Matt Hill = National Champion

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Congratulations 2009 NCAA Golf Champion, Matt Hill. This title caps one of the greatest runs by an NC State athlete in the university’s history. Hill previously won 7 tournament titles this year including the ACC and NCAA Regional titles.

Hill is the first North Carolina State player to win the individual championship. Past medalists include Tiger Woods (Stanford, 1996), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State in 1989, ’90 and ’92) and Jack Nicklaus (Ohio State, 1961).

Follow it live here.

Link to ESPN article

With just eight holes remaining in the race for medalist at the NCAA Division I men’s golf championship, North Carolina State’s Matt Hill trailed by two strokes.

Instead of panic, it was time to take control.

Hill made three birdies down the stretch and then played keepaway with the lead to capture the top individual prize Thursday at Inverness Club.

“I’m pretty pumped up, that’s for sure, and a little bit relieved at the same time,” Hill said after shooting his third consecutive 2-under 69 to finish at 6-under 207.

The tall Canadian started the day tied for the lead with Georgia’s Russell Henley, who lapsed to a 75 to finish at 213. Starting on the 10th hole, Hill played the first 10 holes in even par and by that point trailed TCU’s Tom Hoge by two shots.

By the way…a big thank you to the Carolina Hurricanes for Hill!

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30 Responses to Matt Hill = National Champion

  1. Daily Update 05/28/2009 at 3:58 PM #

    Got a par on a tough par 3. 3 holes to go with a par 5 still left to play.

  2. Daily Update 05/28/2009 at 4:28 PM #

    Note that there is one golfer who sits at even par that starts his round at 4:45. So it could be a while before the winner is official.

  3. YANCSSB 05/28/2009 at 4:38 PM #

    I think Matt needs a birdie on the 8th or 9th to lock this thing up for good. Glissmeyer has played well all day and Stanley from Clemson has played the 8th and 9th well all tournament and could make a charge.

  4. YANCSSB 05/28/2009 at 4:43 PM #

    Hill birdies the 8th!

  5. YANCSSB 05/28/2009 at 4:51 PM #

    Glissmeyer doubles! Hoge pars out, and Stanley’s two back with one to go!

  6. YANCSSB 05/28/2009 at 4:56 PM #

    It’s all down to Hill and Stanley…Steve Ziegler of Stanford is currently at even par and yet to tee off, but he’d need a 65 just to get into the conversation.

  7. YANCSSB 05/28/2009 at 5:09 PM #

    Hill finishes -6, Stanley and Hoge at -4. That should do it!

  8. Greywolf 05/28/2009 at 5:11 PM #

    Holy shit!!! 3 national champions from NC State? Tell me it isn’t so. Christ almighty, we’ll never get rid of Jed.

  9. StateFans 05/28/2009 at 8:54 PM #

    3 Individual National Championships; Last place in the Directors Cup. At least nobody can say that we don’t have the ability to recruit the talent.

  10. Clarksa 05/28/2009 at 10:10 PM #

    It’s the golf fuhcilities we have that made Matt a national champion.

  11. choppack1 05/28/2009 at 10:26 PM #

    Sweet – congrats to Hill!

    I wish the team had been there too, but, still good pub for NC State’s golf program.

  12. buttPACKer 05/28/2009 at 11:09 PM #

    CONGRATS, Matt. . . well deserved!!

    we’re all quite proud of you.

  13. Daily Update 05/29/2009 at 7:08 AM #

    Matt Hill is the first NCAA golfer ever to win a conference title, regional title, and NCAA title in the same year. This was a historic run on many levels.

  14. ldr of the pk 75 05/29/2009 at 9:17 AM #

    Tremendous accomplishment, it can’t do anything but help the program overall. Golf as a team sport hasn’t been all that bad in recent years, but could be better. This along with Tim Clark and Carl Peterson, could perhaps encourage up and coming talent to come our way. The new course can’t hurt either. However the courses the team has had access to over the years haven’t been bad at all.

    What a shame that Jed can bask in the limelight of these individuals, yet from an overall perspective our team sports sans Football are pretty much the dregs of the conference.

    By the way, I read in this mornings paper that we are confirmed to open the 2012 Football season in Atlanta against UT. I’m confident that by then, we’ll be more than competitive on a talent level, even if we play in front of 1/2 the people at home. We have a real coach in TOB.

