Mathews Claims 61st North Carolina Amateur

 

In a Sunday that was filled with intrigue, drama, and plenty of inclement weather, Nicholas Mathews of Mebane, N.C. was able to rise above it all to become the 61st North Carolina Amateur Champion.

 

It’s great,” said Mathews. “I’m really honored and very excited that I got the job done.” 

 

Starting the day four shots back of the leader Ben Woodruff of Huntersville, N.C. Mathews played his game as he had all week. After an early bogey on the Par-3 2nd hole, he immediately got it right back with a birdie at the Par-5 3rd. Birdies on holes six, seven and nine would see Mathews make the turn with a 3-under-par, 33, and firmly in contention with an opportunity for a back nine charge. 

 

After another birdie at the Par-5 11th, Mathews would hit a small patch of adversity with bogeys on holes 12 and 15, that would see him fall two shots back of new leader Nick Lyerly of Salisbury, N.C., who sat at 9-under-par. This pivotal stretch was where Mathews looked his coolest. A mammoth drive on the 16th would see the NC State rising sophomore flipping a wedge to mere feet for a kick-in birdie. Another good tee ball on the Par-3 17th gave Mathews another birdie chance, this time from 20 feet. Sensing an opportunity to draw level with Lyerly, Mathews put a confident stroke on his putt, walking in the birdie to get to 9-under-par and tied for the lead with a hole remaining. Both competitors would par the finishing Par-4 18th, and it seemed as if a playoff was destined. 

 

“I birdied 16 and 17 which were huge,” said Mathews. “I hit a wedge stiff on 16 and then made about a 20 to 25 footer on 17 which pushed me in the right way. It was really good.” 

 

The playoff would last one hole, with Mathews rolling in a two-putt par to grab hold of the North Carolina Amateur Championship. This is his second CGA Championship title, with the first being the 11th North Carolina Amateur Match Play last August. He will be looking to defend that title this year at Forsyth Country Club. 

 

“It feels awesome,” said Mathews. “Especially to get it done here at Lonnie Poole which is our home course. It's great. It was a really fun week. I executed my game plan everyday so it was a lot of fun.” 

 

Lyerly claimed runner-up in the 61st playing of the North Carolina Amateur Championship, and played a phenomenal final round with a score of 5-under-par, 67. Kurtis Grant of Southern Pines, N.C. would finish in third place with a cumulative score of 6-under-par while Woodruff,  Tim Bunten of Concord, N.C., and Spencer Oxendine of Fayetteville, N.C., would finish in a tie for fourth at 4-under-par. 

 

The Carolinas Golf Association would like to thank the members and staff at Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University, especially, General Manager Chip Watson, Director of Golf Nick Dillman and Director of Golf Course Maintenance Brian Green for graciously hosting the 61st North Carolina Amateur Championship. 

 

