So; this Tar Heels lineup has talent and experience.
Georgia Southern’s Carr put together three rounds in the 60s in getting his share of second place with North Carolina’s Ford, a shot behind Aberg at 10-under. Carr opened with a sparkling 5-under 66 and added a 2-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 3-under 68.
For Carr, the runnerup to Sam Bennett in last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., the Valspar was a tuneup for that little gathering at Augusta National Golf Club known as The Masters. Guarantee you it’s a big deal at Georgia Southern to have one of its own teeing it up at Augusta.
Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz. and No. 44 in the WAGR, headed a trio of players tied for fourth place at 9-under 204 that included Texas’ Brian Stark, a graduate student from Kingsburg, Calif. and No. 42 in the WAGR, and Ohio State’s Maxwell Moldovan, a junior from Uniontown, Ohio and No. 31 in the WAGR.
Summerhays, winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2019 at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, opened with a 4-under 67 and matched par with a 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing strong with a 5-under 66.
Stark chose to finish out his career at Texas after playing with the Longhorns’ arch-rival, Oklahoma State. Like Summherhays, Stark finished strong with a 6-under 65 to get it to 9-under. He had opened with a 3-under 68 before matching par with a 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round.
Moldovan had three rounds in the 60s as he opened with a solid 4-under 67 and added a 2-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 3-under 68.
Duke’s William Love, a freshman from Atlanta, was another shot behind the trio tied for fourth place in seventh with an 8-under 205 total as he added a 2-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 1-under 70 before closing with a 3-under 68.
A couple of South Africans, Texas’ Christiaan Maas, a freshman who is No. 22 in the WAGR, and Texas Tech’s Tyran Snyders, a junior, finished in a tie for ninth place, a shot behind North Carolina’s Greaser at 6-under 207.
Maas matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 2-under 69 before finishing strong with a 4-under 67. After opening with a 1-over 72, Snyders matched the low individual round of the tournament with a sizzling 7-under 64 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.
Lamar’s Carl Hardin, a junior from Sweden, Ohio State’s Jon Erik Alford, a graduate student from Johns Creek, Ga., and Houston’s Wolfgang Glawe, a sophomore from Germany, finished in a tie for 11th place, each landing on 5-under 208.
Hardin matched Snyders for the low round of the tournament with his final round of 7-under 64. He had matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 2-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round.
Alford matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 2-under 69 and finished up with a 3-under 68. After opening with a 1-under 70, Glawe recorded a sparkling 6-under 65 before closing with a 2-over 73.
Jack Wall, the Christian Brothers Academy product from Brielle, N.J., was in the Texas Tech lineup. The senior, who started his college career at South Carolina, finished in the group tied for 68th place with an 8-over 221 total as struggled a little in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 78 after opening with a 1-over 72 before matching par with a 71.
Earlier this spring, Wall made his PGA Tour debut when he earned a spot in the field for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club by winning the Collegiate Showcase that was part of Pro-Am day of tournament week.
Neal Shipley, winner of last summer’s Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Llanerch Country Club, finished in a tie for 42nd place for Ohio State with a 2-over 215 total.
Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team, is taking his extra year of eligibility with the Buckeyes after being a standout at James Madison. Shipley added a 3-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening round of 2-over 73 before contributing a solid 3-under 68 to Ohio State’s strong finish.
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