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Freshman Hernandez takes UNCG to new level by qualifying for NCAA Championship

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Freshman Hernandez takes UNCG to new level by qualifying for NCAA Championship

Kelvin Hernandez thrived as an outsider in his first season at UNC Greensboro.

The freshman from Puerto Rico (pictured at the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California) came to Greensboro as not only the Spartans’ only player from outside of the state, but also as the team’s only player from outside North Carolina.

At the conclusion of his first season at UNCG, Hernandez became the first Spartan player to qualify for the NCAA National Championship. And he did it in thrilling fashion, shooting 67 with three birdies in his last six holes in the final round of the Austin (Texas) Regional to grab the tournament’s only individual berth.

UNCG, playing in its seventh regional in the last decade, had a solid performance, finishing in a tie for seventh in a 13-team field. But only Hernandez, who tied for third in the individual standings at 6-under-par 207 advanced to the finals in Carlsbad, California.

Sparked by a 5-foot eagle putt, Hernandez had grabbed a share of the first-round lead with 67 and stayed in position with 72 in the second round. Long off the tee, Hernandez earned the moniker “Mr. Chipinski” from his teammates by chipping in for birdie twice in the opening round and adding another in the second round.

In the final round, Hernandez couldn’t be sure where he stood in trying to qualify for Carlsbad. Players on the top 5 teams in the standings advance with only the top player from a non-advancing team moving on. With constant jockeying of teams for No. 4 through 6, it was impossible for individuals to know who the competition was.

Playing in the No. 4 spot for the Spartans much of the season, Hernandez got hot at midseason after reuniting with Orlando-based coach Patrick Leahy, who evaluated video and communicated with the player via Zoom and phone.

The stocky 5-8 Hernandez is one of UNCG’s biggest hitters off the tee.

“Right now, I’m hitting the ball a lot better than I was a few months ago,” said Hernandez. “My game has been going good for sure.”

“He’s been trending in the right direction the last 6 weeks,” said UNCG coach Terrance Stewart.

Making short birdie putts on 13, 14 and 17 after wedge approaches was more than enough for Hernandez to make up for a bogey on the final hole and grab the individual spot. Stewart didn’t tell Hernandez what score he needed but did advise him to make sure he stayed far right of a creek to the left of the green.

When he made his bogey putt, Hernandez heard his teammates yelling in celebration.

“That was the best tournament of his life,” Stewart said.  “He’s an outstanding young man. Everybody on the team loves him.”

UNCG’s decision to host a tournament at Dorado Beach was a big factor in Stewart’s ability to recruit Hernandez, who began talking with Stewart during his junior year of high school and then was in attendance last year when the Spartans won their Puerto Rican event.

So, Stewart had an opportunity to meet Hernandez and his family in person. The coach said having first-hand knowledge about players is the reason his players are overwhelmingly from North Carolina.

With men’s college teams able to offer only 4.5 total scholarships, Stewart said he wants to know everything he can about recruits.

“We don’t want to have any guesses,” said Stewart. “It’s really hard to find out the ins and outs of the player.”

“I just fell in love with (Stewart) and the program and the guys on the team,” Hernandez said. 

UNCG wasn’t the only school to know about Hernandez, who made several trips to Florida and Texas with his mother to play in junior events. Hernandez’s father, a physician, introduced his son to the game at early age.

But Hernandez said UNCG made a big impression. The closeness of the all-North Carolina team members also impressed his parents.

“They’re just great guys,” Hernandez said of his teammates. 

Stewart said he knew Hernandez would be a “good fit” for his team. The coach said he hopes to get a “sprinkling” of more Puerto Rican players at UNCG in the future.

Stewart accompanied Hernandez to Carlsbad, where the competition was held at Omni La Costa North.

“That’s definitely the next step for us,” Stewart said of a UNCG player qualifying for the championship.

Mathews sees rewards by sticking to the process

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Mathews sees rewards by sticking to the process

Nick Mathews is healthy, and so his golf game.

The Mebane native (pictured above playing in the NCAA regional at Finley Golf Course) concluded an outstanding year at N.C. State by finishing in a tie for 15th at the NCAA Championship at La Costa North in Carlsbad, California.

Coming back from a slump of more than a year after suffering from pneumonia and bronchitis, Mathews said keys to his emergence as one of the nation’s top collegiate players were his hard work and his trust that he was on the right path.

