Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Rod Myers Invitational
Zalatoris' Birdie on 18 Clinches Rod Myers Title
9/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMGolf)
DURHAM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men's golf team opened the 2015-16 season by capturing the title at the Rod Myers Invitational Sunday at the Duke University Golf Club. Sophomore Will Zalatoris made a birdie on the 18th hole to clinch the championship for the Demon Deacons and win the individual title.
The Demon Deacons finished the 54-hole tournament with a 2-under score of 862, edging the host Blue Devils by one stroke. Wake Forest entered the final round with a one-stroke lead over Duke. Both teams shot 295 during the third round as scoring conditions were more difficult than the previous day when Wake Forest was 9-under and Duke was 8-under.
As the final group arrived at the 18th hole, Wake Forest and Duke were tied at 1-under for the tournament and Zalatoris was tied with Duke's Adam Wood for the individual lead at 7-under. Both players reached the green in regulation before Zalatoris made a 20-foot putt for birdie. Wood's 18-foot birdie putt to force a playoff just missed and clinched the title for the Demon Deacons.
"I was riding a wave of emotion the whole day," said head coach Jerry Haas. "There was a point midway through the round where it looked like we might win by 8-to-10 strokes and a few holes later it looked like we might lose. It is great for a young team to start the fall with the win and experience this kind of pressure. It will benefit us throughout the season."
It was the second career title for Zalatoris, who also won the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate last year. After matching his career best round with a pair of 66s on Saturday, his round of 76 on Sunday was enough to win the tournament with a score of 208 (8-under).
Paul McBride and Cameron Young were both tied for 16th place with a 54-hole score of 219. McBride shot 1-under on Sunday to tie for the low round of the day as only five of the 75 players broke par during the third round. Young shot a 1-over round of 73 on Sunday. Ben Balter had a round of 75 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 5-over, tied for 23rd place. Davis Womble was tied for 26th place with a score of 222, after shooting a 78 on Sunday.
"We had some great performances on 18," said Haas. "Cameron made a 12-footer for par and Balter had an up-and-down for par. Then Will got a chance to putt first and he hit a great putt. I thought Wood did too and somehow it didn't go in."
The Demon Deacons will return to action on Sept. 28-29 as they host the Primland Collegiate Invitational. Wake Forest is the defending champion after winning the inaugural event last year.
Players Mentioned
