Carolinas Team Ready to Face Virginias

Carolinas Set Team for the 70^th Captain’s Putter Matches
Top Carolinas players will compete against Virginias team in Winston-Salem

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. – Top point-earners in the Carolinas Men’s and Senior Men’s Amateur player rankings and past champions headline a contingent of 24 golfers who will represent the Carolinas team against their Virginias counterparts at the 70th Captain’s Putter Matches, set for Friday-Saturday, Oct. 16-17 at Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, NC. Nine players return from last year’s Carolinas team, which lost by one point.

Following Coore & Crenshaw's Perry Maxwell restoration, Old Town Club debuts in GOLF Magazine's 2015-2016 list of "The Top 100 Golf Courses in the United States". Having already been honored as the 27th best "Classic" design in America by Golfweek Magazine earlier this year, GOLF Magazine now ranks Old Town as the 78th best course overall in the country.

Carolinas Regular Team (years selected)
Steven	Brame	Henderson	N.C.	(2)
Sherrill	Britt	West End	N.C.	(5)
Chris	Cassetta	Winston-Salem	N.C.	(3)
Matthew	Crenshaw	Burlington	N.C.	(4)
Greg	Earnhardt	Greensboro	N.C.	(3)
Matt	Elliott	Wilkesboro	N.C.	(1)
Jarrett	Grimes	Columbia	S.C.	(5)
Uly	Grisette	Winston-Salem	N.C.	(5)
Scott	Harvey	Greensboro	N.C.	(8)
Steve	Harwell	Davidson	N.C.	(9)
Robert	Lutomski	Mauldin	S.C.	(1)
Chris	Mitchell	Prosperity	S.C.	(8)
Daniel	Neveu	Pinehurst	N.C.	(1)
Tee	Opperman	Pawleys Island	S.C.	(2)
Justin	Tereshko	Jamestown	N.C.	(1)
Thomas	Todd	Laurens	S.C.	(1)

Carolinas Senior Team (years selected)
Rick	Cloninger	Fort Mill	S.C.	(7)
Jim	Grainger	Charlotte	N.C.	(5)
Russ	Perry	Winston-Salem	N.C.	(5)
Gary	Robinson	Fayetteville	N.C.	(6)
Paul	Simson	Raleigh	N.C.	(26)
Pat	Thompson	Asheville	N.C.	(3)
Walter	Todd, Sr.	Laurens	S.C.	(11)
Keith	Waters	Raleigh	N.C.	(5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regular Team:

Headlining the team is Scott Harvey, 37, of Greensboro, N.C., the #1 ranked amateur in the Carolinas. The four-time Carolinas Player of the Year has had a memorable 2015 golf season. His win at the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur earned him an invitation to the 2015 Masters. He and partner Todd Mitchell of Illinois reached the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at The Olympic Club. Harvey won the 2015 South American Amateur in Lima, Peru, by two strokes and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Amateur. He won the 2015 Carolinas Club Championship with Eric Ferguson of Sedgefield Country Club. Harvey has played in 17 USGA championships. In last week's U.S. Mid-Amateur, he earned co-medalist honors and advanced to the match play Round of 32. His year was highlighted a few weeks ago when he competed on the 2015 USA Walker Cup squad at Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in England.  

Carolinas golfers see plenty of each other throughout amateur competition, as both fellow-competitors and teammates. Harvey and Mitchell were knocked out of the U.S. Four-Ball semifinals by Sherrill Britt, 50, of West End, N.C. and Greg Earnhardt, 46, of Greensboro, N.C. In 2015, Britt (Carolinas Mid-Am) and Earnhardt (NC Mid-Am) each won their first CGA championship.

Four players are making their first Captain's Putter appearance. Justin Tereshko, 25, of Jamestown, N.C., recently completed his first season as the men’s golf coach at Guilford College. Tereshko, who reached the Round of 32 in the 2014 U.S. Amateur and Round of 64 in the 2015 U.S. Mid-Am, was the runner-up in the 2015 NC Amateur and won the NC Open by five strokes, including a second-round 61. Matt Elliott, 22, of Wilkesboro, N.C., placed fifth at the Carolinas Open, tied for 19th at the Carolinas Amateur and made the Round of 32 at the NC Amateur Match Play. Robert Lutomski, 34, of Mauldin, S.C., was stroke play medalist at the 2015 SC Amateur Match Play and tied for eighth at the Carolinas Mid-Am. Thomas Todd, III, 28, of Laurens, S.C., earned medalist honors at his qualifier for the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur and tied for fourth at the SC Amateur Championship.

