Wake Forest University
NCAA Championship
Deacs End Memorable 2024 Season
5/27/2024 2:45:00 AM | Men's Golf
CARLSBAD, Calif.- After shooting their best round over three days of stroke play, the Wake Forest men's golf team fell just two strokes short off the top-15 cutline and saw their season come to an end on Sunday at the NCAA Championship.
Wake Forest turned in a final round score of 3-over-par and at one point were 4-under par and 10th while also being two strokes off the match play cutline. Despite the early success, the Demon Deacons finished in 16th place at 29-over par (893) just two shots away from advancing to the fourth round on Monday.
Over three rounds of stroke play, Wake Forest led the field of thirty teams with 44 total birdies.
Senior Michael Brennan finished his historic career as a Demon Deacon tied for 40th and tied as the top Deac on the individual leaderboard. In his final round, Brennan shot 1-over par and his score counted for all three rounds.
Brennan sat under-par for most of the day, and made three consecutive birdies on the front nine, which elevated the Deacs over the cutline.
Brennan, who earned two individual titles in his final season as a Deac, is ranked tenth in the PGA Tour University rankings and 29th in WAGR.
Alongside Brennan, freshman Tom Haberer finished tied for 40th and ended round three at even-par.
Collin Adams shot his best round of the tournament in the third round, ending even-par with a final score of 229 (+13). The junior tallied three birdies on the back nine to bring the Deacs closer to the cutline.
Elite Golf School
This is Wake Forest's 48 NCAA Championship appearance, which marks the most appearances in ACC history and are tied for the 10th most in NCAA history.
This marks the 13th NCAA Championship appearance under the direction of head coach Jerry Haas including the fourth in the last five years. The Deacs have finished inside of the top 10 four times under Haas' direction including making match play during the 2019 NCAA Championship and finishing tied for third in 2006.
From Coach Haas:
"I want to thank all the players for their efforts this week. It's hard to imagine it comes down to just a couple strokes over 54 holes. The golf course was difficult, but fair this week, and I look forward to many more NCAA's at the Omni La Costa. They did a great job of hosting and everyone's staying on site. The Demon Deacons will be better because of this. Thank you to Michael Brennan for winning eight times, including back-to-back ACC championships as junior and senior year. The team will miss him and his leadership along with the other seniors, but we will continue to have a great product of student-athletes competing at the highest level. I am very proud to be the coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons!"
Day Three Scores
Team
|
Rank |
Team |
Round One |
Round Two |
Round Three |
Total |
|
1 |
Illinois |
293 (+5) |
287 (-1) |
282 (-6) |
862 (-2) |
|
2 |
Virginia |
290 (+2) |
287 (-1) |
291 (+3) |
868 (+4) |
|
3 |
Vanderbilt |
297 (+9) |
286 (-2) |
286 (+2) |
873 (+9) |
|
4 |
Florida State |
299 (+11) |
289 (+1) |
289 (-2) |
874 (+10) |
|
5 |
Ohio State |
294 (+6) |
294 (+6) |
289 (+1) |
877 (+13) |
|
T6 |
North Carolina |
291 (+3) |
296 (+8) |
292 (+4) |
879 (+15) |
|
T6 |
Auburn |
293 (+5) |
293 (+5) |
293 (+5) |
879 (+15) |
|
8 |
Florida |
295 (+7) |
302 (+14) |
287 (-1) |
884 (+20) |
|
T9 |
Arizona |
290 (+2) |
298 (+10) |
297 (+9) |
885 (+21) |
|
T9 |
Georgia Tech |
292 (+4) |
301 (+13) |
292 (+4) |
885 (+21) |
|
11 |
Texas |
296 (+8) |
301 (+13) |
290 (+2) |
887 (+23) |
|
12 |
Baylor |
297 (+9) |
299 (+11) |
292 (+4) |
888 (+24) |
|
13 |
Oklahoma |
301 (+13) |
302 (+14) |
286 (-2) |
889 (+25) |
|
T14 |
Tennessee |
305 (+17) |
292 (+4) |
294 (+6) |
891 (+27) |
|
T14 |
East Tennessee State |
296 (+8) |
297 (+9) |
298 (+10) |
891 (+27) |
|
16 |
Wake Forest |
298 (+10) |
304 (+16) |
291 (+3) |
893 (+29) |
|
17 |
Texas Tech |
309 (+21) |
301 (+13) |
285 (-3) |
895 (+31) |
|
18 |
LSU |
301 (+13) |
306 (+18) |
296 (+8) |
903 (+39) |
|
19 |
California |
304 (+16) |
296 (+8) |
304 (+16) |
904 (+40) |
|
T20 |
Texas A&M |
298 (+10) |
307 (+19) |
300 +(12) |
905 (+41) |
|
T20 |
Stanford |
297 (+9) |
301 (+13) |
307 (+19) |
905 (+41) |
|
22 |
Clemson |
306 (+18) |
303 (+15) |
297 (+9) |
906 (+42) |
|
T23 |
Oklahoma State |
303 (+15) |
305 (+17) |
299 (+11) |
907 (+43) |
|
T23 |
Notre Dame |
296 (+8) |
305 (+17) |
306 (+18) |
907 (+43) |
|
25 |
Utah |
306 (+18) |
298 (+10) |
305 (+17) |
909 (+45) |
|
26 |
SMU |
303 (+15) |
302 (+14) |
305 (+17) |
910 (+46) |
|
27 |
New Mexico |
299 (+11) |
306 (+18) |
307 (+19) |
912 (+48) |
|
28 |
West Virginia |
307 (+19) |
304 (+16) |
302 (+14) |
913 (+49) |
|
29 |
North Florida |
307 (+19) |
297 (+9) |
317 (+29) |
921 (+57) |
|
30 |
Purdue |
310 (+22) |
310 (+22) |
304 (+16) |
924 (+60) |
Wake Forest Team
|
Player |
Rank |
Round One |
Round Two |
Round Three |
Total |
|
T40 |
72 (E) |
77 (+5) |
73 (+1) |
222 (+6) |
|
|
T40 |
72 (E) |
78 (+6) |
72 (E) |
222 (+6) |
|
|
T60 |
79 (+7) |
71 (-1) |
74 (+2) |
224 (+8) |
|
|
T101 |
79 (+7) |
78 (+6) |
72 (E) |
229 (+13) |
|
|
T119 |
75 (+3) |
80 (+8) |
77 (+5) |
232 (+16) |
2024 Season Highlights
Fall 2024 Season
The Deacs shot 31-under-par as a team and tied Missouri for first place in Chicago. Michael Brennan had another amazing round on the final day of the Highlands Invitational and took home the individual title after completing the tournament at 12-under-par. Michael Brennan won his seventh individual title of his career at the Highlands Invitational.
