Men's Golf | 3/10/2026 10:05:00 PM
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Graduate North Carolina A&T men's golfer Drew Walker toppled program records this week to win the 2026 Surf Club Invitational hosted by Appalachian State on the par-71, 6,604-yard Surf Golf & Beach Club golf course.
Walker won the tournament by shooting a three-round 69-67-64—200, finishing 13-under, one stroke ahead of Georgia State's Connor MacMillan (67-67-67—201) and Elon's Drew Yeagley (68-68-65—201). His 64 on Tuesday broke the program record for fewest strokes previously held by Walker's sophomore teammate Javier Morgado, who shot a 7-under 65 at the PGA Works Championship on May 6, 2025.
Walker's three-round 200 also broke the program record for fewest strokes in a tournament, breaking Diego Gonzalez's mark from the Elon Invitational on October 12, 2021. His third-round performance on Tuesday elevated A&T to a top 5 finish.
The Aggies shot a two-day, three-round 277-286-277—840, shooting 12-under for the tournament behind tournament champion Georgia State (274-275-266—815), which shot 37-under to win. Elon (280-275-263—818), Augusta (282-275-280—837), Boston College (284-273-281—838), along with A&T, rounded out the top 5. On the individual side, Walker, MacMillan, and Yeagley finished ahead of Elon's Jack Weler, Georgia State's Cole Finch, Longwood's David Lafreniere, and Rhode Island's Aidan O'Donovan, who all finished in a four-way tie for fourth place at 10-under 203.
Walker's third round was more than necessary. He trailed O'Donovan by three strokes and MacMillan and Yeagley by two shots heading into the third round. But O'Donovan started his third round with a double bogey, opening the door for Walker. Meanwhile, Walker started his round on the par 4, 366-yard 12th with a par putt before scoring a birdie on the par 3, 179-yard 13th. He returned to birdie land again on the 15th, with a birdie on the 411-yard par 4.
He ran into trouble on 16 and 17, posting back-to-back bogeys, putting his tournament championship in jeopardy. But then he dominated the course. He birdied the 205-yard par 3 18th before making the turn and birdieing the par 5, 499-yard first to move to 2-under for the day. Walker carded his third straight birdie on the par-4, 432-yard second before carding pars on his next two holes to remain at 3-under for the day and 9-under for the tournament.
However, on the par 5, 516-yard fifth is where Walker truly made his move. He eagled the hole and complemented that accomplishment with a birdie on the par 3, 158-yard No. 6. Walker took a step back with a bogey on No. 7, moving into a three-way tie with MacMillan and Yeagley. Walker got back on track with a par on No. 8 and another on No. 9. He then needed a spectacular finish to win the tournament.
Mission accomplished. Walker birdied the par-4, 462-yard 10th before birdieing the par-4, 324-yard 12th to clinch the tournament win. Walker was aided by McMillan's five straight pars on holes 15, 16, 17, 18, and 1. Walker's eagle made the difference over Yeagley, who only had one bogey during the final round.
Morgado also finished in the red numbers for the tournament, finishing 29th with a three-round 68-73-70—211, shooting 2-under for the tournament. Freshman Emilio Hernandez also had a solid tournament, even though he dropped 12 spots from 21st to place 33rd for the tournament. Hernandez shot a 67-73-72—212 to finish the event at 1-under. Sophomores Ignacio Zapata (73-73-72—218) and Pedro Pereira (75-75-71—221) also competed for A&T during the week.
The Aggies return to action on Monday, March 16, for the one-day Southern Collegiate hosted by the University of Georgia at the Athens Country Club.