After a 2014 season when Matthew Crenshaw, 33, of Burlington, N.C. claimed two CGA victories, he had wrist surgery which postponed his return to competitive golf until late this summer. At the NC Mid-Amateur, he showed that he had recovered, finishing in second place. Chris Cassetta, 42, of Winston Salem, N.C. qualified for the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur. In last year's NC Four-Ball, Cassetta and partner David Gies, II were runners-up. Uly Grisette, 49, of Winston-Salem, N.C., a three-time CGA champion, placed 12th at the NC Amateur and 23rd at the Carolinas Mid-Amateur.

Tee Opperman, 34, of Pawleys Island, S.C., qualified for the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur by making an ace on the second playoff hole of his qualifier. Opperman tied for second at the 2015 Carolinas Mid-Am. The other runner-up, Chris Mitchell, 42, of Prosperity, S.C. advanced to the Round of 32  the Carolinas Four-Ball with partner Jarrett Grimes, 43, of Columbia, S.C. Borth Grimes and Mitchell made the Round of 32 at the SC Amateur Match Play.

Steven Brame, 33, of Henderson, N.C., tied for third at the 2015 NC Mid-Am and advanced to the Round of 16 at the NC Match Play. Also making the Round of 16 at the NC Match Play was Daniel Neveu, 48, of Pinehurst, N.C. In addition, Neveu finished tied for 12th at the Carolinas Mid-Amateur, tied for tenth at the NC Mid-Amateur. Steve Harwell, 52, of Davidson, N.C., advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and finished 13th at the Cardinal Amateur.

Senior Team:
In the eight-player senior portion, 29-time CGA champion Paul Simson, 64, of Raleigh, N.C., will be playing in his 26th Captain's Putter Team Match. This year the No. 1 ranked Carolinas Senior golfer won both the NC Senior Amateur and the Senior Men's North & South Amateur. He also had runner-up finishes at the 2015 Canadian Senior Amateur and Low Country Senior Amateur. In his career, Simson has won two U.S. Senior Amateurs (2010, 2012) and claimed three Seniors Amateur titles (2006, 2008, 2010), conducted by The R&A.

The second ranked senior, Gary Robinson, 56, of Fayetteville, N.C., a five-time CGA champ, won this year's NC Senior Four-Ball with Keith Waters, 57, of Raleigh, N.C., who also won the CPGA Senior (Amateur) Championship. The duo finished runner-up at the Carolinas Senior Four-Ball to Charlotte, N.C. native Jim Grainger, 59, and Rick Cloninger, 58, of Fort Mill, S.C. Grainger was runner-up to Simson at the NC Senior and Cloninger finished second at the Carolinas Senior Amateur to Pat Thompson, 57, of Asheville, N.C., who also won the Low Country Senior Invitational.

Walter Todd, Sr., 55, of Laurens, S.C. makes his first appearance as a senior after ten appearances on the regular team. Walter is Thomas Todd, III's uncle. The two teamed together to win the 2009 Carolinas Four-Ball. This year, Walter won the Carolinas Father-Son and SCGA Senior Better Ball championships. Russ Perry, 64, of Winston Salem, N.C. had third place finishes at the Carolinas Senior Amateur, CPGA Senior (Amateur) Championship, and Carolinas Senior Four-Ball with partner Mark Stephens.

The Carolinas team will be led by Dr. J. Richard Dosek (Advance, N.C.). Dosek is the immediate past CGA president (2012-13).

About the Captain's Putter Team Matches Virginias Team Roster

The matches consist of two days of competition, with opening round four-ball and foursome matches (Friday, Oct. 16), followed by final-day singles matches (Saturday, Oct. 17). A victory in each match scores one point in the Ryder Cup-style format, and if a match goes 18 holes without a decision, one-half point is awarded to each side. Live scoring of this year’s matches can be found via: https://www.ghintpp.com/carolinasgolf/TPPOnlineScoring/ResultsMatch.aspx?id=1535

Last year’s Captain’s Putter matches produced a close final result as the Virginias team notched a one-point victory (24½-23½) at The Club at Creighton Farms in Aldie, VA. Virginias retained the Captain’s Putter Trophy awarded to the champions and captured its fourth straight victory in the matches, a first in the history of the event for Virginias.

Team Virginias, owner of a one-point advantage following first day four-ball and foursome matches, kept that narrow lead after the two teams split 24 singles’ encounters, 12-12 to claim the one point win. Over the two days of matches, Virginias’ regulars outscored their opponents by four points (18-14), while Carolinas’ seniors held a three-point advantage (9½-6½). The one-point margin of victory was the closest since the event went to a one-point per match format in 2002.

The CGA will post any tournament delays or cancellations via our Twitter account.
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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.

Now in its 106th year, the CGA annually conducts 43 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 140 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 more than $1,500,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.    

For more information about the CGA, visit www.carolinasgolf.org.

 

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