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Late birdie streaks propel Pate, Ketchum to wins in Wake triumph

John Brasier
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Late birdie streaks propel Pate, Ketchum to wins in Wake triumph

Macy Pate and Morgan Ketchum won matches for Wake Forest, which beat Mississippi State 3.5-1.5 in Monday’s final round of matches at the Derby Match Play at Old Barnwell Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina.

Pate beat Avery Weed, the nation’s top-ranked player after the fall season, 3 and 1. Pate won her final match with three straight birdies to break a tie after 12 holes.

Ketchum rallied from 3-down with five holes to go with birdies on 15, 16 and 17 to win her match 1-up over Moa Stridh.

Wake finished 2-1 in matches in an eight-team format. Pate and Ketchum also won matches against South Carolina. They both lost matches in the team’s 5-0 loss to Duke.

Auburn, which beat Duke 3-2 on Monday afternoon, finished with a 3-0 record. Wake, Duke and South Carolina were 2-1.

Wake golfer wins Players with birdie on iconic hole

John Brasier
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Wake golfer wins Players with birdie on iconic hole

Cameron Young claimed the biggest victory of his career Sunday at the Players Championship.

The 28-year-old Wake Forest graduate shot 4-under-par 68, including a winning birdie on the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass to beat Matt Fitzpatrick by one stroke. Young finished at 13-under 275.

Young, whose victory last August at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club was his first on the PGA Tour, earned $4.5 million for the triumph.

With the pin on the right side of the island green near the water on the 137-yard, par-3 17th hole, Young hit his approach to 8 feet and rolled in the putt.

Fitzpatrick, who shot himself into contention with 68, dropped out of a tie for the lead at 18 after missing the fairway, punching out into the fairway, and eventually missing an 8-footer for par.

Young took advantage of collapses by Scandanavians Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Havland and Michael Thorbjornsen, who seemed to be in control early in the round. Aberg led by three strokes after the third round.

But Aberg shot 76, Hovland 74 and Thorbjornsen 77.

Triad course shuts down for several months

John Brasier
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Triad course shuts down for several months

An upscale Triad public golf course has closed for renovations and is expected to reopen in September.

Meadowlands Golf Club shut down on March 1, according to its website. The course’s bent grass greens will be converted to Ultradwarf Bermuda.

Geoff Dail of Dail Golf, which manages the Wallburg course for owner Bob Greear, told TriadGolf.com that management was not ready to comment further. In the Triad, Dail Golf also manages Oak Valley and Caswell Pines for Greear.

But sources have told TriadGolf.com that the timing of the closure was prompted by the need for utility lines going through the property.

During the past week, Meadowlands’ website revealed that work would be done to restore size and contours of the greens lost to mowing patterns and other causes.

A tree removal project was initiated earlier in the year to provide more sunlight to the playing surfaces.

Designed by Hale Irwin, the course opened in 1995.

Tobacco Road plans a new course

John Brasier
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Tobacco Road plans a new course

The owners of a destination course just outside the Triad is combining two of the most popular trends in golf in a new golf facility.

Tobacco Road Golf Club near Sanford announced that it soon will add a 12-hole, par-3 layout, named “The Matchbox” near the 12th and 13th hole of Tobacco Road, the Mike Strantz design that opened in 1998.

Buoyed by the success of the par-3 Cradle course at Pinehurst Resort and emerging 12-hole options, including Collin Creek in Mocksville, The Matchbox will give golfers an entertaining addition to the Strantz layout.

The Matchbox will be designed by Carlton/Marshall Golf Design and constructed by Mark White, an original shaper of Tobacco Road, according to a Tobacco Road release.

Synthetic turf will be blended into the natural landscape. Developers said the course could open as early as August.

“This is a special piece of property as it contains spoils shaped during construction nearly 30 years ago,” said Mark Stewart, whose family opened Tobacco Road. “The more I’ve walked around this corner of the property through the decades, the more obvious it became that a unique golf experience could be revealed — and we’re excited to share it with Sandhills travelers. Utilizing synthetic turf will enable us to deliver consistent playing conditions while maximizing the shade of the existing tree canopy.”

Some holes will stretch along a pond not in play on Tobacco Road.

“In the design process for Tobacco Road, we talked about Mike building a par-3 over that pond, but it didn’t make the final routing,” Stewart said. “Now we have the opportunity to bring that bit of drama back into play in a different way.”

Developers said opening rates and availability will be released unveils during this spring.

Bhatia charges late to win Bay Hill in playoff

John Brasier
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Bhatia charges late to win Bay Hill in playoff

Akshay Bhatia won the Arnold Palmer Invitational with bold play that would have made “The King” proud.

The 24-year-old Wake Forest resident made four straight birdies and pulled off a risky shot to make a crucial eagle Sunday before beating faltering Daniel Berger in a playoff at Bay Hill Club in Orlando. Bhatia bogeyed 15 to go with the birdies and eagle — to shoot 31 on the back side.

Bhatia and Berger tied at 13-under-par 275. Cameron Young and Ludvig Aberg tied for third at 278.

