Woodruff Charges to the N.C. Amateur Lead

 

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 18, 2021) -- Second round results of the 61st North Carolina Amateur Championship at Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. on June 18, 2021. The field is competing at 7,228 yards (par 36-36--72).

 

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

 

As expected, the second round of the 61st North Carolina Amateur Championship brought high-level competition and low scores. With opening round jitters out of the way, the putts began to drop and several competitors carded as low as 5 and 6-under-par rounds in an effort to distance themselves from the cut line and get into contention for the weekend.


Ben Woodruff of Huntersville, N.C. fired off a 4-under-par, 68 in the second round today to take a one shot lead entering the third round at 5-under-par, 139 overall. The Charlotte 49ers rising senior started his round on the back nine, which has provided a tougher test than the front nine for the field this week.


“I think the fine line there is, can you be tough enough to deal with not getting off to a hot start by starting on the back side? I just kept telling myself ‘you’re on the tougher side, stay patient and don’t force anything,’” said Woodruff. “Then when I got to the front, I knew that I could loosen up a little bit and take advantage of the par-5s and a few wedge holes.”


Woodruff made the turn at even-par, 36 and started to get things rolling on his inward nine with a birdie right off the bat on No. 1. That was followed by three more on Nos. 3, 4 and 7 to close out his back nine at a clean 4-under-par, 32. He currently leads the field by one stroke entering the weekend. Woodruff remarked, “I am excited about leading, but there is still work to do and I am ready to get into it over the next two days.”


David Sargent of Cornelius, N.C. also shot 4-under-par, 68 to secure solo second position heading into the weekend. He got off to a hot start carding birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 to get the momentum going. Sargent remarked, “I didn’t play that well yesterday, so getting off to a good start today was the catalyst for the round.”


Making another birdie on No. 7, Sargent made the turn with a clean 3-under-par, 33 front nine. He took that same consistent play into the back nine starting and finishing it with birdies on Nos. 10 and 18. Sargent is now one shot back from the lead at 4-under-par, 140 overall.
 

There is a four-way-tie for third position between Noah Connor of Reidsville, N.C., Kurtis Grant of Southern Pines, N.C., Kevin O’Connell of Apex, N.C. and Nicholas Mathews of Mebane, N.C. who all finished the day at 3-under-par, 141 total.


Connor, a rising sophomore at UNC Greensboro, fired off the low round of the event so far with an outstanding 6-under-par, 66 in the second round. He went on a birdie spree carding five consecutive birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.


“It wasn’t that I was hitting perfect shots the whole time,” said Connor. “I just couldn’t miss my putts. I hit some real decent approaches. I had 12 feet on 13, six feet on 14 and three feet on 15 for birdie. That was really nice.” By the end of the day, he rose from tied for 51st to tied for third, completely bypassing the cut line on his way up.


Rising sophomore on the N.C. State men’s golf team, Nicholas Mathews is also tied for third position after a cool 2-under-par, 70 in Friday’s round. He has a simple game plan entering the third round that has proven to work for him thus far.


“At the end of the day I’m just trying to hit each shot as well as I can. Obviously it is going to be different being here on the weekend and in the final groups, but my goal is just to treat it as I do every other round,” said Mathews. “I want to focus on how well I can hit each shot and how well I can commit to each shot. From there, whatever happens happens.”


There are nine other players that are under-par or even-par after the first two days of competition that are still well within striking distance of the lead. With such a deep and talented field this year, the cut line fell at only 6-over-par, 150 overall and 62 competitors will contend in the third round and final round on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

The second round will begin tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. with starting times until 9:50 a.m. off of Nos. 1 and 10. Stay tuned to our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook tomorrow for live coverage of the third round of the 61st North Carolina Amateur Championship. 

 

61st North Carolina Amateur Championship

Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.

Second Round Results

 

