Szabo Battles His Way to Victory at 48th South Carolina Junior Boys' Match Play

 

Event: 48th South Carolina Junior Boys Match Play Championship

Host Site: The Wildewood Club, Columbia S.C.

Playing Dates: July 9th-12th

Social Media: @CGAgolf1909

 

Related: Championship Website  | Scoring |  History  |  Photos

 

COLUMBIA, S.C - Congratulations to Dawson Szabo of Greer, S.C for winning the 48th South Carolina Junior Boys’ Match Play Championship at The Wildewood Club. Szabo won the championship match 2 & 1 over runner-up Tyler Taber of Mount Pleasant, S.C. Szabo played seven matches over the course of four days. He did not lose a single match on his way to his first CGA victory.

    Szabo entered his semifinal match on friday playing Owen Atkinson of Columbia, S.C. The two battled back and forth until the par-5 15th hole. Heading into the hole tied, Szabo sank a monster 30-foot birdie putt to win the hole. After also winning the 16th hole, Szabo hit a clutch wedge shot to 10 feet on the 17th. He easily made the putt to win 3 & 1 against a very formidable opponent. 

    After a quick break for lunch, Szabo entered the championship match with Taber. Szabo quickly found himself 2-down through three holes after Taber made a birdie on the par-3 third hole. From here, Szabo knew what he needed to do to win.

“I really just knew that if I played consistently, it was all going to pan out. I was striking it great and putting it great. I just tried to focus on one shot at a time.” Szabo said in response to going down two through three holes. 

    From here, Szabo was locked in. He made birdie on the 4th, 7th, and 9th holes to take a 1-up lead into the turn. Szabo added wins on holes 10 and 11 to take a 3-up lead. Despite this, Taber refused to back down, and eventually brought the match back within one. 

On the 17th hole and with a 1-up lead, Szabo easily hit the fairway and the green, a testament to his strong iron play all day. Then, just like in the semi-final, Szabo drained a long putt on 17 to seal his victory and win the championship.

    When asked about how he felt after the round, Szabo said: “I feel great, it was a really good battle, and Tyler gave me a really great fight. It was just fun, really fun.” 

    The competition was incredibly fierce once again at this tournament, with plenty of strong players in the field and competitive matches throughout. Thank you to all of the players who came out to compete in the tournament. 

    The CGA would also thank The Wildewood Club’s General Manager Kyle Gregory and Course Superintendent Kyle Matthias for their help in putting on a great tournament. 

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1909 to promote and protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support, and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is one of the largest golf associations in the country, with over 700 member clubs represented by over 200,000 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 and 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 over $3,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives, including junior, women and adaptive programs.

For more information about the Carolinas Golf Association, follow @cgagolf1909 on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok or visit our website www.carolinasgolf.org/

 

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