Bunten Wins Back-To-Back Carolinian Titles

 

Buies Creek, N.C. (May 23, 2021) -- Final results of the 6th Carolinian Amateur Championship at Keith Hills Golf Club (Orange-Black) in Buies Creek, N.C. on May 23, 2021. The field is competing at 6,717 yards on the Orange - Black course routing (par 36-36--72).


Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field | Starting Times | Scoring | History | Photos


Tim Bunten of Concord, N.C. becomes a back-to-back champion after capturing the 6th Carolinian Amateur Championship. On Sunday, he shot a 2-over-par, 74 to bring his total tournament score to 4-under-par, 212. Bunten squeaked out the victory over Graham Chase of Charlotte, N.C. and Mason Tucker of Lancaster, S.C. who both tied for second one stroke off the lead at 3-under-par, 213 total.


Bunten’s final round began on No.1, which was an enjoyable starting hole for him; he parred No. 1 all three rounds. The recent East Carolina grad would go on to par Nos. 2 and 3 remaining with a comfortable 3-shot lead.


However, on the short 300 yard, par-4 No. 4, Bunten made an aggressive decision; taking a 3-wood off the tee instead of his usual iron shot. The risk was minimized when his tee shot landed 30 yards left of the green, but reappeared when his chip shot landed in the back bunker. Bunten would register his first bogey of the day on No. 4.


Agitated with the result from the subsequent hole, he was determined to improve on No. 5. That is exactly what he did. Bunten would go on to drain a lengthy birdie putt to go back to being even on the day and make the turn two-strokes ahead of his competitors.


“I was scrambling really well. I had a couple of great up and downs on the front that kept the momentum up,” said Bunten. “I made a lot of eight to 12-footers for par to keep things moving. I didn’t feel the best off the tee, but around the greens I felt really good.”


Bunten’s back nine was full of excitement, his dependable scrambling skills had saved him yet again. He had bogeyed No. 10 and had cancelled it out with a birdie on No. 13; which he birdied all three rounds. Carding pars on Nos. 14 and 15 his lead remained at 3-strokes, until his tee shot on No.16 drifted too far right into an adjacent creek bank.


Bunten took a 9-iron out of the bank and his ball came to rest inches in front of a tree root, leaving him another tough shot. His third shot sailed the green and Bunten would give up 2-strokes, posting a 6. Walking off No. 16’s green his lead shrunk to 1-stroke and he was aware of what had to be done. Bunten posted a par on the par-3, No. 17 and headed to the final hole.


“Draining that putt on No. 18 was a very good feeling. As soon as I got it over the water in two shots, I took a deep breath. I was pretty sure that I won it after that putt, but I wasn’t sure until I heard the really loud applause and then I knew I had won it again,” remarked the reigning champion.


This is Bunten’s second CGA championship title and he will be seeking his third at the North Carolina Amateur Championship and the North Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship this summer. The newly minted champion said, “Winning this is awesome. I love it here (at Keith Hills Golf Club). I tend to play well here and it is great to continue that good play and start the summer off hot. It led to a really good summer last year so hopefully I can do the same this year.”


Columb Knight of Raleigh, N.C. finished in solo fourth with a three day total of 2-under-par, 214. A three-way-tie between Michael La Sasso of Raleigh, N.C., David Sargent of Cornelius, N.C. and Thomas Owen of Fayetteville, N.C. claimed fifth with a 1-under-par, 215 overall finish.


The Carolinas Golf Association would like to thank the members and staff at Keith Hills Golf Club, especially Director of Golf, Martha Sutton, Golf Course Superintendent, Damon Dean and General Manager, Kenneth Jones, for graciously hosting the 6th Carolinian Amateur Championship.


6th Carolinian Amateur Championship

Keith Hills Golf Club (Orange-Black), Buies Creek, N.C.

