UVA Opens ACC Championships Play in Pinehurst on Friday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 16 Virginia men’s golf team competes at the ACC Championships starting Friday at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, N.C. The tournament format includes 54 holes of stroke play on Friday (36 holes) and Saturday (18 holes) before match play starts on Sunday. Friday’s play begins at 7:30 a.m. and Saturday’s third round is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The top four teams following stroke play will advance to match play semifinals on Sunday (9 a.m.) with the finals contested on Monday (9 a.m.).

The semifinals and finals of the ACC Men’s Golf Championship match play will be televised live on ACC Network Extra from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Ryan Burr (play-by-play) and Steve Scott (analyst) will provide the call. A championship recap show will air May 1 at 9 p.m. on ACCN.

The Cavaliers’ stroke play lineup includes freshmen Ben James and Bryan Lee, juniors George Duangmanee and Chris Fosdick and senior Pietro Bovari. James leads the Cavaliers with a 69.30 stroke average and has picked up four first-place finishes this season, including UVA’s last outing, the Hoos’ own Lewis Chitengwa Memorial tournament. James ranks No. 10 in the current Golfstat standings. That is the highest ranking of any freshman.

Virginia is paired with Wake Forest and Louisville during the opening round. Those teams will tee off starting from the 1st tee at 7:30 a.m.

Live scoring for the ACC Championships will be available online at Golfstat.com.

The Field (with Golfstat rankings)
Seven ACC teams are ranked among the top 50 in the current Golfweek rankings – No. 2 North Carolina, No. 6 Florida State, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Virginia, No. 27, Louisville, No. 28 Wake Forest and No. 34 Duke.

Tournament History
Virginia has never won the team championship, but the 2019 runner-up finish by the Cavaliers was the fifth in program history. UVA also placed second in 1958, 1996, 2010 and 2012. Virginia has had four individual champions. Pete Arend won the individual title in 1955, Ben Rusch won it in 2012, Jimmy Stanger took the crown in 2017 (winning a one-hole, four-player playoff) and Thomas Walsh was medalist in 2018.

This will mark the eighth time that Pinehurst has played host to the ACC Men’s Golf Championship and the second time at the Country Club of North Carolina, which first hosted in 1966.

Last Time
Virginia placed seventh in the 12-team field at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City, Fla. in 2022.

UVA’s three-round total was 10-under 854. Seventh-ranked North Carolina topped the field during stroke play by shooting 35-under 829. No. 11 Georgia Tech was second at 838. Bovari was UVA’s top finisher, placing 13th at 5-under 211.

The Country Club of North Carolina
The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC) was established in 1963 and has hosted numerous large-scale golf events including two USGA championships: the 1980 U.S. Amateur won by Hal Sutton, the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior won by Doris Chen; and the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur won by Nick Dunlap. In addition, the Club has hosted seven North Carolina Amateurs and seven Southern Amateurs.

The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash
The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions. The ACC Championship finish will determine the point at stake for women’s golf between the two programs. UVA currently leads the Clash 9-8.