Tech drops No. 3 UNC in ACC/B12 Match Play Showdown

Friday, February 10

Wailea, HI

Texas Tech Athletics

North Carolina

Tech drops No. 3 UNC in ACC/B12 Match Play Showdown

February 10, 2023 | Men's Golf

By: Andrew Stern

WAILEA, Hawaii -- The No. 3-ranked Texas Tech men's golf team opened its spring season with a match play win over No. 4 North Carolina on Friday at the Hapuna Golf Course. The Big 12/ACC Showdown replaced the originally scheduled Amer Ari Invitational which was canceled on Thursday due to high winds. This was a one-day, one-match alteration to the trip which was intended to have Tech compete against 20 teams over 72 holes.

The match ended in a 3-3-0 result but went to the Red Raiders through a hole differential tiebreak due in large part to dominate wins from Ludvig Aberg and Calum Scott.
Aberg, the top-ranked player in both the PGA TOUR U Ranking and the WAGR, rolled to a dominate 7&6 victory over No. 15 David Ford of UNC. Aberg did not drop any of the 14 holes that were played. The senior now improves to 5-0-1 this season in match play.

Golf Stat's No. 3 ranked player, Scott, was also dominate on Friday afternoon, defeating No. 24 Ryan Burnett, 5&4. After winning the Big 12 Match Play earlier this fall for his Red Raider squad, Scott, lost just two holes on the afternoon.

South Carolina transfer Jack Wall also continued to shine in the match play format, defeating Carolina's Nanu Mohan 2&1.

Friday's result is the third win for the Red Raiders this season, as the team also won the 2022 Big 12 Match Play Tournament and Iverness Intercollegiate. Aberg won the first five holes that were played Friday and six of the first seven, while Scott won the final three holes of the front night to swing an square match into a three-hole advantage.
Baard Skogen (5&4), Matthew Comegys (1UP) and Tyran Snyders (1 UP) all dropped their matches. Snyders led by one hole heading to 17, but dropped the hole, heading to a playoff.

In the playoff the Memphis transfer made a five, losing to Patrick Fountain of UNC by one shot.

The Red Raiders now improve to 6-0-1 this season in seven head-to-head match play events.

The 2023 NCAA Championship will be decided on match play at Grayhawk this May following the conclusion of 54-holes of stroke play. The top-eight finishers from stroke play will be seeded one-through-eight and will compete in the quarterfinals. The four winners will advance to the semifinals before the last two teams duke it out in the finals.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders will return to competition on Monday, February 20 at The Prestige which is being played at the Greg Norman PGA Tour West in La Quinta, California. The 54-hole tournament consists of a 24-team field that includes No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 6 Stanford, No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 23 Colorado State, No. 27 LSU, No. 30 Baylor, No. 34 Northwestern, No. 37 Liberty, No. 41 TCU, No. 43 Louisville and No. 48 Kansas.