Final Results

 

Pos.	Player	City, State	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Tim Bunten	Concord, NC	-4	67	71	74	212
T2	Graham Chase	Charlotte, NC	-3	75	71	67	213
T2	Mason Tucker	Lancaster, SC	-3	73	72	68	213
4	Columb Knight	Raleigh, NC	-2	73	69	72	214
T5	Michael La Sasso	Raleigh, NC	-1	74	73	68	215
T5	David Sargent	Cornelius, NC	-1	74	73	68	215
T5	Thomas Owen	Fayetteville, NC	-1	72	70	73	215
T8	Carter Busse	Davidson, NC	E	71	73	72	216
T8	Tommy Lamb	Cary, NC	E	70	72	74	216
T8	Zac Lewis	Winnabow, NC	E	68	73	75	216
T11	August Lascola	Durham, NC	+2	77	72	69	218
T11	Garrett Risner	Holly Springs, NC	+2	73	75	70	218
T11	Daniel Neveu	Pinehurst, NC	+2	66	76	76	218
T11	Jackson Bode	Pinehurst, NC	+2	68	75	75	218
T15	Fulton Smith	Pinehurst, NC	+3	71	76	72	219
T15	Mitchell Vance	Hartsville, SC	+3	71	75	73	219
T15	Nic Brown	Wendell, NC	+3	70	75	74	219
T15	Michael Childress	Salisbury, NC	+3	72	70	77	219
T19	Jake Newman	Charlotte, NC	+4	77	73	70	220
T19	Ryan O'Neil	Waxhaw, NC	+4	72	74	74	220
T21	WIlson Thrift	Charlotte, NC	+5	74	75	72	221
T21	Nick Mayfield	Rock Hill, SC	+5	73	76	72	221
T21	Randall Hudson	New Bern, NC	+5	74	75	72	221
T21	Pearse Lucas	Charlotte, NC	+5	74	72	75	221
T21	William Grasty	Charlotte, NC	+5	69	74	78	221
T21	Justin Morgan	Denver, NC	+5	75	78	68	221
T27	Aidan Browning	Charlotte, NC	+6	74	75	73	222
T27	John O'Brien	Columbia, SC	+6	75	73	74	222
T27	Blake Brantley	Winston-Salem, NC	+6	74	73	75	222
T27	Colin Browning	Charlotte, NC	+6	76	75	71	222
T31	Noah Connor	Reidsville, NC	+7	77	73	73	223
T31	Stephen Lavenets	Willow Spring, NC	+7	75	73	75	223
T31	Cade Hancock	Elizabethtown, NC	+7	77	73	73	223
T31	Luke Nelson	Raleigh, NC	+7	74	76	73	223
T31	Daniel Coker	Hartsville, SC	+7	74	71	78	223
T36	Adam Hunt	Columbia, SC	+8	75	74	75	224
T36	Narayan Mohan	Charlotte, NC	+8	74	75	75	224
T36	Cole Sutherland	Charlotte, NC	+8	72	75	77	224
T36	Tyler Jones	Jacksonville, NC	+8	74	77	73	224
T36	Josh Spell	Archdale, NC	+8	72	80	72	224
T36	Zach Roberts	Holly Springs, NC	+8	76	69	79	224
T42	Alex Rubino	Charlotte, NC	+9	75	73	77	225
T42	Anthony Conn	Raleigh, NC	+9	76	76	73	225
T42	Jake Herring	Wilson, NC	+9	78	74	73	225
T42	Matias La Grutta	Cary, NC	+9	76	69	80	225
T42	Tyler DeChellis	Clayton, NC	+9	77	76	72	225
T47	Timothy Driver	Holly Springs, NC	+10	74	75	77	226
T47	Layne Lambert	Matthews, NC	+10	77	76	73	226
T47	Matthew McIntyre	Garner, NC	+10	75	78	73	226
50	Mark Olbrych	Raleigh, NC	+11	75	74	78	227
T51	R. J. Cupelli	Kitty Hawk, NC	+12	74	75	79	228
T51	Andreas Huber	Pinehurst, NC	+12	74	76	78	228
T51	Caden Baker	Mebane, NC	+12	78	73	77	228
T51	Matthew Richardson	Ayden, NC	+12	73	79	76	228
T51	McClure Thompson	Little River, SC	+12	77	76	75	228
T56	Daniel Adkins	Holly Springs, NC	+13	77	74	78	229
T56	Jake Clayton	Burlington, NC	+13	74	77	78	229
T56	Russell Burke	Raleigh, NC	+13	81	70	78	229
