Players to Watch at the 20th Annual V1 Sports General Hackler Championship

By Dylan Hoffman

As 16 collegiate teams converge this weekend at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club to compete at the 20th Annual V1 Sports General Hackler Championship hosted by Coastal Carolina University, they bring with them several of the world’s top amateur players – including four players currently ranked inside the top 100 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

The Hackler’s top-ranked individual performers entering the weekend include Louisville’s Matthias Schmid (#17 WAGR), who competed this past weekend on the PGA TOUR as an amateur in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill; North Carolina State’s Benjamin Shipp (#47 WAGR), and Ole Miss’ Jackson Suber (#51 WAGR). Their teams are among seven Power 5 conference schools represented this year led by nationally ranked North Carolina (#8 Golfstat) and joining other highly ranked schools like Liberty (#18 Golfstat) and North Florida (#28 Golfstat).

In their efforts to help their teams to the coveted Hackler team title, Schmid, Shipp and Suber will be among those also vying for individual championship honors currently held by defending champion Zack Taylor of Coastal Carolina, who in 2020 finished two shots clear of his closest pursuers including Shipp and North Carolina’s Ryan Burnett.

Here’s a snapshot of the credentials that several of the Hackler’s prominent names bring to the event as they tee it up for first-round action on Sunday:

NC State

Benjamin Shipp (Duluth, GA)

● WAGR of 47 (as of 3/10/21)
● Finished runner-up at the 19th Annual General Hackler Championship in 2020; posted rounds of 70-68-72 (210, -6)
● Winner of the 2019 Puerto Rico Classic, 2019 South Beach International Amateur, and 2020 GCAA Amateur Series – Raleigh
● 2019 First Team All-ACC
● 2019 Honorable Mention All-American
● 3-time Division 1 Ping All East Region Team

UNC-Greensboro

Nick Lyerly (Salisbury, NC)

● WAGR of 119 (as of 3/10/21)
● Finished T-21st at the 19th Annual General Hackler Championship in 2020; posted rounds of 74-71-72 (217, +1)
● Winner of the 2019 UNCG Grandover Collegiate, 2018 SoCon Championship, and 2019 UNCG Martin Downs Collegiate
● 2-time All-SoCon selection
● 2019 PING All-Region East selection
● 2018 SoCon Freshman of the Year

Coastal Carolina

Zack Taylor (Pittsburgh, PA)

● WAGR of 244 (as of 3/10/21)
● Defending individual champion of the General Hackler Championship; posted rounds of 66-68-74 (208, -8) to win the 2020 event
● 2-time GCAA/Ping Division 1 All-Region (2018-2019/2019-2020)
● 2019 All-Sun Bet First Team
● Posted second-lowest season stroke average in Coastal Carolina men’s golf history during the 2019-2020 season (70.79)

States Fort (Evans, GA)

● WAGR of 904 (as of 3/10/21)
● Earned first individual collegiate win at the “Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate” in January 2021
● Named to the 2018-19/2019-20 GCAA All-America Scholar teams
● Second on the Coastal men’s golf team in terms of stroke average during the 2019-2020 season (72.79)
● Finished 34th at the 19th Annual General Hackler Championship in 2020; posted rounds of 72-74-74 (220, +4)

Liberty

Kieran Vincent (Harare, Zimbabwe)

● WAGR of 147 (as of 3/10/21)
● Finished T-10th at the 19th Annual General Hackler Championship in 2020; posted rounds of 76-70-68 (214, -2)
● Winner of 2019 Chapman Grand Slam, as well as top-3 finishes at the 2019 Island Resort Intercollegiate, 2019 Matabeleland Amateur Championship, and 2019 ASUN Championship
● 2019 PING All-Region East selection
● 2019 ASUN Men’s Golf All-Conference second-team

Louisville

Matthias Schmid (Maxhuette, Germany)

● WAGR of 17 (as of 3/10/21)
● Finished T-36th at the 19th Annual General Hackler Championship in 2020; posted rounds of 74-71-76 (221, +5)
● Winner of the 2019 and 2020 European Amateur Championships,
● Competed in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush
● Past participant in the Arnold Palmer Cup and European Amateur Team Championship
● Posted second best season long scoring average in Louisville men’s golf history during the 2019-20 season (69.91)
● Named 2020 PING All-American Honorable Mention

North Carolina

Ryan Burnett (Lafayette, CA)

● WAGR of 98 (as of 3/10/21)
● Finished T-2nd at the 19th Annual General Hackler Championship in 2020; posted rounds of 69-72-69 (210, -6)
● Winner of the 2019 Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate, as well as top-3 finishes at at the 2019 NCAA Stanford Regional, 2019 Rod Myers Invitational, 2019 Fighting Irish Classic, and 2020 General Hackler Championship
● North Carolina’s Most Valuable and Most Improved Player of the 2019-20 season
● 2020 Second-team All-America (Golfweek) and PING All-Region east selection
● Candidate for the 2019-20 Haskins Award as the top collegiate player in the country
● Ranked no. 16 in the nation by Golfweek

Virginia Tech

Mark Lawrence Jr. (Richmond, VA)

● WAGR of 212 (as of 3/10/21)
● Winner of the 2020 Delta Dental State Open of Virginia and 2020 VSGA Amateur Championship, as well as runner-up finishes at the 2019 Delta Dental State Open of Virginia and 2019 UNCG Grandover Collegiate
● Led the Hokies in scoring average during the shortened 2019-20 season
● Over the course of his career as a Hokie, he has 5 top 5’s, 5 top 10’s, 7 top 20’s, and a career scoring average of 71.53

Ole Miss

Jackson Suber (Tampa, FL)

● WAGR of 51 (as of 3/10/21)
● Winner of the 2020 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, as well as top-3 finishes at the 2019 Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, 2020 Patriot All-America Invitational, and 2020 Jones Cup Invitational
● Posted a team-leading 71.04 scoring average during the 2019-2020 season, which ranked ninth in the SEC for the season
● 2020 PING Southeast All-Region
● 2019 SEC All-Freshman team