Men's Golf | 3/16/2026 11:00:00 PM

ATHENS, Ga. – The North Carolina A&T men's golf team concluded its one-day tournament in Georgia on Monday by finishing eighth at the Southern Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Georgia at the par-72, 6,917-yard Athens Country Club golf course.

The Aggies and the rest of the 15-team field finished behind tournament champion Georgia, the 34th-ranked team in the nation. The Bulldogs finished with a two-round 11-over (287-300—587). They finished six strokes ahead of second-place Western Carolina. The Catamounts shot a 17-over (296-297—593). Mercer rounded out the top three schools by finishing with a 24-over (287-313—600).

Meanwhile, the Aggies completed the tournament at 42-over, shooting 306-312—618. Freshman Emilio Hernandez led the team, finishing in a seven-way tie for 24th place out of 83 competitors. In the first round, Hernandez shot a 1-over 73 to place 11th. In the second round, he carded an 8-over 80, which dropped him 13 spots in the standings. Sophomores Javier Morgado and Pedro Pereira finished in a four-way tie for 31st, along with Manhattan's Akshay Mandadapu and Mount St. Mary's Santiago Bonequi.

Morgado shot an 80 in the first round before improving to a 74 in the second round, moving up 28 spots on the leaderboard. Pereira, who started with a 77 in round one that placed him 42nd, also moved up after the second round, finishing with another 77 to tie for 31st. Both finished behind medalist Jace Butcher from Western Carolina.

Butcher won the tournament with a 2-under 142, finishing ahead of Georgia's Matt Moloney, who shot an even par 144. Mercer's Albin Ekvall rounded out the top three with a 1-over 145.
Hernandez started his first round on Monday on the par-3, 237-yard 12th. After paring the hole, he completed the remaining six holes on the back nine with two birdies, two pars, and two bogeys. Hernandez birdied the 345-yard par-4, 14th and the 581-yard par-5, 16th. He moved to the front nine, where he recorded  two more birdies.

The first came on the par-4, 442-yard second, and the other came on the next hole, the 320-yard, par-4 third. He finished the front nine with three additional bogeys and returned to the back nine at 1-over on the day. He birdied the par-5, 479-yard 10th before finishing the round with a bogey on No. 12. His second 18 holes, including three double bogeys, but he did card three birdies, including another birdie on No. 10.

Morgado's first-round card included three birdies, eight pars, five bogeys, and three double bogeys. He started his second nine on the par-4, 456-yard 11th. His two birdies came on the 14th and the par-5, 444-yard sixth. Pereira recorded four birdies on Monday, with the majority of them coming in the first round. He had three birdies in the first round, to go along with eight pars, six bogeys, and a double bogey. His one birdie in the second round came on the 16th.

Graduate Drew Walker (76-81—157) and junior Camilo Marin (81-85—166) also competed  for the Aggies on Monday.