Columnists
Email
Print
ACC golf tournament enjoys Old North State
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: April 16, 2009
The ACC Men's Golf Championships have found a home at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point.
The tournament, which is scheduled to start on Friday, has been played at Old North State, a private course in New London, for 10 of the past 12 years. ACC teams feel welcome and appreciated there, and the course -- a Tom Fazio-designed layout ranked No. 2 in the state by the N.C. Golf Panel -- is challenging.
"They really do a nice job with the entire tournament," said Coach Jerry Haas of Wake Forest. "With the teams staying on the property in houses, it really is all about the golf."
Coach John Inman of North Carolina likes to let his team do a little fishing during the down time. Badin Lake borders the course and is the perfect backdrop for the final three holes, where the team and individual championships are usually decided.
Florida State, led by Drew Kittleson, is the defending team champion. Kittleson played in the Masters last week -- he was one of five amateurs who missed the cut -- and he said that playing this weekend in front of mostly family and friends will be a letdown compared to the atmosphere of Augusta National.
"You still want to play well and help the team win," Kittleson said. "We're looking forward to going there and trying to defend."
The Old North State club also has helped launch some pro careers. Webb Simpson, who won last year's ACC title while playing for Wake Forest, is now a rookie on the PGA Tour. So far this season he's 50th on the money list, with $538,118 in winnings.
"It's a great place to hold the ACC Championships," Simpson said of the club, "and the people around there really embrace it."
The ACC first held its men's tournament at Old North State in 1995, and Chip Conner, a real-estate developer who has been at the club since it opened in the 1990s, keeps an unofficial tab of how former ACC players have fared on the PGA and Nationwide tours.
Conner said he's amazed at how many of them wind up on television as pro golfers.
"And the thing that strikes me about all of those guys is how they conducted themselves while they were here," Conner said. "We are a little spoiled because we see these guys in college, and how good they are then is amazing. They just get better and better once they get to the pros."
Getting a close-up look at some of the best college players in the country is easy at the ACC Championships. Admission to the tournament is free, and through the years fans have been able to watch golfers such as Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas, Carl Pettersson, Marc Turnesa, Tim Clark, Joe Oglivie, David Duval, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover and D.J. Trahan.
In addition to FSU's Kittleson, others to watch this weekend include: Cameron Tringale of Georgia Tech, the 2006 ACC champion; Matt Hill of N.C. State; and Kyle Stanley, David May and Ben Martin of Clemson. All are in the top 50 in Golfweek's latest college rankings.
Drew Weaver is a senior at Virginia Tech, and he's hoping to go out the way Simpson did -- as the ACC champion.
"Being from this area, you want to play college golf in the ACC," said Weaver, who is from High Point.
Weaver says that Old North State is a perfect place for the ACC Championships because "it's always in great shape and the greens are so true."
Wake Forest will go into the tournament on a roll, after finishes of first, tied for seventh and third in its past three tournaments. The Deacons were fifth at the ACC last season.
Haas will have three veterans with ACC Tournament experience in his lineup -- Dustin Groves, Travis Wadkins and Brendan Gielow. Freshmen Lee Bedford and Daniel Meggs will be the other starters. The Deacons lead all ACC teams with 18 conference titles but haven't won since 1989.
■ John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or jdell@wsjournal.com.
Recent champions
(At Old North State unless noted)
Year - Winner - School
2008 - Webb Simpson - Wake Forest
2007 - Jonas Blixt - Florida State
2006 - Cameron Tringale - Georgia Tech
2005 - Ryan Blaum - Duke
2004 - Sean Moore - Wake Forest
2003 - Richard Treis - North Carolina
2002 - Dustin Bray - North Carolina
2001 - John Engler % - Clemson
2000 - Bryce Molder - Georgia Tech
1999 - Matt Krauss - Duke
1998 - Charles Warren - Clemson
1997 - Charles Warren* - Clemson
1996 - Mark Wilson - North Carolina
1995 - Hank Kim - N.C. State
* -- won in Fayetteville, Ga.
% -- won in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Email
Print
