Preview: 60th North Carolina Amateur Championship

 

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (June 16, 2020) -- The Carolinas Golf Association will conduct the 60th North Carolina Amateur Championship at North Ridge Country Club’s Lake Course in Raleigh, N.C. from June 18 - 21, 2020. (6,880 yards, par 36-34--70)
 

The CGA will be conducting this championship under the new COVID-19 Tournament Protocols. Learn more here.

 

Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field of Players | Starting Times | Scoring

 

Players to watch:

 

• John Eades of Charlotte, N.C. is back to defend his title this year at the N.C. Amateur. He’s also the 2017 N.C. Mid-Amateur champion and played on the victorious Carolinas Team at the 2019 Captain’s Putter Team Matches. 

 

• Ben Woodruff of Huntersville, N.C. is a rising sophomore at UNC Charlotte. He is the defending North Carolina Amateur Match Play champion, half of the 2018 Carolinas Four-Ball winning duo and claimed the 2019 CCNC Amateur. A tie for fifth place at the 2019 Carolinas Amateur catapulted Woodruff to No. 8 in the Carolinas Men’s Rankings.
   

• Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. is a 38-time CGA champion, holding more championship titles than any other player in CGA history. He is a two-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion and in 2010 claimed the U.S., British and Canadian Senior Amateur wins. Simson is still a force to be reckoned with in any event he enters. Simson was part of the victorious Carolinas Team at the 2019 Captain’s Putter Team Matches. 

 

• Henry Shimp of Charlotte, N.C. is a recent graduate from Stanford University. He was part of the 2019 NCAA men’s golf championship winning team. As a senior, he tied for 17th at the Prestige tournament, and recorded a scoring average of 72.78. Shimp made it to the match play portion of the 2019 U.S. Amateur held at Pinehurst Resort before being eliminated in the Round of 32.

 

• Fulton Smith of Pinehurst, N.C. is the 2018 Carolinian Amateur and the Carolinas Young Amatuer champion. Smith is ranked No. 19 golfer in the Carolinas Men’s Rankings. Smith recently completed his freshman year at Wake Forest University where he is a member of the men’s golf team. 

 

• Brandon Einstein of Clemmons, N.C. is a rising junior at High Point University. He is the 2018 N.C. Match Play and the N.C. Junior Boys’ champion. Einstein finished one spot shy of the victory in this event in 2018.
   

• Chad Wilfong of Charlotte, N.C. is the only other past champion (2011) in the field aside from Eades.  He held the lead after 18 holes in this event last year before ultimately finishing in second place. Most notably, he was the stroke-play medalist in the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amatuer Championship. Wilfong is a former Wake Forest golfer. He also played on the victorious Carolinas Team at the 2019 Captain’s Putter Team Matches. 

 

The North Carolina Amateur Championship began in 1961 and is the state championship for men ages 13 and over. This championship is conducted at 72 holes of stroke play. After 36 holes, the field is cut to the low 60 scores and ties for the final two rounds. Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who is a legal resident of North Carolina, is a member in good standing of a club which is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association and has an active GHIN® USGA Handicap Index® that does not exceed 7.4. Players may attempt to qualify at any location in the state.

 

Past Champion in this field (2):

John Eades of Charlotte, N.C., (2019)

Nick Lyerly of Salisbury, N.C. (2016)

Steven Brame of Henderson, N.C. (2013)

Chad Wilfong of Charlotte, N.C., (2001)

Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., (1991, 1996, 2000, 2004)

 

Scoring will be provided by the CGA throughout the championship, offering 9 and 18-hole updates. Live updates will also be available on the CGA’s official Twitter account, @CGAgolf. Continue to visit the CGA website throughout this championship and all year long for complete championship coverage including scores, interviews, photos and recaps.

 

Schedule of rounds:

Thursday, June 18

Round 1 - 18 holes of stroke play

 

Friday, June 19

Round 2 - 18 holes of stroke play

Field cut to low 50 scores and ties

 

Saturday, June 20

Round 3 - 18 holes of stroke play

 

Sunday, June 21

Final Round - 18 holes of stroke play

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.

The CGA annually conducts 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events as well as qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed nearly $2,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.     

For more information about the CGA, visit our website.

 

##30##