Pos.	Player	City, State	To Par	R1	R2	Total
1	Ben Woodruff	Huntersville, NC	-5	71	68	139
2	David Sargent	Cornelius, NC	-4	72	68	140
T3	Noah Connor	Reidsville, NC	-3	75	66	141
T3	Kurtis Grant	Southern Pines, NC	-3	71	70	141
T3	Kevin O'Connell	Apex, NC	-3	72	69	141
T3	Nicholas Mathews	Mebane, NC	-3	71	70	141
T7	Kenan Poole	Raleigh, NC	-2	74	68	142
T7	Cyrus Stewart	Raleigh, NC	-2	74	68	142
T7	Nick Lyerly	Salisbury, NC	-2	73	69	142
T7	AJ Shaffer	Horse Shoe, NC	-2	72	70	142
11	Columb Knight	Raleigh, NC	-1	70	73	143
T12	Jake Scruggs	Shelby, NC	E	73	71	144
T12	Randall Hudson	New Bern, NC	E	74	70	144
T12	Stephen Carroll	Concord, NC	E	73	71	144
T12	Jack Heath	Charlotte, NC	E	74	70	144
T16	Colin Browning	Charlotte, NC	+1	71	74	145
T16	Collin Adams	Charlotte, NC	+1	72	73	145
T16	Mark Olbrych	Raleigh, NC	+1	75	70	145
T16	Andy Knox	Apex, NC	+1	75	70	145
T20	Justin Morgan	Denver, NC	+2	71	75	146
T20	Clayson Good	Durham, NC	+2	70	76	146
T20	Symon Balbin	Pinehurst, NC	+2	75	71	146
T20	Nic Brown	Wendell, NC	+2	74	72	146
T20	Matthew Younts	Greensboro, NC	+2	74	72	146
T20	Davis Womble	Winston-Salem, NC	+2	78	68	146
T20	David Gies	Pineville, NC	+2	73	73	146
T20	Maddox Whittington	Lenoir, NC	+2	74	72	146
T20	Jake Clodfelter	Trinity, NC	+2	77	69	146
T20	Caleb Keck	Concord, NC	+2	72	74	146
T30	Caden Baker	Mebane, NC	+3	76	71	147
T30	Joe Jaspers	Huntersville, NC	+3	71	76	147
T30	Connor Armistead	Charlotte, NC	+3	75	72	147
T30	Grayson Wotnosky	Wake Forest, NC	+3	71	76	147
T30	Spencer Oxendine	Fayetteville, NC	+3	69	78	147
T30	Tim Bunten	Concord, NC	+3	74	73	147
T30	Harcourt Settle	Raleigh, NC	+3	76	71	147
T30	Jake Conklin	Cary, NC	+3	74	73	147
T30	Noah Bumgarner	Lenoir, NC	+3	75	72	147
T30	Carter Busse	Davidson, NC	+3	74	73	147
T30	Bryson Boyette	Wilson, NC	+3	72	75	147
T41	JD McNeill	Raleigh, NC	+4	74	74	148
T41	Garrett Risner	Holly Springs, NC	+4	73	75	148
T41	Graham Chase	Charlotte, NC	+4	73	75	148
T41	Stuart Fuller	Winston-Salem, NC	+4	73	75	148
T41	Anthony Conn	Raleigh, NC	+4	73	75	148
T41	Chad Wilfong	Charlotte, NC	+4	74	74	148
T41	Connor Jones	Raleigh, NC	+4	73	75	148
T48	August Lascola	Durham, NC	+5	76	73	149
T48	Keenan Royalty	Raleigh, NC	+5	73	76	149
T48	Addison Beam	Cherryville, NC	+5	78	71	149
T48	Grady Newton	Wallburg, NC	+5	73	76	149
T48	Patrick Stephenson	Four Oaks, NC	+5	71	78	149
T48	Jason Gabriel	Claremont, NC	+5	73	76	149
T48	Daniel Bowden	Wilmington, NC	+5	78	71	149
T55	Spencer Roberts	Cary, NC	+6	75	75	150
T55	Ryan Blair	Charlotte, NC	+6	76	74	150
T55	Nolan Mills IV	Charlotte, NC	+6	73	77	150
T55	Thomas Bonney	Greensboro, NC	+6	75	75	150
T55	A.J. Beechler	Pinehurst, NC	+6	75	75	150
T55	Jake Herring	Wilson, NC	+6	71	79	150
T55	Joe Brooks	Franklin, NC	+6	75	75	150
T55	Tyler Jones	Jacksonville, NC	+6	73	77	150
The following players did not make the cut
CUT	Brandon Reece	Rolesville, NC	+7	75	76	151
CUT	Timothy Driver	Holly Springs, NC	+7	70	81	151
CUT	Holt Allison	Conover, NC	+7	75	76	151
CUT	Grady Anderson	Greenville, NC	+7	73	78	151
CUT	Addison Lambeth	Browns Summit, NC	+8	79	73	152
CUT	Cole Sutherland	Charlotte, NC	+8	80	72	152
CUT	Connor Brown	Cherryville, NC	+8	73	79	152
CUT	Austin Bonfiglio	Holly Springs, NC	+8	79	73	152
CUT	Evan Boyer	Morrisville, NC	+8	76	76	152
CUT	Jerell Fields	Pineville, NC	+8	81	71	152
CUT	Walker Taylor	Wilmington, NC	+8	74	78	152
