Sunday, May 11, 2025
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Wake Forest alum Zalatoris draws youngest and oldest in Masters pairing

Will Zalatoris will play with the youngest and the oldest players in the field on Thursday and Friday in the first two rounds of the Masters.

The 28-year-old former Wake Forest standout, Masters runner-up in 2021 with top 10 finishes in 2022 and 2024, will play with 20-year-old Noah Kent of the University of Florida and 67-year-old Bernhard Langer, who won the tournament twice before Kent was born, at 8:35 a.m. Thursday and 11:49 a.m. Friday.

The pairings were released Tuesday afternoon.

Kent, a Floridian who played his freshman year at the University of Iowa, earned his berth with a runner-up finish in the 2024 U.S. Amateur.

Langer, Masters champion in 1985 and 1993, is on the record as playing the tournament for the last time, his 41st appearance.

The German had expected last year to be his final start, but he couldn’t play due to a pickleball injury.

College Roundup: HPU finishes second at Maryland; Wake men in sixth

Anais Arafi and Anna Howerton provided top-10 finishes as the High Point University women’s golf team finished second behind Michigan at the Terrapin Invitational on Monday at the University of Maryland Golf Course.

Arafi finished fifth at 1-over-par 217 after shooting a final-round 75. Howerton, a Winston-Salem native, tied for seventh at 218 after firing 76. Julia McLaughlin shot 69 for High Point and pulled into a tie for 11th at 219.

HPU finished the 54-hole tournament at 20-over, seven behind Michigan. The Wildcats slipped past Georgetown by one stroke and host Maryland by two shots. HPU also finished ahead of Notre Dame, Penn State and Nebraska.

The Wake Forest men were in sixth out of nine teams, 24 strokes behind leader Louisville, at the Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines in Naples, Florida. Marshall Meisel, tied for eighth at 1-over 143, leads Wake entering Tuesday’s final round.

College Roundup: Howerton shares lead for High Point; UNC’s Ford wins playoff

Anna Howerton of Winston-Salem and High Point teammate Anais Arafi were two of the three co-leaders Sunday after the first 36 holes of the University of Maryland’s Terrapin Invitational.

Howerton and Arafi are at 2-under-par 142, helping High Point tie Notre Dame for third place in the team standings entering Monday’s final round.

Howerton shot rounds of 70 and 72. Arafi shot 73 and 69 at the University of Maryland Golf Course. At 9-over 585, High Point is only six strokes behind leader Michigan and four behind Maryland. Big Ten Conference programs Nebraska and Penn State are also in the 14-team field.

FORD WINS AT AUGUSTA: David Ford of North Carolina, the nation’s top-ranked men’s player, won a playoff over Max Herendeen of Illinois with a birdie to claim medalist honors at the Augusta Haskins Award Invite at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Ford and Herendeen tied at 12-under 204 after 54 holes. As a team, the Tar Heels are tied with Notre Dame for fourth at 8-under 856. Oklahoma State and Texas tied atop the leaderboard at 20-under and Illinois was third at 15-under.

WAKE FOURTH IN NAPLES: Marshall Meisel shot 73 to lead a balanced performance from the Wake Forest men, who are in fourth after the first round of the 54-hole Calusa Cup at Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Florida. At 8-over 296, Wake trails Louisville by 12 strokes, Florida by 6 and UCLA by 4. Purdue, Iowa, LSU, Virginia and Miami (Ohio) round out the field.

Lopez-Chacarra birdies through Amen Corner, shoots 68 at Augusta

Carolina Lopez-Chacarra of Wake Forest made an early splash with spectacular dash through Amen Corner during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The Spaniard birdied Nos. 11, 12 and 13 — the three holes comprising the course’s legendary “Amen Corner” — on her way to an impressive 4-under-par 68 at Augusta National Golf Club, home of next week’s Masters.

Participating in the tournament for the fifth straight year, Lopez-Chacarra played the final eight holes in 5-under, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 15th hole. At 6-under for the tournament, she was in position for a top-10 finish as the leaders played the back nine.

