Ford, James Headline All-ACC Men’s Golf Team

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 11, 2023
@theACC
 
North Carolina’s Ford, Virginia’s James Headline All-ACC Men’s Golf Team
 
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina’s David Ford has been named the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Golf Player of the Year and headlines a talented 15-man all-conference team. Virginia’s Ben James is the ACC Freshman of the Year, and UNC’s Andrew DiBitetto is the ACC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
 
The All-ACC Team, Player, and Freshman of the Year are decided by a combination of the Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in conjunction with a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches. Coach of the Year was selected by a vote of the coaches.
 
Ford becomes the first Tar Heel men’s golfer to win ACC Player of the Year honors. He is UNC’s single-season and career stroke average leader, averaging 69.67 in 10 tournaments this season and 70.15 in 22 starts over his first two seasons as a Tar Heel. Ford is 74 under par in 67 collegiate rounds, the best cumulative score to par in UNC history.
 
Ford won his first collegiate title last fall at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club, shooting 16-under 200. The Peachtree Corners, Georgia, native made eight consecutive birdies as part of a second-round 62.
 
Ford has finished under par in eight of his 10 collegiate tournaments this season. In addition to winning the Stephens Cup, he finished second in a playoff at Notre Dame, tied for second at the Williams Cup and the Valspar Collegiate Invitational and has four other top 10s. He is ranked among the nation’s top five by both Golfstat and Golfweek and is a major reason the Tar Heels will enter next week’s NCAA Regionals as a No. 1 seed.
 
This marks the first time a sophomore has been voted the ACC Men’s Golf Player of the Year since 2010 when Florida State’s Brooks Koepka and Virginia’s Ben Kohles were selected as co-award winners.
 
In the latest Golfstat standings, Virginia’s James is the No. 8 player in the nation and the top-ranked freshman. James currently leads UVA with a 69.33 stroke average. He has finished first in four events this season and has placed in the top four in nine of 11 collegiate events this season.
 
A total of 27 of his 33 rounds this year have been par or better. The Milford,…