Ford, Tar Heels Lead After 36 Holes In Williams Cup

David Ford opened with a 6-under-par 66 and followed that with a second-round 70 to take a five-shot lead and help the University of North Carolina build a 15-stroke advantage after 36 holes in the Williams Cup presented by STITCH Golf Monday at the Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C.
 
The Tar Heels shot 14-under 274 in the morning, the low round of the day and the lowest round in the three years of the event, to lead Arizona State by eight strokes. The Sun Devils finished the morning round 6-under 282, which proved to be the second-best round of the day as the wind kicked up and the greens became firmer in the afternoon.
 
Auburn, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Golfweek, posted the best second round team score, a 3-under 285. That was a stroke better than Carolina, which is No. 1 in the coaches’ poll and No. 2 by Golfweek.
 
UNC is 16-under 560 after 36 holes. Auburn is second at 1-under 575, Arizona State is third at 9-over 585, and Missouri, North Florida and NC State are tied for fourth at 16 over par.
 
David Ford, a junior from Peachtree Corners, Ga., was the runner-up in the individual standings in the Williams Cup in each of the previous two seasons. This morning he birdied three of the first four holes and the ninth through 12^th holes before making his only bogey of the opening round on 14 to finish with 66. In the second round, Ford made four more birdies and eagled the par-4 13^th hole (holing out from 100 yards with a 60-degree wedge) to shoot 2-under 70.
 
Ford is 8-under 136. He leads his Tar Heel teammate Dylan Menante (70-71), who is 3-under 141. Five players, including UNC’s Maxwell Ford, are tied for third at 2 under. Austin Greaser is tied for eighth at 1-under 143.
 
Missouri’s Jack Lundin aced the 161-yard par-3 second hole in the morning. It was the first hole-in-one in the three years the Williams Cup has been played at Eagle Point.
 
The tournament honors former UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, and his wife, Wanda, for their support of student-athletes and college golf.
 
The third and final round is Tuesday.