The Pinecrest Patriots claimed their eighth North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A men’s golf title on Tuesday at Pinehurst No. 9 in dominating fashion as they topped New Hanover by 14 strokes and set a new NCHSAA championship scoring record in the process, announced the NCHSAA.
The Patriots posted a team score of 562, five shots better than the mark set by Terry Sanford earlier in the day and seven shots better than Broughton’s record that had stood since 2001.
Three Patriots finished the 36-hole event under par. Junior Carson Bertagnole led the way as he won the individual championship with a score of eight-under, 136. Bertagnole had a hole-in-one on Monday and went 27 straight holes without a bogey before carding a five on the 36th hole.
Sophomore Pete Myers finished five-under and in a tie for third, and freshman John John Santospago came in one shot behind him in solo fifth.
Runner-up New Hanover finished the championship even par as a team and was led by Frank Averitt’s three-under that left him in a tie for sixth. Broughton and Green Hope tied for third at 584.
Green Hope senior Jake Lewis was the runner-up in the individual competition, just one stroke behind Bertagnole, and Charlotte Catholic junior Will Hartman tied with Myers for third.
Pinehurst has hosted an NCHSAA men’s championship 24 times, but this week was the first time on No. 9. All previous championships at Pinehurst have been contested on courses No. 2, 4,6 and 8. This week, No. 9 was played as a 6,559-yard par 72.
“The NCHSAA is committed to promoting and highlighting outstanding sportsmanship and has partnered with North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance to recognize one athlete from each team who has displayed the ideals of sportsmanship throughout the year,” said NCHSAA in a press release.
The 2024 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award winners for the 4A Men’s Golf Championship were Hudson Griffin from Pinecrest and Frank Averitt from New Hanover.
Contributed/Courtesy photo from NCHSAA.