T59	Casey Osiecki	New Bern, NC	+14	74	76	80	230
T59	Ryan Hodges	Greensboro, NC	+14	77	73	80	230
T59	Gray Mitchum	Winterville, NC	+14	76	77	77	230
T62	Patrick Golden	Murrells Inlet, SC	+15	75	75	81	231
T62	Justin Guilford	Davidson, NC	+15	70	80	81	231
T64	James Harris	Lillington, NC	+16	79	73	80	232
T64	Carson Castelli	Greensboro, NC	+16	77	75	80	232
T64	Will Suddreth	Jamestown, NC	+16	75	78	79	232
T64	Clayson Good	Durham, NC	+16	73	80	79	232
68	Reid Clark	Raleigh, NC	+17	76	76	81	233
69	Ike Joy	Denver, NC	+18	78	75	81	234
T70	Ford Reynolds	Columbia, SC	+19	73	80	82	235
T70	Austin Alexander	Rutherfordton, NC	+19	72	81	82	235
72	Steven Brame	Henderson, NC	+21	77	75	85	237
The following players did not make the cut
CUT	Chris Cox	Raleigh, NC	+10	80	74		154
CUT	Robert McPartland	Seven Lakes, NC	+10	79	75		154
CUT	Samuel Uberseder	Lewisville, NC	+10	80	74		154
CUT	Jackson Brimfield	Chapel Hill, NC	+10	80	74		154
CUT	Patrick Langdon	Charlotte, NC	+10	77	77		154
CUT	Steven Shea	Charlotte, NC	+10	75	79		154
CUT	Travon Willis	Indian Trail, NC	+10	75	79		154
CUT	Holland Giles	Pinehurst, NC	+11	81	74		155
CUT	Brandon Reece	Rolesville, NC	+11	77	78		155
CUT	Bryan Fang	Raleigh, NC	+11	76	79		155
CUT	Colin Trahan	North Augusta, SC	+11	80	75		155
CUT	Frank Gilliam	Raleigh, NC	+11	74	81		155
CUT	Jeremy Milton	Lillington, NC	+11	73	82		155
CUT	Josh Newman	Charlotte, NC	+11	76	79		155
CUT	Karsten Shields	Monroe, NC	+11	77	78		155
CUT	Kris Jackson	Greenville, NC	+11	78	77		155
CUT	Stephen Helton	Clayton, NC	+11	71	84		155
CUT	Chris Holland	Fayetteville, NC	+12	80	76		156
CUT	Jayson Jennings	Fuquay Varina, NC	+12	80	76		156
CUT	Jon Eichstaedt	Charlotte, NC	+12	79	77		156
CUT	Kyle Austin	Raleigh, NC	+12	76	80		156
CUT	Will Hawley	Raleigh, NC	+12	79	77		156
CUT	Alex Campbell	Charlotte, NC	+12	80	76		156
CUT	Carter Rains	Greenville, NC	+12	78	78		156
CUT	Chandler Perry	Clinton, NC	+12	78	78		156
CUT	Kyle Kushnir	Raleigh, NC	+12	79	77		156
CUT	Patrick Bridges	Clayton, NC	+12	77	79		156
CUT	Chris Lee	Garner, NC	+13	81	76		157
CUT	Felix van Kleef	Hilton Head, SC	+13	76	81		157
CUT	Jennings Glenn	Raleigh, NC	+13	79	78		157
CUT	Kenny Stewart	Lillington, NC	+13	77	80		157
CUT	Peter Bowie	Asheville, NC	+13	81	76		157
CUT	Stewart Wise	Lillington, NC	+13	77	80		157
CUT	Stuart Fuller	Winston-Salem, NC	+13	78	79		157
CUT	Trey Schneider	Mooresville, NC	+13	78	79		157
CUT	Andrew Perry	Fuquay-Varina, NC	+13	79	78		157
CUT	Jonathan Hockaday	Sanford, NC	+13	80	77		157
CUT	Will Dalton	Cornelius, NC	+13	77	80		157
CUT	Clay Watkins	Mebane, NC	+14	82	76		158
CUT	Sam Davidson	Asheboro, NC	+14	78	80		158
CUT	Ayush Bodhale	Huntersville, NC	+14	80	78		158
CUT	Dalton Mauldin	Sanford, NC	+14	78	80		158
CUT	David Gibson	Lexington, SC	+14	79	79		158
CUT	Ethan Hall	Morehead City, NC	+14	77	81		158
CUT	Jackson Steiner	Charlotte, NC	+14	78	80		158