“I just love the game of golf and the process of making improvement,” Mathews said. “I kept working and reflecting on what I love, sticking with the process and the discipline and, I knew the results would come.”

Playing in only seven events in his first three years – he took two redshirt years after the health problems — at N.C. State, Mathews hadn’t experienced the level of success he had enjoyed earlier in his career.

The Carolinas Golf Association Junior Boys’ Player of the Year in 2019, Mathews qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur that year at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio. The left-hander won the Carolinas Golf Association N.C. Match Play title in 2020 and the CGA N.C. Amateur Championship in 2021.

But the illness in fall 2021 kept him off the course and off the practice tee. He lost 20 pounds.

Faced with the challenge of coming back, Mathews said he dedicated himself to “striving for excellence in everything.” By last summer, he started to see results with strong finishes in regional events and was optimistic entering the fall season at N.C. State.

Mathews tied for second overall in the Wolfpack’s first tournament in a Michigan State field that included eventual national runner-up Florida State.

Mathews followed with strong finishes in national fields — a tie for sixth at Duke, a tie for 18th at Arkansas and a tie for 16th at The Williams Cup at Eagle Point in Wilmington. He led the Wolfpack in three of four fall tournaments and was 3-over-par for 11 tournament rounds, nine strokes better than anyone else in the Wolfpack lineup.

The resurgence continued in the spring, highlighted by his first career collegiate victory in mid-April in the Stitch Intercollegiate at N.C. State’s Lonnie Poole Golf Course in a field that included Duke and UNC Greensboro.

After tying for 23rd at the ACC Championship at Charlotte Country Club, Mathews strong season was recognized with an individual berth in the NCAA Regional at North Carolina’s Finley Golf Course.

At Finley, Mathews played perhaps the best he’s ever played, shooting 67, 66 and 65 to finish second overall at 12-under, only one shot behind UNC’s Austin Greaser, to earn the only individual spot in Carlsbad available at the regional.

Working with Poole director of instruction Chase Duncan, his coach before he went to N.C. State, Mathews said he focused on improvement in his skills, rather than scores.

“We just stuck to my swing DNA,” Mathews said. “We called it ‘refinement.’ I have a 1% motto. How can I get 1% better?”

Those incremental improvements added up quickly.

Duncan said Mathews developed additional shot options, abilities that helped him adjust to varying course conditions. In the NCAA Championships, Mathews used his ability to hit low-flight shots in firm, breezy conditions at La Costa North.

Mathews shot 73, 77, 68 and 71 at La Costa to finish at 1-over 289. The clutch 68 allowed him to survive a cut only players on the top five teams and the other top nine individuals.

Though Golf Channel cameras focused on the team battle, Mathews briefly pulled within three shots of the individual lead with a 33-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 second hole, his 11th hole of the day. He dropped back with bogeys on the next two holes before finishing with a birdie.

“It’s been a really impressive climb,” said Duncan, who also works with Mathews’ sister Emily, who plays at Virginia Tech.

Duncan pointed to Mathews’ spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, which had soared to No. 59 in the May 29 rankings.

Duncan said Mathews has “above average” length of the tee, carrying the ball about 300 yards, no glaring weaknesses in his skill set and confidence in his putting.

“I feel like everything is solid,” said the former N.C. State player and longtime Poole instructor. “He has a good level head on his shoulders. He’s become very well rounded.”

Mathews considers his wedge play and putting as particular strengths.

A finance major, Mathews plans to use his new amateur status to play in the nation’s top amateur events this summer, including the North and South at Pinehurst Resort, and attempt to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. In the next year, he hopes to rise in the PGA U program, which offers PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour access to top players who play four collegiate years.

Pinehurst U.S. Open history

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Making its debut as a U.S. Open site in 1999, Pinehurst No. 2 has a shorter Open history than traditional venues such as Oakmont, Shinnecock Hills, The Country Club (Brookline), Oakland Hills, Merion, Winged Foot, Baltusrol, and Olympic Club.

But like fellow relative Open newcomers Pebble Beach and Bethpage Black, Pinehurst No. 2 offers the egalitarian-oriented USGA the bonus of operating as a course accessible to the public.

