Virginia Men's Golf Claims First Ever ACC Championship 

To start the day, Paul Chang secured the Hoos first point after leading by two strokes with one hole to play against Sihan Sandhu. The win brought Chang to 2-1 in match play on the weekend.  

After that, David Ford fired back for the Tar Heels, defeating Virginia's Josh Duangmanee by one stroke before Grant Roscich knocked off UVA's Ben James by three strokes with two holes remaining to steal back the lead for North Carolina. 

In need of an answer, Deven Patel rose to the occasion for the Cavs, leading his match from the opening hole to give the Cavaliers their second point of the day, knotting match play at two apiece. The win was Patel's third straight in match-play as he won his quarterfinal match against Georgia Tech and pulled a come-from-behind victory against Clemson in the semifinals. 

In the final pairing, Bryan Lee squared off against UNC's Maxwell Ford with the winner, deciding the ACC title. 

After 13 holes, Lee trailed by two before chipping in for a birdie on the 14th, igniting a spark of momentum for the Fairfax, Virginia native. After that, Lee won four of the last five holes to propel Virginia to its first ACC title. 

"Super proud of the guys," said Coach Bowen Sargent. "These are the things we work on in our program, being tough in tough situations."

Besides Virginia's toughness against North Carolina, the Hoos most resilient effort was on Sunday in the semifinals against Clemson. At one point, Virginia trailed by two points, coupled with Patel trailing his match by three strokes with four holes to play. 

Josh Duangmanee started the comeback, defeating Clemson's Rich Wills on the 17th hole to cut the lead to one with two matches remaining.

In response, Patel fought back to win the last four holes of his match, which included a 30-foot birdie putt to draw his match level on the 17th hole. After Patel's victory, Lee sealed the deal on the 21st playoff hole in his match to send Virginia to the championship. 

Virginia has previously finished runner-up five times (1958, 1996, 2010, 2012 & 2019), making the win on Monday that much sweeter for head coach Bowen Sargent, who, after 21 years of coaching Virginia golf, now adds a piece of hardware to his resume. 

"It was surreal," said Sargent. "When they handed the trophy to me, I had a little tear in my eye, I must admit."

To summarize Virginia's weekend in Kentucky, the Cavaliers dominated the first three days in stroke play, shooting -18 under par (8 strokes more than second-place North Carolina) to secure the No. 1 seed for match-play. In match-play, Virginia cruised past Georgia Tech 3-0 in the quarterfinals before a 3-2 comeback win against Clemson in the semifinals. Then, on Monday, Virginia closed it out with a 3-2 victory over North Carolina.

After a strong victory, Virginia will await selections for the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, which will take place on Wednesday, April 30, from 1-2 p.m. ET on the GOLF Channel.