CUT	Josh Nichols	Morrisville, NC	+14	80	78		158
CUT	MInor Hinson	Charlotte, NC	+14	80	78		158
CUT	Bryce Aronson	Raleigh, NC	+15	79	80		159
CUT	Kenneth Kavanaugh	Carolina Beach, NC	+16	81	79		160
CUT	Robbie Perry	Fuquay Varina, NC	+16	80	80		160
CUT	Sam Wilson	Davidson, NC	+16	84	76		160
CUT	David Banks	Richlands, NC	+16	79	81		160
CUT	David Hrubala	Spartanburg, SC	+16	80	80		160
CUT	George Whiting	Raleigh, NC	+16	82	78		160
CUT	Brandon Jones	Sanford, NC	+17	83	78		161
CUT	Hank Robins	Salisbury, NC	+17	80	81		161
CUT	Jack Dannemann	Charlotte, NC	+17	82	79		161
CUT	Justin Bode	Pinehurst, NC	+17	79	82		161
CUT	Paul Yamane	Winston-Salem, NC	+17	81	80		161
CUT	Solomon Park	Greensboro, NC	+17	77	84		161
CUT	Christian Bailey	Matthews, NC	+18	87	75		162
CUT	Teddy Sluser	Pinehurst, NC	+18	79	83		162
CUT	Will Warner	Pinehurst, NC	+18	82	80		162
CUT	Luke Guthrie	Charlotte, NC	+18	82	80		162
CUT	Avery Papalia	Kernersville, NC	+19	75	88		163
CUT	Brandon Miller	Winston-Salem, NC	+19	80	83		163
CUT	Luke Michael	Trinity, NC	+19	79	84		163
CUT	Luke Perrino	Mooresville, NC	+19	85	78		163
CUT	Noah Maness	Troy, NC	+19	82	81		163
CUT	William Phipps	Florence, SC	+19	84	79		163
CUT	Caleb Click	Fair Bluff, NC	+19	77	86		163
CUT	Parker Truesdale	Canton, NC	+19	79	84		163
CUT	Sumner Alford	Fuquay Varina, NC	+20	81	83		164
CUT	Cameron Hardison	Greenville, NC	+20	84	80		164
CUT	Parker Shimp	Charlotte, NC	+20	82	82		164
CUT	Micah Alexander	Durham, NC	+21	82	83		165
CUT	Austin Mosher	Mount Pleasant, SC	+22	83	83		166
CUT	Paul Slomkowski	Colfax, NC	+22	82	84		166
CUT	Ryan Macri	Wake Forest, NC	+22	82	84		166
CUT	Marshall Fowle	Fuquay-Varina, NC	+22	86	80		166
CUT	Jeff Manley	Raleigh, NC	+23	79	88		167
CUT	Nicholas Clemente	Raleigh, NC	+23	84	83		167
CUT	Randy Poteat	Wendell, NC	+23	83	84		167
CUT	Whit Howard	Raleigh, NC	+23	81	86		167
CUT	David Reid	Winston-Salem, NC	+24	86	82		168
CUT	Stuart Augustine	Fayetteville, NC	+24	87	81		168
CUT	John Bennett	Forest City, NC	+24	82	86		168
CUT	Vic Ruotolo	Charlotte, NC	+29	86	87		173
CUT	Kevin Mininni	Burgaw, NC	+32	87	89		176
CUT	Codey Adams	Kernersville, NC	+33	91	86		177
CUT	Drew Haywood	Chapel Hill, NC	+33	87	90		177
CUT	Blake Pooley	Clayton, NC	+36	92	88		180
CUT	Zachary Gehr	Cary, NC	+36	88	92		180
CUT	Jonathan Bettenhausen	Raleigh, NC	+39	91	92		183
CUT	Shawn Matthews	Clinton, NC	+39	88	95		183
CUT	Justin Jenkins	Matthews, NC	+46	95	95		190
CUT	Josh King	Burnsville, NC	+47	99	92		191
CUT	Stephen Pierpoint	Fayetteville, NC	+62	101	105		206
WD	Rik Wall	Greensboro, NC	-	83	WD		WD
WD	Ben Esposito	Pittsboro, NC	-	86	WD		WD
WD	Sandy Lamarre	Raleigh, NC	-	87	WD		WD
WD	Chris Luoma	Morrisville, NC	-	88	WD		WD
WD	Eston Lee	Four Oaks, NC	-	92	WD		WD
WD	Cody Fullinwider	Raleigh, NC	-	WD	WD		WD

 

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.

 

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