A crazy twin occurrence as North Carolina's David Ford wins Valspar Collegiate
It was both a great day and a bad day to be a Ford.
North Carolina senior David Ford picked up his third victory of the season on Tuesday at the Valspar Collegiate, a loaded field featuring 11 of the top 25 teams in the country.
However, the eighth-ranked Tar Heels only managed to finish 11th, 30 shots behind team champion Texas, partly due to North Carolina also having three players finish outside the top 60. That included Maxwell Ford, David’s twin brother, who finished solo 92nd in the 92-man field.
It is believed to be the first time in NCAA history that siblings, let alone twins, have finished both first and last in a tournament.
David Ford’s victory ties him with St. John’s Peiching Chen and Longwood’s Justin LaRue for second in wins this season, one behind four-time winner Dane Huddleston of Utah Valley. Davi Ford has three other top-8s and nothing worse than T-19 as he’s ranked No. 1 in the national rankings and has now solidified himself as the clear favorite to win the Haskins Award, which goes to the player of the year.
Florida State junior Luke Clanton, fresh off a T-42 finish at the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, finished solo seventh at 10 under. Oklahoma’s Jase Summy and Texas’ Daniel Bennett tied for second at 16 under, two shots behind David Ford, who shot 15 under over his final 36 holes. Maxwell Ford was 43 shots behind his brother.
The Seminoles placed third, followed by Oklahoma, Auburn and Duke. Vanderbilt, competing for just the third time in four years without Gordon Sargent in the lineup, came in solo ninth.