ACC Men’s Golf Championships Runs Friday to Monday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 12 Virginia men’s golf team competes at the ACC Championships starting Friday at the Charlotte Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. as the event’s No. 3 seed. The tournament format includes 18 holes of stroke play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday before match play starts on Monday. The competition begins at 9 a.m. the first three days. Monday’s match play will feature the semifinals starting at 7:30 a.m. followed by the finals one hour after the conclusion of the semifinal matches.
The semifinals and finals of the ACC Championship match play will be televised live on ACC Network Extra with Ryan Burr (play-by-play) and Steve Scott (analyst) providing the call. A championship recap show will air May 6 at 10 p.m. on ACCN.
The Cavaliers’ stroke play lineup includes Ben James, Bryan Lee, Deven Patel, Josh Duangmanee and George Duangmanee. Chris Fosdick will be the alternate. James currently leads the Cavaliers in stroke play at 69.95. He has five top-10 outings in eight tournaments this season. Bryan Lee is close behind James with a 70.93 stroke average. He also has five top-10 showings this season.
Virginia is paired with No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 2 seed Florida State during the opening round. Those teams will tee off starting from the 1st tee at 10 a.m.
Live scoring for the ACC Championships will be available online at Golfstat.com.
The Field (with NCAA rankings)
Eight ACC teams are ranked among the top 50 in the current NCAA rankings – No. 4 North Carolina, No. 6 Florida State, No. 12 Virginia, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 24 Duke, No. 29 Wake Forest, No. 31 Notre Dame and No. 47 Louisville.
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.
Last Season
Virginia reached the match play portion of the championship losing to Wake Forest 3-0-2. In stroke play, the Cavaliers tied with Duke for third at -4, 860 at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst. James was UVA’s highest finisher, tying for third place at 7-under 209. He went on to be named the ACC Freshman of the Year. Lee and George Duangmanee were UVA’s next two highest finishers. They tied for 23rd position at 2-over 218.
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 men’s golf between the two programs.