Wake Forest University
ACC Championship
Deacs Primed for ACC Championship in Charlotte
4/18/2024 4:44:00 PM | Men's Golf
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Coming off another top-5 finish at the Calusa Cup in Naples, the No. 29 Wake Forest men's golf team is set to compete in the ACC Championship at Charlotte Country Club on Friday.
Led by junior Scotty Kennon, who captured his first collegiate title and set a new tournament record shooting six-under-par, the Deacs ended the Calusa Cup in third place with a final score of 869 (+5).
This is the Deacs fourth top-5 finish of the 2024 spring season.
At the Calusa Cup, Wake Forest finished four strokes higher than No. 16 Georgia Tech, who has made ACC championship round appearances with Wake Forest for the past two years. Wake Forest won the ACC Tournament in 2022, and last season senior Michael Brennon claimed the ACC Individual Championship.
Wake Forest will tee off at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Friday.
A History of Champions
Junior Michael Brennan became the 23rd ACC Individual Championship winner from Wake Forest. In the 69 ACC Championships that have been held, the Deacs have accounted for a third of the individual titles, the most in conference history.
The Leesburg, Va. native captured his seventh career individual victory this past fall at the Highlands Invitational in Chicago at 12-under-par.
Brennan now has joined rare company with five or more wins in program history.
He is now alongside Jay Haas, Lanny Wadkins and Cameron Young to have five titles to their name at Wake Forest. Only three other Demon Deacons have more than five titles in their collegiate career: Bill Haas (10), Gary Hallberg (9) and Curtis Strange (8).
Additionally, this marks the first individual title for a Wake Forest player since Webb Simpson in 2008. Brennan joins some elite company including future major champion winners Arnold Palmer, Lanny Watkins, Curtis Strange and Simpson. The rich history of ACC individual champions dates back to the first ACC Championship in 1954 when Arnold Palmer won at Old Town Club in Winston-Salem:
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1954 Arnold Palmer
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1957 John Gerring
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1959 Ronnie Thomas
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1960 Ronnie Thomas (2)
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1962 Ken Folkes
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1963 Jay Sigel
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1964 Dennis Milne
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1966 John Harris
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1967 Charles Snipes
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1968 Jack Lewis
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1969 Lanny Wadkins
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1970 Kent Engelmeier
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1972 Jim Simons
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1973 Jay Haas
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1974 Bob Byman
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1975 Curtis Strange
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1977 Scott Hoch
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1978 Scott Hoch (2)
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1980 Gary Hallberg
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1989 Tim Straub
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2004 Sean Moore
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2008 Webb Simpson
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2023 Michael Brennan
ACC Championships by School
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Wake Forest, 19
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Georgia Tech, 19
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Clemson, 11
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North Carolina, 10
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Duke, 8
ACC Individual Champions by School (includes ties)
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Wake Forest, 23
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North Carolina, 14
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Georgia Tech, 11
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Clemson, 8
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Duke, 6
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NC State, 6
The Deacs Lineup
Michael Brennan
Brennan is ranked seventeenth in the PGA Tour University and 34th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. At the Highlands Invitational, Brennan claimed his seventh individual title. The Virginia native has the fourth most individual titles in Wake Forest history. In his last outing at the Calusa Cup, Michael Brennan finished the tournament tied for 12th at 4-over-par. Brennan had some key moments during round one, including a pair of birdies on the back nine and carding 12 pars through his opening round, ending the round with a 71 (-1). At the Valspar Collegiate, Brennan shot under par in the opening rounds including a low opening round score of 68 (-3), and ended the Valspar Collegiate Invitational tied for eighth and 3-under-par for the tournament. This is Brennan's second top ten finish of the 2024 spring season. After a slow start in round one of the Louisiana Classics, senior Michael Brennan had a key stretch in round two. Brennan tallied ten birdies in the second round, five of them being consecutive on the back nine, and carded the lowest score of the day, 65 (-7). In his outing at the Wake Forest Invitational, Brennan shot two-under par during the second round, scoring his lowest round of the tournament 68 (-2). Brennan ended the Wake Forest Invitational tied for thirteenth. At the Invitational at the Ford, Michael Brennan recorded his lowest score in round one, 67 (-5), and ended tied for third. Last April, Brennan took home the 2023 ACC Individual Title and helped push the Deacs to the final round of the ACC Championship.
Junior Scotty Kennon is the 91st ranked player on the SCOREBOARD rankings. Scotty Kennon recently captured his first collegiate title at the Calusa Cup, and set a new tournament record, shooting six-under par. Kennon tallied 14 birdies on the tournament, and he was one of just six players to finish under par in the 42-player field. Additionally, he topped the Demon Deacons on the leaderboard after every round at the Calusa Cup. The Florida native shot his best in the first round, carding a low 67 (-5). He started the Deacs off hot with a strong effort on the front-nine going bogey free, and tallied back-to-back birdies on holes 14 and 15. The junior ended round one sitting atop the individual leaderboard by two strokes before eventually taking home the individual title. Scotty Kennon had his second top ten finish of the 2024 spring season at the Wake Forest Invitational, tying for sixth and carding 54-hole scores of 213 (+3). Kennon shot his lowest in round two, posting two-under (68). Scotty Kennon finished round three even, and led the Deacs' in birdies (11) for the week, helping the team to a third place finish. In his last outing at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, junior Scotty Kennon turned in a key 1-under-par opening round to help move the Deacs up the leaderboard ahead of multiple nationally ranked teams in the field. As a consistent presence in the lineup at The Southwestern Invitational earlier this year, Kennon carded three rounds of 70 (-1) and finished the week tied for 13th at 3-under-par. The junior made a total of sixteen birdies over three rounds during the Invitational at the Ford. In round three, Kennon hit back to back birdies on the front and back nine, and ended tied for eighth.
