Saturday’s second round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at the Grayhawk Club in Scottsdale, Arizona saw No. 6 seed UNC shoot 2-under-par and climb 10 spots to fifth place on the team leaderboard.

Senior Ryan Gerard and freshman Peter Fountain — this year’s ACC champion — each shot 2-under-par 68’s to lead the Tar Heels, who put themselves in great position to finish Sunday’s third round in the top 15 and advance to Monday’s fourth round.

The Raleigh natives tied for the lowest single-round score by any UNC player at the NCAA Championship since Barden Barry shot a 65 back in the third round of the 2007 tournament.

UNC’s 10-spot climb up the leaderboard was the second-biggest move by any school on Saturday, trailing only the 13 places gained by Vanderbilt — which moved from 23rd to 10th.

The Tar Heels are now 6-over-par for the tournament, but their round on Saturday was the second best among the 30-team field and one of just five that finished below par.

Oklahoma State currently leads the event at 6-under par, followed by Oklahoma (-1), Arizona State (+1) and Pepperdine (+5).

UNC has a 14-shot cushion on 15th place entering Sunday’s third round, which is crucial to the team’s hopes of moving on to the fourth round on Monday.

The top eight teams after Monday’s competition will advance to the match play portion of the tournament and compete head-to-head for a chance at the national title.

UNC has never won a national championship in men’s golf.

“Our guys took advantage of our early tee time today as we got off to a tremendous start when the wind was down,” UNC head coach Andrew DiBitetto said afterwards. “As we made the turn, the wind kicked up a bit and was also swirling. Grayhawk is a very difficult golf course and our guys were really good.

“Each guy learned a lesson or two yesterday,” the coach continued. “Maybe it was choosing a slightly different target on a tee shot, understanding the grain on the greens or visualizing shots. Collectively, we learned our preparation and game plan are really good. All we had to do was be a bit more committed and fully trust our plan.”

For the full leaderboard through two rounds at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, click here.

 

 

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