Men's Golf | 10/18/2026 11:58:00 PM
CARY, NC – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sophomore
Emilio Hernandez stayed in contention throughout the 2026 SAS HBCU Invitational before Florida A&M's Emilio Garcia won the tournament by one stroke on a birdie putt.
North Carolina A&T's men's golf team finished fourth with a two-round 14-over 574 at the par-70, 6,475-yard Prestonwood Country Club. Hernandez led after Saturday's round with a 4-under 66, but he shot a 1-over 71 on Sunday to finish tied for second. Garcia claimed medalist honors with 68-68—4-under 136—to edge Hernandez's 66-71—3-under 137.
After officials canceled the first round of golf on Saturday because of inclement weather, the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State men opened the tournament with an impressive 2-under 278, finishing four strokes behind Saturday's clubhouse leader, the Florida A&M Rattlers. The Aggies fell off the pace in the second round, shooting a 16-over 296.
The Rattlers were 15 shots better on Sunday and won the 2026 SAS HBCU Invitational with a 5-under 555. FAMU finished 16 strokes ahead of Chicago State and North Carolina Central University (NCCU). A&T junior
Pedro Pereira also finished in the top 10, tying for ninth at 3-over 143 with two others. Juniors
Javier Morgado and
Jordan Williams tied for 15
th at 8-over 148 with NCCU's Nico Tucker, and junior
Ignacio Zapata finished 18
th at 9-over 149. After the weather delay, Hernandez started his round superbly.
Hernandez birdied the par-5, 499-yard third to open the tournament. After a par on the par-4 fourth, he carded bogey, bogey on the next two holes to move to 1-over. He stayed at 1-over until the 349-yard par-4 eighth, where he carded a three, then birdied the 382-yard par-4 ninth. He moved to 2-under when he birdied the 542-yard par-5 10
th.
He didn't slow down. Two consecutive par putts preceded a birdie on the 543-yard par-5 13
th. He followed that with an eagle putt on the 395-yard par-4 14
th, then added a birdie on the 185-yard par-3 15
th to move to 6-under in the first round. He shot an amazing 31 on the back nine and stayed at 6-under until a double bogey on the par-4 first.
A par putt closed out his first round. Starting Sunday as the tournament leader, he bogeyed the course's first hole to fall to 3-under. He dropped to 2-under after a bogey on the par-5 third, then remained there through a string of par putts until the par-4 eighth, where he bogeyed to slide to 1-under before birdieing the 382-yard ninth. Hernandez returned to contention for the tournament crown when he birdied the par-4 11th, a 414-yard hole. He stayed consistent through the rest of the tournament, sinking seven straight par putts to finish. Garcia then made a birdie putt on the par-4 17
th to edge Hernandez for the title.
Pereira had three first-round birdies to shoot 69 on Saturday. He started on No. 1 on Sunday and dropped to even par with a bogey, then moved back to 1-under with a birdie on the 433-yard par-4 fourth. A bogey on the par-3 fifth put him at even par, and he stayed there over the next five holes before a bogey on the par-5 10
th. He carded three more bogeys, three par putts, and a birdie putt on his remaining eight holes, making his birdie on the par-5 13
th.
The Aggies return to action Oct. 23-25 for the Fripp Island Intercollegiate, hosted by USC Upstate at Ocean Creek Golf Course in St. Helena, SC.