Bhatia’s final-round 69 included birdies on Nos. 10 through 13. At the par-5 16th, he hit his second shot to a tight pin only 3 1/2 feet from the cup. Berger’s 70 included a bogey at the par-3 17th. He lost with a bogey on the first playoff hole.

For Bhatia, who took home $4 million for the triumph,  it was his third top 6 finish in the young season and fourth in the top 16.

Bhatia, Young move into position for first PGA Tour victory this season

John Brasier
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Bhatia, Young move into position for first PGA Tour victory this season

Is this the weekend Akshay Bhatia wins his first 2026 PGA Tour event? Will it be a Wake Forest alumnus, or a town of Wake Forest resident claiming Arnold Palmer’s tournament?

The 24-year-old lefty, who makes his home in Wake Forest, has had his chances in the young season. He has another great opportunity Sunday, entering the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in second place, only two shots behind Daniel Berger.

Actually, Bhatia and Berger have a few additional holes in the third round to finish because play was suspended by darkness Saturday at Bay Hill Club in Orlando. Berger leads at 13-under with 21 holes to play. Bhatia, who was 3-under Saturday to pick up three strokes on Berger, has 20 holes remaining.

Former Wake Forest University star Cameron Young shot 5-under 67 Saturday to move into a tie for third, four shots behind Berger.

After missing cuts in his first two events of the year, Bhatia finished in a tie for third at the Phoenix Open, tied for sixth at Pebble Beach and tied for 16th last weekend at Riviera. He is 39th in the World Golf Rankings and 16th in the PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings.

Bhatia won the Texas Open in 2024 and the Barracuda Championship in the 2022-23 season.

Warm temperatures lead to early mountain course openings

John Brasier
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Warm temperatures lead to early mountain course openings

The recent warm weather has made it possible to play mountain golf a little early this year.

Olde Beau Resort in Roaring Gap began a “soft opening” Friday thanks to the unseasonably warm early March temperatures.

Mountain Aire Golf Club in West Jefferson, which has opened its doors during its offseason when conditions are favorable, is also open for public play this weekend.

Boone Golf Club, perhaps the busiest public course in the High Country, has yet to open. Mountain Glen Golf Club in Newland, another popular course, has set April 7 as opening day.

Traditionally, many of the exclusive private courses in Avery County open for the spring on the first weekend of May. Roaring Gap Club and High Meadows, private clubs in Roaring Gap, have yet to open for the upcoming season.

Pate posts top 10 finish in strong field at Long Cove

John Brasier
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Pate posts top 10 finish in strong field at Long Cove

Macy Pate tied for ninth in a power-packed field at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Wednesday at Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island.

The Wake Forest golfer and Winston-Salem resident, shot steady rounds of 72, 72 and 70 to finish at 1-over 214, eight shots behind medalist Farah O’Keefe of team champion Texas.

The Longhorns shot 2-over as a team for the 54-hole tournament to edge Florida State by two strokes on the tough Pete Dye design. The tournament included 11 top 25 teams in the 17-team field.

Morgan Ketchum of Wake Forest, a teammate of Pate at Reagan High, finished at 8-over in a tie for 41st. Wake tied for sixth with LSU, 17 strokes behind the Longhorns.

Elizabeth Rudisill of Charlotte, playing for Vanderbilt, had the most roller-coaster performance, firing 3-under 68 Tuesday between two rounds of 85 for 25-over.

Finley back nine should re-open soon

John Brasier
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Finley back nine should re-open soon

With nine holes closed for the last four months, one of the top public courses in the Triangle is expected to have all 18 holes open in the next few weeks.

Sources familiar with UNC Finley Golf Club have told Triangle.com and Triad Golf Magazine that Finley staffers “hope” the entire Finley course will be ready reopen to the public in “mid-March.”

The back nine has been closed to the public since November due to logistical issues involving the construction of a new building for the UNC men’s and women’s golf teams not far from the 18th green.

No holes have been affected by the construction, but cart paths on Nos. 10 and 18 have been blocked due to laying of utility lines. The UNC golf teams have been allowed to walk the entire course.

This spring, Dail Golf, based in the Triad, is scheduled to renovate the lowest of three putting greens and the back tee on No. 10.

Love Golf Design oversaw a $13.5-million renovation at Finley completed in 2023 that included the construction of a handful o new holes and a new practice area.

Duke Golf Club, N.C. State’s Lonnie Poole Golf Course and Finley are often considered the three finest public layouts in the Triangle.

Howerton powers High Point past N.C. State to win at Daniel Island

John Brasier
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Howerton powers High Point past N.C. State to win at Daniel Island

Anna Howerton led the way Tuesday for High Point University, which beat N.C. State by six shots to win the 15-team women’s Daniel Island Invitational at Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Creek course.

Howerton, a Winston-Salem native, shot 6-under-par 210 for 54 holes to finish one stroke behind medalist Marie Madsen of N.C. State. Eva Lye of HPU finished third, two shots off the pace.

Madsen, ranked No. 13 in the country, shot 68 in the final round on the Charleston area layout to overcome a one-stroke deficit to Howerton entering the final round.

Leah Edwards of Greensboro, playing for Western Kentucky, finished at 227.

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