Yet No. 2 has established its place in Open lore, beginning with Payne Stewart’s dramatic victory in 1999 with a 15-foot par putt on the final hole.

A unique Pinehurst particular — Tiger Woods has been in contention twice (he missed the 2014 Open with a back injury) without winning.

Here’s a look at the past three Opens at No. 2:

1999 — Stewart drains his par putt on the 72nd hole to finish at 1-under-par 279 for the tournament, one shot ahead of Phil Mickelson. Tiger Woods, suffering a rare loss when near the top of the leaderboard, joins Vijay Singh in a tied for third, two shots off the pace. Stewart preserved despite driving into fairway divots four times during the tournament. Stewart died in a plane accident in October. The previous year at Olympic Club, Stewart had failed to hold a 4-stroke lead at the Open, dropping two quick shots after hitting into a fairway divot and getting a warning for slow play.

2005 — New Zealander Michael Campbell, four shots behind Reteif Goosen entering the final round, roared back to win at even-par 280, by two shots over Woods. Tim Clark, Sergio Garcia and Mark Hensby tied for third. Goosen, a two-time Open winner, shot 81 to drop out of the top 10. N.C. native Davis Love III tied for sixth with Singh and Rocco Mediate.

2014 — Martin Kaymer dominated the week, finishing at 9-under 271, winning by eight shots after shooting 65 in the first two rounds. A young qualifier, future two-time Open winner Brooks Koepka, tied for fourth. Kaymer was in his prime. He had already won The Players Championship that year.

Pinehurst enters new USGA ‘anchor’ era

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Pinehurst enters new USGA ‘anchor’ era

The USGA has gone all in at Pinehurst.

As golf fans will see at the U.S. Open on June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2, the relationship between golf’s American governing body and the Pinehurst Resort has become heavily intertwined.

To the right on the few hundred yards from N.C. 2 (Midland Road) to the main clubhouse on Carolina Vista Drive, the USGA has two new buildings — one for its operations and another for a fan-friendly “USGA Experience” and a new World Golf Hall of Fame.

Plus, the USGA has committed to bringing four more Opens to No. 2 by 2047 while bringing a second Women’s Open to the course in 2029. A Women’s Amateur is on the books for 2027, Boys and Girls Junior Amateurs in 2032, a Men’s Amateur in 2038 and another Women’s Am in 2044.

For an organization that revels in its history, celebrating its 1,000th overall championship since 1895 in the quaint, traditional, golf-centric environs of Pinehurst makes sense. The first U.S. Open was played at Newport (Rhode Island) Country Club.

“When you fit you can actually feel it,” said Fred Perpall, the president of the USGA at U.S. Open Media Day in early May. “Showing up yesterday, it just feels like the USGA, U.S. Open and Pinehurst fit together.”

“This place is golf minded, and the vibe is all about golf,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer.

The USGA hasn’t tried to hide its strong ties to Pinehurst. It has 65 full-time employees at its second Golf House (the original is in Far Hills, New Jersey). And it’s dubbed Pinehurst its “first anchor site” for the U.S. Open.

With the longterm deals to bring future Opens to No. 2 in 2029, 2035 and 2041 and 2047, the USGA can work with Pinehurst to improve the site for its biggest event. The USGA has assisted in getting service roads on the property paved, moving water and power lines underground and eliminating the need for diesel fuel.

Structuring the tent village with concessions, memorabilia shops,wil hospitality venues, media facilities will be much easier with years to plan and USGA staffers just across the street.

“We can do so much because we know we’re coming back,” said Bodenhamer.

“If allows us to think long-term,” said Pinehurst Resort president Tom Pashley.

The last U.S. Open at No. 2 was played in 2014, after a naturalist restoration of waste areas by architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. German Martin Kaymer shot 9-under-par that week to win by eight strokes. Michael Campbell of New Zealand won in 2005.

Payne Stewart won the first Open at Pinehurst, sinking a 15-foot putt on the final hole to beat Phil Mickelson. A statue of Stewart celebrating the putt stands just a few paces behind the 18th green.

Few other changes have been made in the decade since. About 13 yards of addition waste area has narrowed the fairway on No. 13. The first tee has been moved slightly left to allow for a secondary putting green. A few tee boxes have leveled.