61st North Carolina Amateur Championship

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

Final Results
 

Pos.	Player	City, State	To Par	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Details
T1	Nicholas Mathews	Mebane, NC	-9	71	70	70	68	279	Won on first playoff hole (No. 18)
2	Nick Lyerly	Salisbury, NC	-9	73	69	70	67	279
3	Kurtis Grant	Southern Pines, NC	-6	71	70	72	69	282
T4	Tim Bunten	Concord, NC	-4	74	73	67	70	284
T4	Ben Woodruff	Huntersville, NC	-4	71	68	68	77	284
T4	Spencer Oxendine	Fayetteville, NC	-4	69	78	64	73	284
7	Nic Brown	Wendell, NC	-3	74	72	67	72	285
8	Andy Knox	Apex, NC	-2	75	70	71	70	286
T9	Noah Connor	Reidsville, NC	-1	75	66	78	68	287
T9	Bryson Boyette	Wilson, NC	-1	72	75	71	69	287
T9	Maddox Whittington	Lenoir, NC	-1	74	72	71	70	287
T9	Davis Womble	Winston-Salem, NC	-1	78	68	70	71	287
T9	David Sargent	Cornelius, NC	-1	72	68	74	73	287
T14	Garrett Risner	Holly Springs, NC	E	73	75	70	70	288
T14	Columb Knight	Raleigh, NC	E	70	73	72	73	288
T14	Cyrus Stewart	Raleigh, NC	E	74	68	69	77	288
17	Colin Browning	Charlotte, NC	+1	71	74	74	70	289
T18	Stephen Carroll	Concord, NC	+2	73	71	73	73	290
T18	Jake Scruggs	Shelby, NC	+2	73	71	72	74	290
T20	Symon Balbin	Pinehurst, NC	+3	75	71	74	71	291
T20	Justin Morgan	Denver, NC	+3	71	75	73	72	291
T20	Mark Olbrych	Raleigh, NC	+3	75	70	72	74	291
T23	Stuart Fuller	Winston-Salem, NC	+4	73	75	70	74	292
T23	Nolan Mills IV	Charlotte, NC	+4	73	77	73	69	292
T25	Connor Armistead	Charlotte, NC	+5	75	72	73	73	293
T25	Randall Hudson	New Bern, NC	+5	74	70	77	72	293
T25	Matthew Younts	Greensboro, NC	+5	74	72	76	71	293
T28	Collin Adams	Charlotte, NC	+6	72	73	75	74	294
T28	AJ Shaffer	Horse Shoe, NC	+6	72	70	76	76	294
T28	Joe Jaspers	Huntersville, NC	+6	71	76	75	72	294
T28	Grayson Wotnosky	Wake Forest, NC	+6	71	76	77	70	294
T28	Thomas Bonney	Greensboro, NC	+6	75	75	75	69	294
T33	Ryan Blair	Charlotte, NC	+7	76	74	71	74	295
T33	August Lascola	Durham, NC	+7	76	73	73	73	295
T35	Addison Beam	Cherryville, NC	+8	78	71	71	76	296
T35	Daniel Bowden	Wilmington, NC	+8	78	71	71	76	296
T35	Graham Chase	Charlotte, NC	+8	73	75	73	75	296
T35	Clayson Good	Durham, NC	+8	70	76	72	78	296
T39	Jake Herring	Wilson, NC	+9	71	79	70	77	297
T39	Caleb Keck	Concord, NC	+9	72	74	74	77	297
T39	Caden Baker	Mebane, NC	+9	76	71	73	77	297
T39	Kenan Poole	Raleigh, NC	+9	74	68	80	75	297
T39	David Gies	Pineville, NC	+9	73	73	72	79	297
T39	Connor Jones	Raleigh, NC	+9	73	75	75	74	297
T39	Jack Heath	Charlotte, NC	+9	74	70	81	72	297
T39	Anthony Conn	Raleigh, NC	+9	73	75	79	70	297
T47	Carter Busse	Davidson, NC	+10	74	73	71	80	298
T47	Jason Gabriel	Claremont, NC	+10	73	76	73	76	298
T47	JD McNeill	Raleigh, NC	+10	74	74	74	76	298
T50	Tyler Jones	Jacksonville, NC	+11	73	77	71	78	299
T50	Patrick Stephenson	Four Oaks, NC	+11	71	78	72	78	299
T50	Jake Conklin	Cary, NC	+11	74	73	75	77	299
T53	Keenan Royalty	Raleigh, NC	+12	73	76	72	79	300
T53	Chad Wilfong	Charlotte, NC	+12	74	74	74	78	300
55	Grady Newton	Wallburg, NC	+14	73	76	75	78	302
56	Joe Brooks	Franklin, NC	+16	75	75	75	79	304
57	Noah Bumgarner	Lenoir, NC	+17	75	72	74	84	305
T58	A.J. Beechler	Pinehurst, NC	+18	75	75	77	79	306
T58	Jake Clodfelter	Trinity, NC	+18	77	69	84	76	306
60	Harcourt Settle	Raleigh, NC	+19	76	71	83	77	307
61	Spencer Roberts	Cary, NC	+33	75	75	84	87	321
WD	Kevin O'Connell	Apex, NC	-	72	69	78	WD	WD
The following players did not make the cut
CUT	Grady Anderson	Greenville, NC	+7	73	78			151
CUT	Holt Allison	Conover, NC	+7	75	76			151
CUT	Timothy Driver	Holly Springs, NC	+7	70	81			151
