UNCW's Oliva Pinto Wins in Playoff, Seahawks Capture Second Straight CAA Title
CHAMP CENTRAL | HIGHLIGHTS
PINEHURST, N.C. (April 21, 2019) – UNCW freshman Segundo Oliva Pinto shot a final round 70 to reach a four-man playoff, then birdied the first playoff hole to earn medalist honors at the CAA Men’s Golf Championship on Pinehurst No. 8. For the second straight year, UNCW captured the team title, posting a 3-under team total in the third round to win by six strokes.
Oliva Pinto was one of three Seahawks to shoot under par in calm conditions on the par-71, 7,088-yard layout, joined by teammates Reese McFarland and Blake McShea. McFarland posted the low round of the day, firing a 3-under 68 that included a 90-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and closing birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 helped him earn All-Tournament Team honors in a tie for fifth overall at 4-over par (73-76-68 – 217). McShea tied for ninth at 6-over after his closing round 70 (74-75-70 – 219).
Oliva Pinto, a freshman from Cordoba, Argentina, matched two birdies against two bogeys on his outward nine before recording eight pars and a birdie at No. 12 to post his 1-under round. Playing in the final group of the day, Oliva Pinto matched Charleston’s Michael Sass and James Madison’s George Heath with pars at No. 18 to finish the championship at 2-over par, creating a a four-man playoff along with Elon’s William Harwood for medalist honors.
Playing Pinehurst No. 8’s 18
th hole, Oliva Pinto found the fairway with his drive and hit his second shot within 15 feet left of the pin. Harwood, Heath and Sass all chipped their third shots within a few feet of the pin, setting up Oliva Pinto’s attempt to win. The freshman buried the putt to become UNCW’s first CAA medalist since Payne McLeod won the 2013 CAA title.
The 3-under round lifted UNCW to a six-stroke win over runner-up Charleston, the second time in as many years the Seahawks rallied in the third round to win the CAA title. UNCW’s 281 was the only under-par round shot in the championship and put the Seahawks at 15-over total (293-293-281 – 867).
The CAA title was the seventh overall for UNCW. The championship also marked a sweep of the men’s and women’s golf championship for UNCW; additionally, Oliva Pinto joined fellow UNCW freshman Phu Khine as CAA medalists in 2019.
Sass, the 2018 CAA medalist, Harwood and Heath all earned All-Tournament Team honors by matching Oliva Pinto’s 2-over total. McFarlane, Elon’s Graham Hutchinson, Drexel’s Connor Schmidt and Charleston’s Logan Sowell all joined the team by virtue of their tie for fifth at 4-over par.
UNCW will find out its postseason destination on Wednesday, May, 1 at 9 p.m. ET, during the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship Selection Show on Golf Channel.
For complete coverage of the championship, visit
CAASports.com/MGolf.