“Just being here, it’s like a gift for all of the hard work that I’ve put in throughout the year,” Lopez-Chacarra said in a statement posted by Wake Forest. “I teed off and I thought ‘I just want to enjoy it’. It’s my first time here playing Augusta [National] during a competitive round and I just wanted to make the most of it and take it all in.”

Carla Bernat Escuder of Spain, who shot 68 Saturday, won at 12-under 204. Escuder also shot 68 in the first two rounds at Champions Retreat.

Several players posted good scores at Augusta National, which played about 6,355 yards — nearly 1,200 yards shorter than the Masters distance. Elia Galitzky of Thailand, who finished shot 66. Of the 31 players who advanced to Augusta National, eight broke par and another six matched par on the course.

Spence stays busy close to home

Kris Spence is staying busy. The Greensboro-based golf architect has several projects in the works, including extensive work at Starmount Forest Country Club.

Kris Spence’s recent projects include the restoration of an Ellis Maples design at Woodlake Country Club in Vass.

He’s also helping repair flood damage at Hound Ears in Boone. Other project sites in the pipeline include Raleigh Golf Association and Pine Valley Country Club in Wilmington.

Listen to Spence describe his projects on the latest Triad Golf Podcast, released Friday.

Spence’s recent successes include a restoration with major changes at Woodlake Country Club in Vass and the creation of Quixote Club in Sumter, South Carolina. Soon after opening, Quixote jumped into Golf Digest’s 2023 rankings of the best courses in South Carolina at No. 19.

Known as a specialist for restoring and renovating Donald Ross designs, Spence has worked on acclaimed Ross courses including Sedgefield Country Club, Forsyth Country Club, Roaring Gap Club and Holston Hills Country Club.

Lopez-Chacarra makes first Augusta cut, Pate falls just short

Carolina Lopez-Chacarra made the cut, but Wake Forest teammate Macy Pate came up one stroke short Thursday in the second round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

At 2-under-par 142 at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Lopez-Chacarra advanced to Saturday’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club. Pate, a Winston-Salem resident, finished at 144.

Playing in the tournament for the fifth straight year, Lopez-Chacarra, a Spaniard, made the cut for the first time.

The top 30 players, plus ties, made the cut. The entire 71-player field will have the opportunity to play a practice round at Augusta National, home of next week’s Masters, on Friday.

Chacarra and Pate each shot 72 Friday. Chacarra, who started on the front nine, made three birdies and three bogeys. Pate, who had four birdies and four bogeys, birdied No. 9, her final hole.

Defending champion Lottie Woad of England and Kiara Romero, a Californian who plays at the University of Oregon, are tied for the lead at 9-under 135. South African Megan Streicher, who plays at North Carolina, missed the cut with 146.

Pate opens with solid 72 at Augusta event; Lopez-Chacarra shoots 70

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Macy Pate of Winston-Salem shot even-par 72 Wednesday at Champions Retreat Golf Club outside Augusta, Georgia, to stand just inside the cutline at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Pate, a sophomore at Wake Forest, balanced three birdies and three bogeys to pull into a tie with 11 others for 30th place. The top 30 scores and ties of the 71 competitors after Thursday’s second round will qualify for the final round Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club, host of next week’s Masters.

Carolina Lopez-Chacarra, the other Wake Forest entrant, shot 70 to join nine others in a tie for 13th, seven strokes behind Megha Ganne. A junior at Stanford, Ganne broke the ANWA single-round record with seven birdies and an eagle. Lottie Woad, the defending champion, was second at 65.

Ketchum finishes second at ECU tourney

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Winston-Salem native Megan Ketchum of Virginia Tech finished second as an individual at the ECU Ironwood Invitational in Greenville.

Ketchum shot 3-under-par in the 36-hole event, which the Hokies won as a team at 11-over. Host East Carolina was second at 17-over. N.C. State was third at 34-over. UNC Greensboro was fourth and Elon was sixth in the 16-team tournament.

Marie Madsen of N.C. State shot 6-under as medalist. UNCG teammates Lulu Leetham and Ava Romfo tied for seventh at 5-over. Mebane’s Emily Mathews of Virginia Tech finished at 15-over.