Pashley said No. 2 takes little tournament preparation. The course, which costs around $500 to play in peak season, is kept in pristine condition with Stimpmeter readings in the 13 range on the greens.

Pashley and the USGA said they hope to have the putting surfaces rolling a tad faster for the Open.

“We focus on firming up the course and making sure that its fast,” Pashley said.

Oh, but there is a significant change should help ensure the wanted playing conditions.

The famous turtleback greens, crafted over decades by Donald Ross, have new Champion Bermuda grass putting surfaces. The former bent grass surfaces required extreme diligence to maintain, especially in traditional mid-June heat and humidity.

“Now, you’e got a heat-tolerant grass that you can can firm up and cut down,” Pashley said.

The gnarly wiregrass, planted in clumps throughout the waste areas, has been replenished in the past year.

“Places had started to disappear,” Pashley said.

Perhaps the damage was done by golfers disappointed that their wayward shots had found it and frustrated at the prospect of trying to hack out of it.

“It’s the perfect rough,” said Bodenhamer. “The randomness means you never know what you’re going to get.”

“We wanted to have a penalty if you miss the fairway,” said Pashley. “There’s going to be that moment of anxiety when you walk from the tee to find your tee shot.”

Bodenhamer said the course would play between 7,300 and 7,600 yards — the official distance is 7,540 yards from the back markers.

Bodenhamer said Pinehurst has the ideal qualities the USGA wants in a Men’s Open site.

No. 2 is an historic “cathedral of the game,” citing Pebble Beach and Oakmont, traditional regulars in the Open rotation, as other examples.

“We believe the ghosts of the past matter, Bodenhamer said. “That matters — where people win their U.S. Opens

Though most U.S. Opens produce only a few, if any, scores below par, Bodenhamer said that’s not a USGA priority.

“It does mean that we want the winner to get every club in his bag dirty,” he said. “We want to test every part of their game.”

Wyndham Clark, winner of the 2023 Open at Los Angeles Country Club, made a trip to Pinehurst No. play No. 2 in early May. His first PGA Tour victory had been only a few weeks earlier at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.

For Clark, a 30-year-old from Colorado, now living in Arizona, it was his first trip to the course since the renovations by Coore and Crenshaw. Clark’s assessment fit with Bodenhamer’s design. He said the layout required shots of various shapes and lengths.

“There’s not necessarily one iconic hole, but 18 great golf holes,” Clark told the Media Day gathering. “This golf course just has 18 amazing holes.”

The USGA has a few special plans for its 1,000th championship. Tracey Stewart, widow of the 1999 champion who died in a plane accident later the same year, will be in attendance with the couple’s children.

Tiger Woods, despite struggling physically since a 2021 car crash, was given a special exemption into the 156-player field. Woods won the Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008. He’ll receive the USGA’s Bob Jones Award for commitment to sportsmanship and respect for golf’s time-honored traditions on Tuesday night before the tournament.

Lexington Golf Club converts greens to Champion

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Lexington Golf Club converts greens to Champion

Lexington Golf Club (pictured above) closed on June 1 to convert the greens to Champion Bermuda grass. The course is expected to reopen in early August, according to director of golf Dylan Dawson. Lexington is using a “no till” process that simple kills the existing turf and plants the new grass. Prior to the closure, multiple applications of herbicide were applied to prepare for the change. The pro shop and Common on the Greens event center will remain open during the transition.

The course, owned and operated by the City of Lexington, was built in 1938 by former Carolinas PGA president Dugan Aycock. The hilly, par-71 course, known for good conditions and playability, measures 6,116 yards from the back tees.

Gibson takes over at High Meadows

Tommy Gibson, one of the Triad’s top players, started in April as director of golf at High Meadows Country Club in Roaring Gap. Gibson, a former Carolinas PGA Section champion and Mount Airy resident, had worked as an assistant at Old Town Club since 2016.

He played at the PGA Professional Championship in late April at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco outside Dallas, though he missed the cut. High Meadows was designed by George Cobb, whose other designs include Quail Hollow Club and the par-3 course at Augusta National. High Meadows sits across U.S. 21 from Roaring Gap Club and Olde Beau.

McIlroy wins fourth in Charlotte

Rory McIlroy continued his dominance at Quail Hollow Club, shooting 6-under-par 65 in the final round May 12 to win his fourth Wells Fargo Championship by five strokes over eventual PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffle.

