Pack Finishes in Sixth Place at Pinehurst No. 2

PINEHURST, N.C. – NC State men’s golfer Maximilian Steinlechner posted a top-10 finish on the individual leaderboard to help NC State finish in sixth place at the Wake Forest Invitational played at Pinehurst No. 2.

Steinlechner was consistent through three rounds as he posted a three-round scorecard of 71-70-71 to finish in eighth place at two-over par for the tournament.

Brandon Einstein was next for the Pack in a tie for 18^th place at six-over par. Einstein’s second round score of two-under par 68 as the best round by an NC State golfer in the tournament and the sixth-best round by a golfer in the tournament as only one competitor in the 66-player field finished with a three-round total below par.

Ethan Choi finished in 36^th place at 10-over par. Choi fired rounds of 73 in the first and third rounds.

Michael La Sasso was next for the Pack in a tie for 39^th place, one shot back of Choi. La Sasso shot rounds of 73 in the second and third round to close the event.

Carter Graf rounded out the NC State lineup in 63^rd place.

Playing as an individual, Joey Lenane finished in a tie for 51^st place.

UNCG won the event by 10 shots over Northwestern with Virginia finishing in third place, two shots back of the Wildcats. Tournament-host Wake Forest and Iowa finished in a tie for fourth, one shot back of the Cavaliers.

NC State finished ahead of ACC foes Duke and Clemson in the final standings.

SMU’s Nathan Petronzio won the individual title by three shots. Steinlechner was eighth in the final standings, but was the fourth-highest ACC finisher in a field that was made up of 66 golfers, including 34 from ACC schools.

NC State returns to action Sunday, March 12 when it begins play at the General Hackler Championship in Myrtle Beach.

NC State Lineup

8. Maximilian Steinlechner   71-70-71—212

T18. Brandon Einstein         73-68-75—216

T36. Ethan Choi                  73-74-73—220

T39. Michael La Sasso        75-73-73—221

T51. Joey Lenane (i)           77-73-77—227

T63. Carter Graf                  77-78-81—236

Team Leaderboard

1. UNCG                            287-277-286—850

2. Northwestern                  294-280-286—860

3. Virginia                          …