Men’s Golf Signs Strong Class for 2016-17
11/13/2015 2:50:00 PM | Men's Golf
November 13, 2015
RALEIGH – The NC State men's golf team made a series of strong additions to its ranks this week, adding Benjamin Shipp (Golfweek #7), Christian Salzer, and Dwight Cauthen during the early signing period. These three golfers will join NC State beginning with the 2016-17 season.
"Each one of these players has been very successful in junior golf," NC State head coach Richard Sykes said. "They all look to me that they have very few weaknesses and have competed at a high national level.
"I don't have any doubt that they will be ready to walk in and compete right when they get here."
FRESHMAN IMPACT
These three signees will look to make an immediate impact on the NC State men's golf program, much like the current group of Stephen Franken, Justin Hood, Nolan Mills Jr., and Davis Richards has done this fall. Thanks to the efforts of the current group of freshmen, NC State ranks No. 2 in the nation in Golfstat's Freshman Class Impact Ranking.
Benjamin Shipp | Duluth, Ga. | Great Atlanta Christian
Ranked No. 7 in the class of 2016 by Golfweek, Benjamin Shipp is a three-time All-State selection in Class AA by the Georgia High School Coaches Association. He placed third at the 2015 Carolinas/Georgia Junior tournament, won the Atlanta Athletic Club High School Invitational, and recorded five top-10 finishes in international junior tournaments during the 2015 calendar year.
"The first round I saw Benjamin play, he shot a 65," Sykes said. "That gets my attention. I started keeping up with him, but at first we were not on his radar. I got him to come up (to Raleigh) and take a look, and he got a great feel for NC State. It was a great visit when he came here, and we are really excited about him joining us."
Christian Salzer | Sumter, S.C. | Sumter High School
Ranked No. 2 in the state of South Carolina, Christian Salzer is a 2015 S.C. Junior champion, National Big I Sectional champion, runner-up at the Carolinas Junior Championship, a TFC ACC Southeastern champion, and a Jimmy Anderson Junior Boys champion.
"I went to see Christian play at the Carolinas PGA a summer ago," Sykes said. "I saw his name a few times and I just knew that I had to see this kid play. He doesn't have any weaknesses and proved to be one of the best players out there. I stayed in touch, kept watching, and he just kept getting better and continues to win."
Salzer represented the United States at the 2015 Can – Am Championship and currently holds the school record at Sumter High School for the lowest scoring average.
Dwight Cauthen | Columbia, S.C. | Home Schooled
Dwight Cauthen has multiple tournament titles under his belt, recently winning the Ballantyne Junior Open, the Charles Tilghman Junior tournament, the South Carolina Match Play title, and in 2014 he finished within the top 20 of the field at the US Junior Championship.
"First round I watched him play: 65," Sykes said. "He won the tournament and I knew he was someone I wanted to keep up with. He committed early and we've just been staying in touch and watching his continued development.
"This class is one of the best we've had here and we are working very hard to land a top recruit in the 2017 class. The future looks very bright for us."
The NC State men's golf team recently finished a very impressive fall season which included a competitive record of 61-10-1 and 11 individual top-20 finishes. As a team, the Wolfpack never finished higher than fifth place and ended the fall with the following four results: 2nd of 15, 2nd of 16, 3rd of 15, and 3rd of 19.
#GoPack
RALEIGH – The NC State men's golf team made a series of strong additions to its ranks this week, adding Benjamin Shipp (Golfweek #7), Christian Salzer, and Dwight Cauthen during the early signing period. These three golfers will join NC State beginning with the 2016-17 season.
"Each one of these players has been very successful in junior golf," NC State head coach Richard Sykes said. "They all look to me that they have very few weaknesses and have competed at a high national level.
"I don't have any doubt that they will be ready to walk in and compete right when they get here."
FRESHMAN IMPACT
These three signees will look to make an immediate impact on the NC State men's golf program, much like the current group of Stephen Franken, Justin Hood, Nolan Mills Jr., and Davis Richards has done this fall. Thanks to the efforts of the current group of freshmen, NC State ranks No. 2 in the nation in Golfstat's Freshman Class Impact Ranking.
Benjamin Shipp | Duluth, Ga. | Great Atlanta Christian
Ranked No. 7 in the class of 2016 by Golfweek, Benjamin Shipp is a three-time All-State selection in Class AA by the Georgia High School Coaches Association. He placed third at the 2015 Carolinas/Georgia Junior tournament, won the Atlanta Athletic Club High School Invitational, and recorded five top-10 finishes in international junior tournaments during the 2015 calendar year.
@PackMensGolf Thanks so much!! Looking forward to being a part of something special!! #STATEment
— Benjamin Shipp (@golfmanben) November 13, 2015"The first round I saw Benjamin play, he shot a 65," Sykes said. "That gets my attention. I started keeping up with him, but at first we were not on his radar. I got him to come up (to Raleigh) and take a look, and he got a great feel for NC State. It was a great visit when he came here, and we are really excited about him joining us."
Christian Salzer | Sumter, S.C. | Sumter High School
Ranked No. 2 in the state of South Carolina, Christian Salzer is a 2015 S.C. Junior champion, National Big I Sectional champion, runner-up at the Carolinas Junior Championship, a TFC ACC Southeastern champion, and a Jimmy Anderson Junior Boys champion.
We are so excited to have you @ChriSalzer !! #bowtie #onpoint pic.twitter.com/68Gxf1lXCb
— NC State Men's Golf (@PackMensGolf) November 12, 2015"I went to see Christian play at the Carolinas PGA a summer ago," Sykes said. "I saw his name a few times and I just knew that I had to see this kid play. He doesn't have any weaknesses and proved to be one of the best players out there. I stayed in touch, kept watching, and he just kept getting better and continues to win."
Salzer represented the United States at the 2015 Can – Am Championship and currently holds the school record at Sumter High School for the lowest scoring average.
Dwight Cauthen | Columbia, S.C. | Home Schooled
Dwight Cauthen has multiple tournament titles under his belt, recently winning the Ballantyne Junior Open, the Charles Tilghman Junior tournament, the South Carolina Match Play title, and in 2014 he finished within the top 20 of the field at the US Junior Championship.
It's official #ncstategolf #gopack @ Bulls Bay Golf Club https://t.co/TyhxPGEcUi
— Dwight Cauthen (@DwightCauthen) November 11, 2015"First round I watched him play: 65," Sykes said. "He won the tournament and I knew he was someone I wanted to keep up with. He committed early and we've just been staying in touch and watching his continued development.
"This class is one of the best we've had here and we are working very hard to land a top recruit in the 2017 class. The future looks very bright for us."
The NC State men's golf team recently finished a very impressive fall season which included a competitive record of 61-10-1 and 11 individual top-20 finishes. As a team, the Wolfpack never finished higher than fifth place and ended the fall with the following four results: 2nd of 15, 2nd of 16, 3rd of 15, and 3rd of 19.
#GoPack
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