The 2024 UNC mens golf team after claiming the ACC championship. (Photo courtesy UNC Athletics)
UNC athletic teams have won 51 NCAA and 295 ACC championships. The Carolina Champions series asks Tar Heels to share memories from title-winning seasons.
Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference as a charter member in 1953, Carolina has amassed more ACC championships than any other school, and nearly 100 more than the closest competitor. One of the most recent of those conference titles was captured by the men’s golf team in 2024, the team’s first since 2006, and first outright since 1996.
The 2024 campaign was a special one for the Tar Heels, tying the program’s single-season record with seven team championships amassed during the season. All five of North Carolina’s starters – juniors David & Maxwell Ford, senior Peter Fountain, graduate student Austin Greaser, and fifth year Dylan Menante, earned All-ACC honors, the first time in conference history that one team placed five members on the all-conference team.
At the ACC championship, held at Charlotte Country Club, the strong team dynamic for the Tar Heels led them to a six-shot team lead in the stroke play portion of the event, earning them the top seed in team match play, which would decide the champion. After defeating Wake Forest 3-2 in the semifinals, the Tar Heels took on second-seeded Florida State in the finals.
It would come down to the fifth and final match, between Fountain and Seminole senior Brett Roberts, to decide the champion. On the 17th hole, Fountain holed a clutch 5-foot putt to close out the match, and give the Tar Heels their first championship in nearly two decades.
Fountain, who graduated in 2024, took a few minutes to reflect on the 2024 season and that winning putt.
Q: Thinking about this past season, leading up to the ACC championship specifically, what was it that made the season special?
Peter Fountain: I feel like as a team, we were just really close. We had a lot of fun together. But I think the one thing that sticks out is just how deep we were as a team. We had a team that any person could win at any given moment. I feel like it was just a season where we really pushed each other to be the best version of ourselves and I feel that we all got better because of that. And then thankfully, it led to an ACC championship.
Q: Thinking about the championship match, what do you remember most?
Fountain: I feel like it was almost more of a relief once we won. We were so focused on winning. Honestly, all four years I feel like we’ve been one of the top ranked teams in ACC. In the last three years, we’ve been the top ranked and hadn’t been able to get it done. I feel like we were able to get out there and play with freedom knowing how good we were. But it also definitely had added pressure that we felt like we needed to win this one. Especially coming down the stretch, I feel like just the practices that we’d done really prepared all of us for the moments.
Everyone in our team really loved the feeling of pressure, and that’s definitely unique. I mean, some people just don’t like it. If you’ve got the adrenaline, your legs can get a little bit shaky. But I feel like everyone in that lineup really trusted each other to go and win their match and get it done.
Q: What was going through your head when you stepped up to hit the putt that ultimately decided the ACC championship?
Fountain: It was kind of a slider. It was a left to right putt and left to right putts are not as fun for righties. You have to hit it a little bit harder, but you don’t want to hit it too hard where you don’t play enough break and it goes way past the hole.
My only thought when I was walking into that putt was “trust your preparation.” I feel like I’ve hit that kind of 5-footer a gazillion times during my practice, and I knew that I was prepared for that moment. Although the stakes are higher, it’s still the same 5-footer as it would be during practice sessions. We were walking up to the green, and Coach DiBitetto told me, “Just trust the preparation that you put in. You’re ready for this.”
Q: Thinking back to your four years at Carolina, how special was it to finally get an ACC Championship in your senior season?
Fountain: It truly was awesome. I grew up in Raleigh in a family of Carolina fans. One of my brothers (Preyer Fountain ’19) used to play golf at Carolina, and my other brother played golf in college as well. I’d always dreamed of playing golf at Carolina and winning an ACC championship while there, especially my senior year, is pretty special.
It was special too because we had an old team this year and none of us had ever won a conference championship, aside from Dylan who is a transfer. He won a conference title at Pepperdine, but none of us had ever won a championship ring. Between Austin, Dylan, and me, it was our last year to do it. I think it’s special. Just doing it, going out and ending our time at UNC as Champions.
Q: What are you going to miss most about college golf?
Fountain: I’m really going to miss the team aspect. After college, golf truly becomes an individual sport. We had a really close team, and Coach DiBitetto and Coach Goldman are the best two coaches in the country. I feel like they do a really good job of keeping a competitive environment. But we all have a blast when we are out there. I feel like the coaches do a good job of keeping it pretty lowkey and pushing us. I’m going to miss that kind of team camaraderie. I know I’ll be friends with my teammates for the rest of my life and a lot of them are people I’ve grown up with, and hopefully I’ll be playing against professionally one day. I’m definitely going to miss the team aspect and being around the coaches every single day.
Q: What’s next for Peter Fountain?
Fountain: I’m keeping my amateur status through the summer (of 2024), and playing the North & South Amateur in Pinehurst, the Western Amateur in Ohio, and the U.S. Amateur in Minnesota this summer. After the U.S. Am, I’m going to be turning professional and hopefully earning status on one of the PGA Tour-sanctioned fields – the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour, or PGA Tour Americas.
Hopefully, it’s one of the top two tours but, obviously any professional status is good, so hopefully it all works out. I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to miss college golf but looking forward to a new challenge and a fresh start.
As told to Andrew Stilwell ’12. Support for UNC Athletics programs helps propel excellence on the field and beyond. Learn more.
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