In his last outing at the Calusa Cup,Marshall Meisel shot his best round in the final round, scoring a low 67 (-5). The junior went bogey free and tallied four birdies on the back nine. Meisel ended the Calusa Cup tied for ninth place, his second top-10 finish of the spring. At the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, Meisel led Wake Forest in the opening rounds, carding the lowest score for the Deacs with a 66 (-5) in round two. Meisel ended the tournament tied for fifteenth, and tallied two eagles and twelve birdies on the tournament. Meisel led the Deacs in the Louisiana Classics, tying for seventh overall and scoring 4-under (212). In rounds one and two, Meisel ended tied for tenth on the individual leaderboard at 3-under-par through 36 holes. Marshall Meisel ended the Wake Forest Invitational T30, and posted his lowest score in round one 70 (E) tallying five birdies. Earlier this fall, Meisel posted a strong performance at the Highlands Invitational. The Maryland native put together his first top-10 finish of the season. The junior finished in top-five for most birdies and tallied one eagle at Chicago Highlands.
Andrew McLauchlan
Andrew McLauchlan helped push Wake Forest to the team title at the Chicago Highlands Tournament, as McLauchlan posted four birdies during the final round and made a top-25 finish. In round two of the Valspar Collegiate, sophomore Andrew McLauchlan tallied an eagle on hole No. 9 and ended round one even, helping pace the Deacs. At the Wake Forest Invitational, McLauchlan tallied ten birdies on the tournament and ended T30. Last season, Andrew McLauchlan claimed four top-10 finishes during the season including tying for first at the Battle of the Run in the regular season finale. In his last outing at the Calusa Cup, McLauchlan ended the tournament T22.
Junior Collin Adams had his best career finish at the Wake Forest Invitational, tying for sixth. Adams carded 54-hole scores of 213 (+3). Adams got hot in round two, finishing three-under (67) and tallying the Deacs only eagle of the tournament on hole No. 10. In his first appearance of the 2024 season, Collin Adams made six birdies on the back nine of round one at the Invitational at the Ford, and finished T33. The junior from Charlotte went on a tear during the second round last year at the Highlands Invitational. During round two, the Charlotte native notched six birdies en route to shooting five under-par. Last season, Adams competed in five events. Adams secured two top-20 finishes and shot a career-low 66 (-6). In his last outing at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, Adams ended T70 in a field of 11 of the top 25 teams in the country.
Wake Forest Alternate
In his third collegiate start, Tom Haberer claimed his first finish in the top-25 (T16) at the J.T. Poston Invitational. The freshman shot a 68 (-3) and tallied four birdies and an eagle on hole No. 14 during the first round. Haberer helped push Wake Forest to the team title at the Highlands Invitational, tallying back-to-back birdies on holes 17 and 18. Haberer secured the highest finish of his career (T5) at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and his second-straight top-25 finish. Haberer's last two outings were at the Wake Forest Invitational and the Louisiana Classics. At the Wake Forest Invitational Haberer ended T38 and at the Louisiana Classics he ended T45.
Participating Teams at ACC Championships (12)
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Seed |
School |
Ranking (as of Apr. 17, 2024) |
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1 |
North Carolina |
4 |
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2 |
Florida State |
6 |
|
3 |
Virginia |
12 |
|
4 |
Georgia Tech |
16 |
|
5 |
Duke |
24 |
|
6 |
Wake Forest |
29 |
|
7 |
Notre Dame |
31 |
|
8 |
Louisville |
47 |
|
9 |
Clemson |
58 |
|
10 |
NC State |
64 |
|
11 |
Virginia Tech |
117 |
|
12 |
Boston College |
132 |
Course Information
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ACC Championship
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Charlotte Country Club - Charlotte, N.C. – Par 71 - 6763 Yards
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Tournament Format
The ACC Championship is four days, teeing off on Friday April 19th and concluding Monday April 22nd. Wake Forest will be paired with Duke and Georgia Tech.
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Stroke play (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)
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Match play (Monday; Semifinal and Championship)
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Top four teams from stroke play advance to play in the match play portion and are matched up based on order of finish in the stroke play portion of the event.
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Live Stats
Live stats will be available via GolfStat
Final Round Coverage
The semifinals and finals of the ACC Championship will be available on Monday on ACCNX
Tee Times
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Friday, April 19 - First Round - Play begins at 9:00 a.m.
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Saturday, April 20 - Second Round - Play begins at 9:00 a.m.
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Sunday, April 21 - Third Round - Play begins at 9:00 a.m.
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Monday, April 22 - Semifinals and Finals (Match Play) - Semifinals begin at 7:30 a.m., and Championship match play begins 60 minutes following the conclusion of Semifinals.
Players Mentioned