Wake Forest finished their impressive team performance with four players in the top-10. Those players were Michael Brennan, Scotty Kennon, Marshall Meisel, and Collin Adams. Michael Brennan recorded four birdies on the front nine during the final round as the Virginia native scored a birdie on hole 14 to solidify his position at the top as the round drew to a close.
In his fourth appearance this season, Haberer secured the highest finish of his young career. The freshman rose 15 positions during the final round of play in Johnson City to finish tied for fifth.
During round three, Haberer tallied three birdies and an eagle and shot a 68 (-4). The Bad Salzdetfurth, German native finished tied for fifth shooting 4-under-par over the entire tournament.
Haberer secured the highest finish of his career at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and his second-straight top-25 finish.
Spring 2024 Season
The Wake Forest men's golf team had two top-10 finishes and six top-5 finishes this spring.
-
Southwest Invitational- 8th place
-
Invitational at the Ford- 2nd place
-
Wake Forest Invitational-3rd place
-
Louisiana Classics- 4th place
-
Valspar Collegiate Invitational- 9th place
-
Calusa Cup-3rd place
-
ACC Championship- T2nd place
-
NCAA Austin Regional- 5th place
A History of Champions
Senior Michael Brennan became the 24th ACC Individual Championship winner from Wake Forest. In the 70 ACC Championships that have been held, the Deacs have accounted for over a third of the individual titles, the most in conference history and 10 more than the next closest conference member:
After a 5-hole playoff, Wake Forest men's golf Brennan captured his second ACC Individual Championship.
Brennan is now tied with Curtis Strange in holding eight individual titles as a Demon Deacon, the third highest total in program history.
Wake Forest Individual Titles
-
Bill Haas (10)
-
Gary Hallberg (9)
-
Curtis Strange (8)
-
Michael Brennan (8)
Additionally, this is the first time someone has gone back-to-back since Louisville's Robin Sciot-Siegrist in 2015 and 2016, and only the fifth time in ACC history that someone has gone back to back with Wake Forest golfers accomplishing the feat three of those times (Ronnie Thomas, 1959 and 1960; Scott Hoch, 1977 and 1978). The rich history of of ACC individual champions dates back to the first ACC Championship in 1954 when Arnold Palmer won at Old Town Club in Winston-Salem:
-
1954 Arnold Palmer
-
1957 John Gerring
-
1959 Ronnie Thomas
-
1960 Ronnie Thomas (2)
-
1962 Ken Folkes
-
1963 Jay Sigel
-
1964 Dennis Milne
-
1966 John Harris
-
1967 Charles Snipes
-
1968 Jack Lewis
-
1969 Lanny Wadkins
-
1970 Kent Engelmeier
-
1972 Jim Simons
-
1973 Jay Haas
-
1974 Bob Byman
-
1975 Curtis Strange
-
1977 Scott Hoch
-
1978 Scott Hoch (2)
-
1980 Gary Hallberg
-
1989 Tim Straub
-
2004 Sean Moore
-
2008 Webb Simpson
-
2023 Michael Brennan
-
2024 Michael Brennan (2)
Kennon's First Collegiate Title
Junior Scotty Kennon captured his first collegiate title at the Calusa Cup, as he 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.
Spring Accolades
Following the ACC Championship, Wake Forest men's golf senior Michael Brennan and junior Scotty Kennon were named to the All-ACC team, as announced by the league office on Thursday.
The Deacs have now had 89 All-ACC honorees in program history, ranking second in conference history and this marks the 42nd all-conference honor in the Head Coach Jerry Haas era including 14 years with multiple honorees. This is also the 24th consecutive year that at least one Demon Deacon has been named to the All-ACC team.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Brennan earned All-ACC honors.
The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced their Division I PING All-Region team Saturday morning, placing two Wake Forest men's golfers on the team.
Senior Michael Brennan earned GCAA/PING All-Region accolades for the third-straight season, while junior Scotty Kennon was named for the first time in his career.
Players across six regions and 83 schools earned all-region honors in 2024.
Players Mentioned
