Wake Forest University
ACC Championship
Deacs Defeat No. 16 Virginia, Advance to ACC Championship Final
4/23/2023 9:43:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Wake Forest men’s golf team cruised to a 5-0 victory over No. 16 Virginia in the semifinal match to advance to their second-straight ACC Championship match.
PINEHURST, N.C. -- For the second-consecutive season, the Wake Forest men's golf team will play for the ACC Championship Monday morning at Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, N.C.
After shooting their way to a second-place finish in stroke play at 10-under-par and Michael Brennan winning the 23rd individual ACC Championship in program history earlier on Sunday, the Demon Deacons quickly turned their focus to match play.
In the semifinal match, the Deacs drew No. 16 ranked Virginia who shot 4-under in the final round of stroke play to move into match play position. The Demon Deacons took control of the match early, leading in every match after three holes.
After winning the individual title, Brennan carried that momentum into match play where he went 4UP through four holes. Senior Mark Power also jumped out to a multi hole lead after three holes and never looked back.
Sophomore Scotty Kennon was the first Demon Deacon to earn a point for Wake Forest as he went on a tear right around the turn. He won the ninth, 10th and 12th holes of the match to open up a commanding 5UP lead. On the 14th green, KEnnon closed out the victory with a birdie, taking the first point for the Deacs, 5&4.
After getting out to a commanding lead early in the match, Brennan cruised to the second point for the Demon Deacons with a 6&5 victory, winning on the 13th green.
Less than 10 minutes later on the 17th green, senior Mark Power punched the Deacs ticket to the final match, winning 2&1 with the Deacs also holding commanding leads from freshmen Boyd Owens (3&3) and Andrew McLauchlan (3UP).
After winning the semifinal match, 5-0, the Deacs had to wait nearly two hours to find out their opponent for the Championship.
For the second-straight year, Wake Forest will meet Georgia Tech in the Championship match. Both teams look very familiar from a year ago as seven of the 10 players who were in the match in 2022 will take part in Monday's match.
The match is scheduled for a 9:02 start time with Owens as the first Demon Deacon to tee off Monday. The ACC Championship will air live on ACC Network Extra and fans can also follow the live scoring on GolfStat.com.
Semifinal Results vs. Virginia
Mark Power def. Duangmanee (2&1)
Scotty Kennon def. James (5&4)
Boyd Owens def. Bovari (3&3)
Michael Brennan def. Patel (6&5)
Andrew McLauchlan def. Lee (3UP)
Order of finish: Kennon, Brennan and Power
From Coach Haas
"What a great day here at CCNC at the ACC championship with bright, sunny skies. The Demon Deacons slid in there in the second seed, finishing 10-under for the tournament and got a spot in the semis against Virginia. We just went out there and played some really good golf, some of our best golf this year. With just a quick calculation about 17-under-par in the semi. Every guy was up in his match.
"We got to back up a little bit in regulation and had a great playoff there. Michael Brennan birdied on the last hole and a great shot from the young man from Georgia Tech to tie it. They went into sudden death and on the third extra hole Michael made a birdie and became ACC champion. Our last guy to win it was Webb Simpson in 2008. Webb was out here yesterday, so maybe he said some good luck to Michael.
"I am very excited as the defending champion to be playing in the finals. We're peaking at the right time and it's great to see. We have a young team. We have a couple of freshmen in the lineup. Andrew McLaughlan played great this afternoon. Boyd Owens bogied his first hole and then made six birdies after that. He looked like he was going to win his match but they called it a tie. Mark Power got a win and Michael Brennan won 6&5. Then Scotty Kennon played against Ben James of Virginia who's one of the top 10 players in the country. Scotty played very well and beat him 5&4.
"We have a good feeling. We liked this golf course. Obviously, we played well on the stroke play portion. Coming in here, we needed some wins. We were below 500 but felt like we were a really good team. As a coach and speaking for Coach Aaroon, I'm so proud that the last couple of weeks here we've had to play well and we have. It just shows all their hard work and dedication to the golf program at Wake Forest. It's really paid off and who knows what will happen tomorrow. It's golf. They should feel very confident and very good about where they stand right now heading into tomorrow's finals and then into NCAA Regionals. Go Deacs!" - Head Coach Jerry Haas
How to Follow Match Play on Monday
The Demon Deacons advanced to the match play championship for the second-consecutive season after winning the title last season
The Deacs will look to continue their rich tradition of competing for championships as the Deacs have won an conference-best 19 ACC titles while also having a league-best 23 individual champions at the tournament.
ACC Championships by School
- Wake Forest, 19
- Georgia Tech, 16
- Clemson, 10
- North Carolina, 10
- Duke, 8
Wake Forest is set to face No. 12 Georgia Tech, who finished as the stroke play champion and defeated Duke 3-1-1 in the semifinal match.
The Deacs will tee off starting at 9:02 a.m. ET on Sunday with Boyd Owens as the first to begin the match for the second consecutive day. Full match pairings:
- Boyd Owens vs. Connor Howe (9:02 a.m. ET)
- Michael Brennan vs. Christo Lamprecht (9:12 a.m. ET)
- Mark Power vs. Bartley Forrester (9:22 a.m. ET)
- Scotty Kennon vs. Hiroshi Tai (9:32 a.m. ET)
- Andrew McLauchlan vs. Ross Steelman (9:42 a.m. ET)
The entire final match against the Yellowjackets can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Additionally, follow the live scoring of the championship match on GolfStat.com.
Players Mentioned