McIlroy, who came back from a five-shot deficit to Schauffle over the final 18 holes, finished at 17-under-par 267 despite a double-bogey on the 72nd hole.

McIlroy broke away with an eagle at No. 10 after birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 then birdied 13 and 14 before chipping in for eagle at 15. He was 8-under during the 8-hole spree, which made the closing double-bogey no problem.

“I birdied 9 and then I just went on a run that for whatever reason I’m able to go on at this golf course,” McIlroy said. “Quail Hollow, Charlotte in general, has been really good to me over my career and this is just another great day to sort of add to all the rest of them.”

The tournament was the last with Wells Fargo as the title sponsor despite reports that Wells Fargo offered more than $20 million to keep its title sponsorship. As one of the PGA Tour’s “signature” events, the tournament offers a $20 million purse.

Myrtle Beach Classic draws big crowd

Chris Gotterup won the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic played opposite the Wells Championship at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club.

The 24-year-old Gotterup cruised to a 6-stroke victory at 22-under 262. Alistair Docherty and Davis Thompson tied for second. Blades Brown, a 16-year-old high school sophomore from Nashville, Tennessee, tied for 26th at 10-under.

Gotterup won $720,000 from the $3.9 million purse. The Dunes Club played host to the Senior Tour Championship in 1994-1998. The Myrtle Beach Classic began a 4-year contract.

The third round on Saturday had announced attendance of 15,281.

“We are truly thrilled and humbled by Saturday’s attendance figures at the Myrtle Beach Classic,” Karen Riordan, president and CEO of Visit Myrtle Beach, said in a statement. “But we know that golfers, fans and families love the beach, and this our time to shine as The Golf Capital of the World.”

Vargas wins AJGA at Sedgefield; Pilot Mountain’s Badgett ties for fifth

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Vargas wins AJGA at Sedgefield; Pilot Mountain’s Badgett ties for fifth

Asher Vargas of Spring Texas won the AJGA Wyndham Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club on Thursday, finishing with a 6-under-par 204 total for 54 holes.

Mason Howell of Thomasville, Georgia, and Ronin Banerjee of Irvine, California, tied for second at 206.

Pennson Badgett (pictured above) of Pilot Mountain, who shot 70 in his first two rounds, moved up the leaderboard with a final-round 68. Badgett, a rising junior at East Surry High, finished second in last month’s Class 2A state tournament.

Mack Edwards of Charlotte and Carson Bertagnole of Pinehurst, two University of North Carolina commits for 2025-26, tied for eighth at 209.

Burlington’s Kayla Smith wins N.C. Women’s Amateur

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Burlington’s Kayla Smith wins N.C. Women’s Amateur

Burlington native Kayla Smith birdied three of the final six holes Thursday at Mooresville Golf Club to cap a 4-under-par 68 and win The Carolinas Golf Association North Carolina Women’s Amateur by three strokes over Winston-Salem’s Macy Pate.

Smith, who recently finished her fifth season at the University of North Carolina with the school’s No. 2 all-time stroke-average record, finished 54 holes at 8-under 208. She birdied Nos. 13, 15 and 16 to pull away from second-round leader Pate, who rallied after making triple-bogey and bogey on her first two holes.

Pate, who recently completed her freshman season at Wake Forest, finished with 72 for a 211 total. Clemson’s Katherine Schuster of Kill Devil Hills was third at 214 with Virginia Tech’s Emily Mathews of Mebane in fourth at 215.

The tournament was dominated by college players and juniors. UNC Wilmington’s Mallory Fobes of East Bend, the defending champion, finished eighth at 221. High Point University’s Anna Howerson of Winston-Salem was 12th at 226.

Can anybody — or any thing other than a sheriff or the law of averages — stop Scheffler at No. 2?

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Can anybody — or any thing other than a sheriff or the law of averages — stop Scheffler at No. 2?

The old joke continues to be told by the players at this weekend’s U.S. Open, which begins Thursday morning at Pinehurst No. 2.

What’s the best way to stop Scottie Scheffler (pictured practicing at No. 2) from winning?

The much-repeated answer: have him arrested by the sheriff, or any other law enforcement officer lining the last dozen or so miles N.C. 211 from U.S. 74 to the Pinehurst Resort.