  15. BJD95 05/29/2009 at 9:21 AM #

    Can you imagine how much we would suck/have sucked in recent history if not for some outstanding individual performers? Who else can have 3 individual national champions, but still have so little team success that they are the lowest rated ACC school in the Directors’ Cup?

    To look at this as a microcosm, consider the high profile individual revenue sport players we’ve had in the last ten years – Mario Williams (#1 overall pick), Philip Rivers (#5 overall pick and probably the best player in program history), and Julius Hodge (best player in program history since the best college player of all-time, David Thompson) – and how little team success resulted. Not a single one of those guys won so much as a conference title.

    Congrats to Matt Hill for giving us something to be proud of in the first half of 2009!

  16. Alpha Wolf 05/29/2009 at 9:30 AM #

    This is fantastic, and I can’t wait until we see him with Tim Clark and Carl Petterson playing on the big Tour. Clark, BTW, was up towards the top after the first round down in Texas yesterday.

  17. ChemE79a 05/29/2009 at 9:37 AM #

    BJD95 – I agree with your point, but I think you overreached in calling Hodge “(best player in program history since the best college player of all-time, David Thompson).” Just off the top of my head I would argue for better player and better college career (not to mention pro career for several of these)Kenny Carr, Guggs, Corchiani, Monroe, Thurl Baily, maybe even Todd Fuller. Shoot I could make a case (I am not sure I would believe it) for Wilkins. He certainly came in with even more fanfare and has had a better pro career. All of which is not to knock Hodge I think he was a great player and I love that he stayed for his fourth year, but your words are a significant overstatement.

  18. beowolf 05/29/2009 at 9:52 AM #

    I was with you up until you mentioned Wilkins. Good heavens what an unqualified disaster that kid and his meddling family were. When the only things you can say about him is what he did before and after he was at NC State, that should be enough to disqualify him from discussion with past greats.

  19. beowolf 05/29/2009 at 9:52 AM #

    Oh, and congrats to Matt Hill!

  20. tobaccordshow 05/29/2009 at 9:54 AM #

    I’m gonna have to agree with Beowolf. I loved Hodge, especially during press conferences, but I can name quite a few players who I consider better than Hodge since DT. Hell, even Sidney Lowe may even enter that equation.

  21. BJD95 05/29/2009 at 10:45 AM #

    Julius Hodge was pretty much the perfect college player. The NBA and college basketball are so vastly different that I don’t consider pro stats at all in evaluating a college basketball career. I could make an argument for Rodney Monroe being better/as good as Hodge in college, but not anyone else.

    Monroe is very similar in that he didn’t fit the NBA at all. Sadly enough, Monroe also maxed out at one Sweet 16, as far as post-season success (but his junior and senior seasons were tarred by probation and Les, respectively).

  22. mdref 05/29/2009 at 12:03 PM #

    An article from “up north” on Matt – http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Golf/News/2009/05/29/9610651-sun.html

  23. Lunatic Fringe 05/29/2009 at 12:42 PM #

    The fact he did this as a soph makes it even more astonishing. Congrats Matt!

  24. Dr. BadgerPack 05/29/2009 at 3:37 PM #

    First, great work Matt!

    Now I’ll pick my nit for the day; no offense BJD. 🙂

    “Can you imagine how much we would suck/have sucked in recent history if not for some outstanding individual performers?”

    My only problem here is, we had outstanding performers in non-marquee sports. But for any championship team, you can make the same comment. Florida without Tebow? As revolting as the thought is, UNC without Hansborough? We just had the outstanding individuals in sports that (1) a lot of people just don’t care about and (2) aren’t on sportscenter everyday. Next year, Russell Wilson could be our outstanding individual. Sadly, if that were the case, after our outstanding performers of this year, the screams and shouts for that would be tremendously louder.

    I’ll end with, congrats Matt!! 🙂

  25. WTNY 05/29/2009 at 4:20 PM #

    Congrats to Hill!

    —-

    BJD, perhaps Hodge looked so good because he was so much better than the other talent we had at the time.

    Some of the Pack greats since DT, Carr, Hawkeye, Monroe, etc., had better surrounding talent. Just my 2 cents.

    — WTNY

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