No. 15 Deacs Advance to ACC Match Play

Saturday, April 23

Panama City, Fla. | Shark's Tooth Golf Club

Wake Forest University

ACC Championship

4/23/2022 8:10:00 PM | Men's Golf

Sophomore Michael Brennan birdied the final two holes of the final round of stroke play to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Semifinals.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- With the help of clutch play over the final holes of the third round, the No. 15 Wake Forest men's golf team moved up the leaderboard and advanced to match play at the ACC Championship Saturday.

Heading into the final hole with each team having just one player remaining on the course, the nationally-ranked Demon Deacons were tied at 16-under par with No. 13 Notre Dame. Sophomore Michael Brennan center cut a drive down the middle leaving him with just a wedge to the green.

From the fairway, Brennan got the ball within just a few feet of the hole leaving him with a birdie opportunity to lift the Deacs into match play. He sunk it in the middle of the hole to help push the Demon Deacons to Sunday.

Brennan was huge all day to lead the charge for Wake Forest. The Leesburg,Va. Native had two birdies and an eagle over the final four holes, carding the lowest third round by any player in the ACC Championship field of 66 (-6).

The final round helped Brennan finish tied for third on the individual leaderboard, the highest finish since Paul McBride in 2017 when he was the runner-up. It is also just the third time in Wake Forest history that a Demon Deacon has ended the tournament 10-under par or better. Brennan finished stroke play 11-under-par, tying the second lowest to-par score by a Wake Forest player at the ACC Championship.

Brennan was one of three Demon Deacons to end the day under par as senior Alex Fitzpatrick and freshman Scotty Kennon also carded clutch rounds for the Deacs.

After hitting the turn at 2-under-par, Fitzpatrick was nearly flawless down the stretch, going bogey free with a birdie on the par-5 sixth to close out a final round 70 (-2). Fitzpatrick, who is playing in his third ACC Championship, finished tied for 19th at 3-under-par.

Kennon recovered from a slow start with the help of a four birdie stretch within five holes around the turn. He also helped the Demon Deacons close strong with birdies on the sixth and eighth holes to end the day with a 71 (-1).

Junior Mark Power also had a strong stroke play for Wake Forest, carding three counted rounds to tie for 22nd on the individual leaderboard at 2-under-par, his highest finish in his collegiate career at the ACC Championship.

How to Follow Match Play on Sunday

The Demon Deacons advanced to match play for the first time since the ACC changed the championship format ahead of last season.

The Deacs will look to continue their rich tradition of competing for championships as the Deacs have won an conference-best 18 ACC titles while also having a league-best 22 individual champions at the tournament.

ACC Championships by School

Wake Forest, 18
Georgia Tech, 16
Clemson, 10
North Carolina, 10
Duke, 8

As the No. 4 finisher in stroke play, Wake Forest is set to face the stroke play champion North Carolina Tar Heels, who came into the event as the top-ranked team according to GolfStat.com at No. 7.

The Deacs will tee off starting at 10:02 a.m. CT on Sunday with Mark Power as the first to begin match play. Full match pairings:

Mark Power vs. Austin Greaser (10:02 a.m. CT)
Alex Fitzpatrick vs. Peter Fountain (10:14 a.m. CT)
Michael Brennan vs. Ryan Burnett (10:26 a.m. CT)
Parker Gillam vs. David Ford (10:38 a.m. CT)
Scotty Kennon vs. Ryan Gerard (10:50 a.m. CT)

The entire semifinal match against the Tar Heels can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

If you are unable to watch the match, follow the live scoring on GolfStat.com.

From Coach Haas and O'Callaghan

On the Final Round

"It was good, solid golf. It was a hard day. We play in the ACC. It has been impressive scoring to be honest with you. I felt there towards late in the day that 'don't tell me we're gonna play this well and be one short'. Then, Michael made a beautiful three on number eight and then hit close and Coach O'Callaghan gave him a great read there on number nine." - Head Coach Jerry Haas

On Brennan's Final Putt

"He had the read himself. Electric. Mike certainly has the clutch gene. There he was time and time again for us and that was probably a big moment there for him, but certainly for our team. He stepped up when we needed him." - Associate Head Coach Aaron O'Callaghan

On Match Play Sunday

"Now, we start over. North Carolina did the same thing last year and played really well. There'll be tough to beat. They're our highest ranked team in the conference and they'll be the favorite, but we have a good team here at Wake Forest and if we putt well tomorrow and play like we can, it'll be a really good match and I'm looking forward to it. I know they are." - Head Coach Jerry Haas

Stroke Play Scores:

Team

Rank	Team	Round One	Round Two	Round Three	Total
1.	No. 7 North Carolina	269	278	282	829 (-35)
2.	No. 11 Georgia Tech	284	273	281	838 (-26)
3.	No. 24 Florida State	283	282	280	845 (-19)
4.	No. 15 Wake Forest	286	281	280	847 (-17)
5.	No. 13 Notre Dame	282	283	283	848 (-16)
6.	No. 38 Louisville	285	282	282	849 (-15)
7.	Virginia	280	282	292	854 (-10)
8.	No. 26 NC State	282	287	289	858 (-6)
T9.	No. 23 Clemson	287	282	296	865 (+1)
T9.	No. 41 Duke	291	292	282	865 (+1)
11.	Virginia Tech	286	287	300	873 (+9)
12.	Boston College	292	288	304	884 (+20)

Wake Forest Team

Player	Rank	Round One	Round Two	Round Three	Total
Michael Brennan	T3	71 (-1)	68 (-4)	66 (-6)	205 (-11)
Alex Fitzpatrick	T19	71 (-1)	72 (E)	70 (-2)	213 (-3)
Mark Power	T22	70 (-2)	71 (-1)	73 (+1)	214 (-2)
Scotty Kennon	T28	74 (+2)	70 (-2)	71 (-1)	215 (-1)
Parker Gillam	49	75 (+3)	73 (+1)	74 (+2)	222 (+6)