After getting arrested outside Valhalla before the first round, Scheffler didn’t win the PGA Championship, though he did shoot 67 an hour or so after the police took his mug shot and went on to tie for eighth. But he’s won five times already in 2024, including the Masters.

Or maybe the law of averages can stop him? Though he dominated golf for much of two decades, Tiger Woods has won only 15 pro majors.

Scheffler won last weekend’s Memorial despite making triple-bogey Saturday on the ninth hole and shooting 74 on Sunday.

“The fact that the only thing that took him from winning a golf tournament was going into a jail cell for an hour,” said Rory McIlroy, drawing laughter from a media room gathering.

Scheffler, the game’s undeniable top player, is again the player to beat — this week on the slick, turtleback greens at No. 2.

“I think just the relentlessness. Look, a lot of stuff went on in his life, as well. They’ve just had a new child. He’s been through some struggles in his game, particularly the putter that he’s been able to turn around, as well.”

Bryson DeChambeau, known for his tinkering with his golf swing using his knowledge of physics, finds no obvious flaws in Scheffler’s game.

“From my perspective, he’s got full control of his golf swing,” said DeChambeau, who finished second in the PGA Championship. “He’s figured out a lot of his putting. He plays some incredibly strategic golf from what I can tell. He doesn’t go too crazy. He just hits the right shots at the right time.

“He’s really in control of the environment, not only his environment but the conditions on the golf course. He knows what the golf ball is going to do. He knows how to react accordingly. When things go right, he’s able to right the ship pretty quickly. That’s just a recipe for success, and he’s been able to do it longer than anyone has for a long time.”

Pinehurst No. 2, host of the Open for the fourth time in the past 25 years, has drawn praise from the dozen or so players interviewed in the media center prior to the tournament.

“Looking forward to a tough test of golf out here,” said DeChambeau. “Pinehurst is no joke. This is a ball striker’s paradise. You have to hit it in the middle of the greens. And this is a Boo Weekley quote, but the center of the green never moves, so I’ll try to focus on that this week.

Your putting and wedging has to be pristine in order to compete at this major championship and at this venue. If I get my irons in a place where I’m hitting it in the middle of the greens and just playing boring golf, that’s the goal forme this week is try to play as boring a golf as possible.”

Viktor Hovland, who had been to Pinehurst No. 2 only once prior to arriving Monday, also praised Scheffler and the course. But he also mentioned the unpredictability that the wire grass-filled waste areas bring into play.

“There is some luck involved in missing the fairways here,” said Hovland, who has top 10 finished in each of the four major championships since turning pro in 2019. ” Sometimes you might have a good lie, and sometimes it’s just a hack-out.

But I think just visually it looks really cool off the tee. I’m just a big fan of greens that are raised up and rolls off on the sides. I think that’s kind of how golf courses should be designed. I just think it’s just the best way possible to design greens.”

Scheffler, who has won 11 PGA Tour events, including two Masters, in the past 28 months, said he’s trying to stay grounded and enjoy the current success. Each of Scheffler’s five 2024 victories — Masters, Arnold Palmer, Heritage and Players Championship and Memorial — were in premier events filled with the game’s top players.

In 13 events in 2024, he has 12 top 10 finishes. His worst was a tie for 17th in January.

“I try not to overthink things, I try to live one moment at a time and soak it all up because you never know how long it’s going to last,” he said. “Just try and soak up the good times when you can and fight through the bad.”

Former Wake Forest star Webb Simpson has fought through recent struggles to earn a berth in the tournament through qualifying. The Raleigh native, whose family has a home at Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, will be a sentimental favorite with locals.

Simpson said Scheffler’s dominance has become the norm on the PGA Tour.

“Yeah, it’s probably what happened the early days with Tiger,” Simpson said. “You kind of get used to it, so it becomes less of a big deal. It’s almost like an afterthought — ‘Scottie won again this week.’

“I think what people don’t talk about enough is, like, his attitude, the way he thinks. He makes less mistakes than everyone else.”

Winner of the 2012 U.S. Open, Simpson has lost his full exemption into PGA Tour events. He advanced from final qualifying for the Open at Duke University Golf Club. Spencer Oxendine of N.C. State lost a playoff for one of the two last spots at Duke, but as a top alternate, played a practice round Wednesday at No. 2.

