UNCP golf tearing up the links

By Nathan Walls
Sports Editor

First-year head coach Kyle Savage came to UNCP partly because of its proximity to Pinehurst, one of America’s havens for golf.

He also found a talented team waiting on him at the university.

UNCP, ranked as high as 23rd nationally in NCAA Division II preseason polls, finished ninth at the Pine Needles Invitational March 1 and 2 – the team’s regular season opener.

The Braves followed that up with a 10th place fairing at the Richard Rendleman Invitational March 7 and 8.

The UNCP/Lacey Gane Invitational, originally set for March 14 and 15, was cancelled due to lack of teams competing.

The golf Braves, the first team in the history of UNCP to qualify for the NCAA tournament, in 2001, sent then junior Greg Dobbins to the NCAA Super Regional last season and hopes to send even more players there in 2005.

“We’ll probably go to the regional and I’d like to take the team to the national tournament,” said Savage, a former assistant at the University of Maryland. “Right now, I’m very optimistic.”

During the team’s Fall preseason, the fairway goers brought home a title from the Pfeiffer/Charlotte Shootout and a second place trophy from the Kiawah Island Invitational, where the Braves shot 20 strokes more than defending national champion and Peach Belt Conference rival USC-Aiken.

“Golf here has been as good as the golf I saw at Maryland,” Savage said. “Pembroke is one of the best in this conference.”

Results of the Bobcat Invitational, held March 21 and 22 in Eatonton, Ga., were unavailable at press time.

The Braves will host the Carolina Sands Intercollegiate April 2 and 3 at the Carolina Sands Golf Club in White Lake.