By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
North Carolina State’s Nick Mathews finished his in a three-way tie for 15th place in the NCAA championships for men’s golf.
The Eastern Alamance alum from Mebane shot a 1-over-par 289 for four rounds, with stroke play wrapping up Monday. He had rounds of 73, 77, 68, and 71 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, California. There were 155 entrants.
Mathews’ spot in the standings marked the best finish in the NCAA championship for an N.C. State golfer in 15 years.
Mathews was competing as an individual. The champion was Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai at 3-under 285.
Mathews’ 68 matched the second-best score of the third round, topped only by Duke’s Ethan Evans, who had 67. Yet Evans didn’t make the cut after the third round, while Sunday’s round helped Mathews climb more than 30 spots on the leaderboard.
Mathews’ 4-under round, which included six birdies, tied for the second-lowest round in NCAA championship play by a Wolfpack golfer.
In team competition, North Carolina tied for third place in stroke play and advanced to match play. There, the Tar Heels lost 3-1 to Florida State in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