CUT	Brandon Reece	Rolesville, NC	+7	75	76			151
CUT	Addison Lambeth	Browns Summit, NC	+8	79	73			152
CUT	Austin Bonfiglio	holly springs, NC	+8	79	73			152
CUT	Connor Brown	Cherryville, NC	+8	73	79			152
CUT	Jerell Fields	Pineville, NC	+8	81	71			152
CUT	Walker Taylor	Wilmington, NC	+8	74	78			152
CUT	Ben Morehead	Charlotte, NC	+8	77	75			152
CUT	Christopher Sperrazza	Raleigh, NC	+8	74	78			152
CUT	Cole Sutherland	Charlotte, NC	+8	80	72			152
CUT	Evan Boyer	Morrisville, NC	+8	76	76			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	Andrew Ward	Charlotte, NC	+9	76	77			153
CUT	Carter Rains	Greenville, NC	+9	77	76			153
CUT	Will Tharin	Rocky Mount, NC	+9	76	77			153
CUT	Chad Fultz	Charlotte, NC, NC	+10	78	76			154
CUT	Jake Clayton	Burlington, NC	+10	84	70			154
CUT	Jerry Richardson	Cary, NC	+10	76	78			154
CUT	Justin Guilford	Davidson, NC	+10	75	79			154
CUT	Pearse Lucas	Charlotte, NC	+10	75	79			154
CUT	Ryan O'Neil	Waxhaw, NC	+10	81	73			154
CUT	Zac Lewis	Winnabow, NC	+10	75	79			154
CUT	Alex Campbell	Charlotte, NC	+10	79	75			154
CUT	Andrew Gates	Greensboro, NC	+10	81	73			154
CUT	Carter Boulia	Cary, NC	+10	79	75			154
CUT	Daniel Neveu	Pinehurst, NC	+10	76	78			154
CUT	Davis Spradling	Clayton, NC	+10	77	77			154
CUT	Lexton Ford	Lenoir, NC	+10	78	76			154
CUT	Zach Swink	Whitsett, NC	+10	81	73			154
CUT	Jackson Brimfield	Chapel Hill, NC	+11	76	79			155
CUT	Mitchell Tanis	Pineville, NC	+11	76	79			155
CUT	Michael Childress	Salisbury, NC	+11	79	76			155
CUT	Bruce Bevins	Matthews, NC	+12	77	79			156
CUT	Calvin Hawkins	Lexington, NC	+12	77	79			156
CUT	Brad Clark	Durham, NC	+12	77	79			156
CUT	Charlie Fetter	Charlotte, NC	+12	75	81			156
CUT	Christopher Blum	Raleigh, NC	+12	78	78			156
CUT	Keith Early	Charlotte, NC	+12	80	76			156
CUT	Matias La Grutta	Cary, NC	+12	76	80			156
CUT	Josh Lendach	Raleigh, NC	+13	78	79			157
CUT	Landon Hawley	Charlotte, NC	+13	79	78			157
CUT	Attie Giles	Pinehurst, NC	+13	75	82			157
CUT	Brady Eckard	Conover, NC	+13	81	76			157
CUT	Evan Mendyk	Summerfield, NC	+13	80	77			157
CUT	Jim Aughtry	Concord, NC	+13	76	81			157
CUT	Jay Roberts	Concord, NC	+14	73	85			158
CUT	Jordan Smith	Summerfield, NC	+14	83	75			158
CUT	Stephen Helton	Clayton, NC	+14	81	77			158
CUT	Casey Osiecki	New Bern, NC	+15	81	78			159
CUT	Dustin Moore	Burlington, NC	+15	82	77			159
CUT	Bob McGee	Cary, NC	+16	81	79			160
CUT	Jack Anderson	Charlotte, NC	+16	80	80			160
CUT	William Buchanan	Greensboro, NC	+16	77	83			160
CUT	William Locey	Charlotte, NC	+16	76	84			160
CUT	Dexter Rice	Charlotte, NC	+17	86	75			161
CUT	Tommy Lamb	Cary, NC	+17	78	83			161
CUT	Chad Parris	Charlotte, NC	+18	82	80			162
CUT	Luke Nelson	Raleigh, NC	+18	80	82			162
CUT	Avery Papalia	Kernersville, NC	+18	82	80			162
CUT	Daniel Jackson	Indian Trail, NC	+18	84	78			162
CUT	Gary Pugh	Asheboro, NC	+18	80	82			162
CUT	Matthew Spak	Cary, NC	+19	79	84			163
CUT	Adam Kersey	Hickory, NC	+19	81	82			163
CUT	Cole Howard	Benson, NC	+20	84	80			164
CUT	Justin Nagy	Holly Springs, NC	+20	83	81			164
CUT	Chris Bitzenhofer	Mount Olive, NC	+21	85	80			165
CUT	Austin Alexander	Rutherfordton, NC	+22	86	80			166
CUT	Andrew Haarlow	Greensboro, NC	+24	83	85			168
CUT	Bobby Scarboro	Rolesville, NC	+24	81	87			168
CUT	Sam Terry	Thomasville, NC	+24	85	83			168
CUT	Eli Kinlaw	Mount Holly, NC	+28	86	86			172
WD	Wade Boteler	Burlington, NC	-	75	WD			WD
WD	Chase Clayton	Locust, NC	-	WD	WD			WD
WD	Zach Roberts	Holly Springs, 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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