CUT	Christopher Sperrazza	Raleigh, NC	+8	74	78	152
CUT	Ben Morehead	Charlotte, NC	+8	77	75	152
CUT	Blake Brantley	Winston-Salem, NC	+9	79	74	153
CUT	Ryan Nagy	Raleigh, NC	+9	78	75	153
CUT	Steven Brame	Henderson, NC	+9	77	76	153
CUT	Will Tharin	Rocky Mount, NC	+9	76	77	153
CUT	Carter Rains	Greenville, NC	+9	77	76	153
CUT	Andrew Ward	Charlotte, NC	+9	76	77	153
CUT	Daniel Neveu	Pinehurst, NC	+10	76	78	154
CUT	Jake Clayton	Burlington, NC	+10	84	70	154
CUT	Ryan O'Neil	Waxhaw, NC	+10	81	73	154
CUT	Jerry Richardson	Cary, NC	+10	76	78	154
CUT	Zac Lewis	Winnabow, NC	+10	75	79	154
CUT	Davis Spradling	Clayton, NC	+10	77	77	154
CUT	Pearse Lucas	Charlotte, NC	+10	75	79	154
CUT	Zach Swink	Whitsett, NC	+10	81	73	154
CUT	Justin Guilford	Davidson, NC	+10	75	79	154
CUT	Chad Fultz	Charlotte, NC, NC	+10	78	76	154
CUT	Carter Boulia	Cary, NC	+10	79	75	154
CUT	Lexton Ford	Lenoir, NC	+10	78	76	154
CUT	Alex Campbell	Charlotte, NC	+10	79	75	154
CUT	Andrew Gates	Greensboro, NC	+10	81	73	154
CUT	Mitchell Tanis	Pineville, NC	+11	76	79	155
CUT	Michael Childress	Salisbury, NC	+11	79	76	155
CUT	Jackson Brimfield	Chapel Hill, NC	+11	76	79	155
CUT	Keith Early	Charlotte, NC	+12	80	76	156
CUT	Brad Clark	Durham, NC	+12	77	79	156
CUT	Matias La Grutta	Cary, NC	+12	76	80	156
CUT	Charlie Fetter	Charlotte, NC	+12	75	81	156
CUT	Christopher Blum	Raleigh, NC	+12	78	78	156
CUT	Calvin Hawkins	Lexington, NC	+12	77	79	156
CUT	Bruce Bevins	Matthews, NC	+12	77	79	156
CUT	Landon Hawley	Charlotte, NC	+13	79	78	157
CUT	Brady Eckard	Conover, NC	+13	81	76	157
CUT	Attie Giles	Pinehurst, NC	+13	75	82	157
CUT	Jim Aughtry	Concord, NC	+13	76	81	157
CUT	Josh Lendach	Raleigh, NC	+13	78	79	157
CUT	Evan Mendyk	Summerfield, NC	+13	80	77	157
CUT	Stephen Helton	Clayton, NC	+14	81	77	158
CUT	Jordan Smith	Summerfield, NC	+14	83	75	158
CUT	Jay Roberts	Concord, NC	+14	73	85	158
CUT	Dustin Moore	Burlington, NC	+15	82	77	159
CUT	Casey Osiecki	New Bern, NC	+15	81	78	159
CUT	William Buchanan	Greensboro, NC	+16	77	83	160
CUT	William Locey	Charlotte, NC	+16	76	84	160
CUT	Jack Anderson	Charlotte, NC	+16	80	80	160
CUT	Bob McGee	Cary, NC	+16	81	79	160
CUT	Dexter Rice	Charlotte, NC	+17	86	75	161
CUT	Tommy Lamb	Cary, NC	+17	78	83	161
CUT	Gary Pugh	Asheboro, NC	+18	80	82	162
CUT	Daniel Jackson	Indian Trail, NC	+18	84	78	162
CUT	Luke Nelson	Raleigh, NC	+18	80	82	162
CUT	Chad Parris	Charlotte, NC	+18	82	80	162
CUT	Avery Papalia	Kernersville, NC	+18	82	80	162
CUT	Adam Kersey	Hickory, NC	+19	81	82	163
CUT	Matthew Spak	Cary, NC	+19	79	84	163
CUT	Justin Nagy	Holly Springs, NC	+20	83	81	164
CUT	Cole Howard	Benson, NC	+20	84	80	164
CUT	Chris Bitzenhofer	Mount Olive, NC	+21	85	80	165
CUT	Austin Alexander	Rutherfordton, NC	+22	86	80	166
CUT	Bobby Scarboro	Rolesville, NC	+24	81	87	168
CUT	Sam Terry	Thomasville, NC	+24	85	83	168
CUT	Andrew Haarlow	Greensboro, NC	+24	83	85	168
CUT	Eli Kinlaw	Mount Holly, NC	+28	86	86	172
WD	Wade Boteler	Burlington, NC	-	75	WD	WD
WD	Zach Roberts	Holly Springs, NC	-	WD	WD	WD
WD	Chase Clayton	Locust, NC	-	WD	WD	WD

 

 

Schedule of Rounds:

 

Saturday, June 19

Third Round - 18 Holes of Individual Stroke Play

 

Sunday, June 20

Final Round - 18 Holes of Individual 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.

 

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