CHAPEL HILL – All four North Carolina High School Athletic Association state men’s golf championships will be played simultaneously at four different sites across the state on Monday and Tuesday.
The 79th annual 4-A championships will be held this year at Pinehurst Country Club, with Monday’s round on Pinehurst number two and Tuesday on number four. The 30th annual 3-A event is scheduled for the Longleaf Golf and Country Club in Southern Pines, while the 2-A championships, also the 30th annual, are set for the Pines Course at the Country Club of Whispering Pines in Whispering Pines. The 18th annual 1-A championships will be contested on the Grey Fox Course the Foxfire Golf and Country Club in Foxfire Village. .
The top three teams from each of the regionals along with the top three individuals not on one of the qualifying teams earn spots in the 36-hole classified championships.
Prior to 1986, all NCHSAA golf teams competed for a single title in an open tournament. Play went to three classifications in 1986 and then to four classes beginning with the 1998 tournaments.
The 4-A championships at Pinehurst are set for par 72 and 6,825 yards on number two and 6,715 yards on number four. Longleaf’s set-up is par 71 and 6,513 yards for the 3-A tournament. The 2-A event at Whispering Pines will be par 72 on a 6,695-yard layout and the 1-A championships at Foxfire will be held on a course measuring at 6,641 yards and par 72.
Raleigh Broughton won the state 4-A team title a year ago. In fact, a school from Wake County has won 19 of the 28 separate 4-A championships and five of the last six.
Gastonia Forestview is the three-time defending team champion at the 3-A level, while Newton-Conover has won the last two 2-A team crowns. Kernersville Bishop McGuinness has won the last four 1-A team titles.
The first threesomes will go off at eight o’clock in the morning on each of the two days of the tournament in all by the 4-A classification. Tee times will start at 10 am on Monday for the 4-A golfers and then 8 am on Tuesday.
NCHSAA FastFacts
Event: NCHSAA Men’s Golf Championships
Date: May 11-12, 2015
Site: four different sites
First Held: 1937
Qualifiers: top three teams from each regional, top three individuals not on one of the qualifying teams, in each classification
Defending team champions: 4-A: Raleigh Broughton; 3-A: Gastonia Forestview; 2-A: Newton-Conover; 1-A: Kernersville Bishop McGuinness
Of Interest: The best individual round ever shot in an NCHSAA state championship was in the 2011 3-A championship at Foxfire, as J.T. Poston of Hickory fired a 63.