Macy Pate wants to make her round count at Augusta National

Macy Pate is looking forward playing at the famous home of the Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, later this week. But first, she’s trying to focus on a nearby course, hoping her play at Augusta National isn’t limited to a practice round.

At the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the 72 players invited into the field will play rounds Wednesday and Thursday at Champions Retreat, a modern course 15 miles northwest of Augusta National.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” said Pate, a 19-year-old sophomore from Winston-Salem. “It should be fun and challenging — at the same time.”

Only the 30 players (plus ties) that make the 36-hole cut, will advance to the final round Saturday at Augusta National. But on Friday, the entire field will have the opportunity to play a practice round at the famed course, which will play host to the Masters the following week.

So, until the conclusion of Thursday’s play, the field will try to concentrate their efforts on Champions Retreat, a course Pate expects to play extremely tough and long.

“You’re looking at hitting some hybrids and woods into greens,” Pate said.

Pate, a 19-year-old sophomore, will have her Wake Forest coach, Kim Lewallen, serving as her caddie. Wake assistant Ryan Potter is handling caddie duties for Pate’s teammate, Carolina Lopez-Chacarra.

Lewellen is becoming accustomed to the mid-season trip. A Wake player has earned an invitation each year since the tournament’s inception in 2019.

Wake’s Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural event, punctuating the victory with an eagle at No. 13. Emilia Migliaccio was the runner-up in 2021 after a one-year hiatus due to Covid-19. Rachel Kuehn played in the event four times, finishing in the top 10 in 2022 and 2024.

Chacarra will be playing for the fifth straight year, but the Spaniard has never made the cut.

Pate who will get her first up-close look at Augusta National this week, said she strongly considered hiring one of Augusta National’s caddies to help her with the course’s treacherous greens, which can put first-time players at a strong disadvantage.

“I thought about it, but I backed out,” Pate said about hiring a local caddie. “(Lewellen) knows me pretty well and I decided she would be the best. It could be pretty nerve-wracking out there.”

Pate said she expected 13 to be reachable in two with a long shot over Rae’s Creek. Tee placement and playing conditions could be a major factor in strategy at 15, the back side’s other famous par-5 hole.

But the shortest hole on the back nine, the par-3 12th often infli Swirling winds undetectable from the tee make club selection difficult. Many Green Jackets have been lost on the hole on Sunday. In 1992, Fred Couples went on to win his only major title after his shot hit short of the green, but did not make the typical roll back into the creek.

“I’m probably most excited to hit the tee shot at No. 12,” Pate said.

Pate, No. 51 in the world amateur rankings, has had a solid spring for the Demon Deacons. In her last two stroke-play events, she tied for eighth out of 90 players and tied for 28th out of 75 — both in tournaments featuring many of the nation’s top players.

Last summer, Pate was the runner-up the North-South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2.

“My game is feeling good,” she said.

Pate’s health is also better. She battled food poisoning during her tie for 28th at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, a course best known as the site of five PGA Tour victories by Fort Worth native Ben Hogan.

Myrtle Beach muni will close for summer to make changes

Visiting golfers won’t be playing Myrtle Beach’s municipal course this summer.

As Myrtle Beach’s On The Green Magazine reports, Whispering Pines, the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base course, will close May 23 to regrass greens, fairways and tees.

The course is expected to reopen Sept. 1 (OK, summer officially lasts another three weeks, but the kids are back in school).

On The Green reports that the greens will be Sunday Ultradwarf Bermuda with Bimini Bermuda on the tees and fairways. Grown in Camden, South Carolina, Bimini is considered by some to be more tolerant and durable than the 419 Bermuda on most Myrtle Beach-area fairways.

Other work slated for the closure are the removal of a few hundred trees to provide better light and air flow around the greens and the continuation of bunker renovations. The course already completed recent irrigation improvements.

The City of Myrtle Beach has approved $1.5 million for the changes.

Whispering Pines’ initial nine was built in 1962 by military personnel. The second nine was added in 1986, creating the 6,800-yard course next to Myrtle Beach International Airport.

Peak morning tee times for weekdays and weekend days in the next week were priced in the low $60s on the course’s website, placing the course among the least expensive in the Myrtle Beach market.