CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Justin LaRue closed the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional with his best round of the three on Wednesday afternoon.
 
LaRue posted nine straight pars on the back nine and carded an even 70 on the Par 70, 7,084 yard UNC Finley Golf Course.
 
The solid round allowed him to move up two spots into a tie for 42^nd on the difficult course. He finished with a three-round score of 71-72-70—213 (+3).
 
"I know Justin had higher expectations for this week, as he should have, but I'm proud of his effort," said Longwood Head Coach Kevin Fillman. "He had a tremendous year, and it's because of that body of work that he had the opportunity to play here. He was very close to putting it together in every round. A couple better tee balls here, a putt or two drops there, and it's a different story."
 
He was consistent throughout the day, posting two birdies and 14 pars in the round while also not carding anything worse than a bogey. He made par on both the fourth and 14^th holes, two of the three toughest holes on the course over the regional.
 
He finished with 35 pars over the 54 holes, tied for 15^th in the field.
 
"Not a lot happened for him today," Fillman said. "He had some good looks, but, for the most part, he played a lot of holes that looked like pars all the way. Overall, he represented our golf team and university well, and that is why I'm proud of his effort."
 
LaRue closes the season with a 69.94 scoring average, the top mark in the Big South. He was the Big South Men's Golfer of the Year as well as an All-Big South First Team selection, both program firsts.
 
He became the first Lancer men's golfer to qualify for an NCAA Regional with an individual at-large bid since the 2001 season with Niklas Jansson and Carl Magnusson did so at the Division II level.
 
In the regular season, he finished in the top seven in all nine events he played, and he won or tied for first in two events. His 54-hole score of 203 at the Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate was the lowest three-round score in team history, and he won the event by seven strokes.
 
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