“I think having not been in the majors, the last few majors, I’m definitely more appreciative to be here,” Simpson told reporters. “Kind of more excited to be here, compete against the best players. I think all of us golfers would agree, all we want is to play against the best players in the world in the same week. I have a chance this week.”

Play begins Thursday at 6:45 a.m. from the No. 1 and No. 10 tees. Former Wake Forest star Will Zalatoris will begin with Tiger Woods and Matthew Fitzpatrick on No. 10 at 7:29 in a high-profile threesome destined for extensive airtime on USA Network.

Defending AJGA Sedgefield champ returns after making PGA Tour cut

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Defending AJGA Sedgefield champ returns after making PGA Tour cut

Blades Brown has left a successful stint on the PGA Tour behind to play a junior event at Sedgefield Country Club.

OK, it’s not that simple.

Brown is scheduled to return to Greensboro next week to defend his Wyndham Invitational title won last year. Though he did make the cut three weeks ago at the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, a secondary PGA Tour event played on the same weekend as the Wells Fargo Championship, he doesn’t have a place in a PGA Tour field — unless he gets a special exemption, as he did in Myrtle Beach.

There are no special exemptions for 15-year-olds at The Memorial, a premium Tour event. 

Fourth in the national AJGA rankings, Brown is set to head the 72-player field at the 54-hole tournament scheduled for June 11-13. The field also includes Pennson Badgett, a rising junior at East Surry High; and North Carolina recruits Carson Bertagnole of Pinehurst, and Mack Edwards of Charlotte. Badgett, who had been an alternate, was added to the field when Will Hartman of Marvin, No. 9 in the AJGA rankings and committed to Vanderbilt, withdrew.

“We’re going to bring the best to the best,” said AJGA director of operations and rules Jacob Kennedy. “This is one of our five or six best fields we offer.”

Kennedy said the juniors would play the back tees at Sedgefield, measuring almost 7,000 yards. But he said distance hasn’t typically been a major factor at Sedgefield, where the testing Donald Ross greens complexes provide the biggest challenge.

Often approaches that land close to the pin roll off the back or sides of the putting surfaces.

“It’s one of the more challenging ones that we play on,” Kennedy said. “This one is unique in a sense because I feel like it requires a lot of discipline. 

The players who end up winning here are typically more disciplined, hit into the middle of the green, find a way to make par.”

While Brown has won at Sedgefield, tournament officials can also take pride that Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, played in the tournament and left without a victory.

Bobby Powell, the tournament director of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield, said a limited amount of hospitality opportunities remain for this year’s August tournament. Powell said the 15th hole skyboxes had been expanded to meet demand. Availabilities remain for teams in the Monday pro-am as well as some “smaller” hospitality packages.

Tar Heels advance to match play at NCAA Championship

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Tar Heels advance to match play at NCAA Championship

North Carolina made the final eight in the NCAA Championship with a tie for third place in stroke play at La Costa North in Carlsbad, California.

The Tar Heels shot 4-under-par 284 Monday to tie Virginia at 11-over 1163, 17 strokes behind team leader llinois.

Seeded No. 4 for match play, UNC will play No. 5 Florida State in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals. If the Tar Heels win, they will play the Illinois-Georgia Tech winner in the afternoon. The championship match is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Tar Heels had five players finish in the top 50, led by Peter Fountain at 290 in a tie for 19th.

Vanderbilt, Auburn and Ohio State are the other three teams in match play.

Hiroshi Tai of Georgia Tech was the medalist at 3-under 285 for 72 holes despite making a triple-bogey Monday on his 17th hole, the par-3 No. 8.

Jackson Koivun of Auburn, one of six players to finish 2-under, hit the flagstick with his approach — a winning shot if it went in — at his final hole, but his ball caromed into a bunker. He saved par after a blast that rolled just past the cup.

Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent lipped out a short birdie putt on his last hole that would have forced a playoff.

Nick Mathews of N.C. State, playing as an individual, was briefly within a few strokes of the stroke-play lead early in the second nine. Mathews shot 71 Monday to finish in a tie for 15th at a 1-over 289.

The Mebane native made eagle on the par-5 No. 2 hole — his 11th hole — to move to even-par for the tournament. But he made bogey on his next two holes to fall from contention and finished at 2-over on a crowded leaderboard.

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