54th Carolinas Senior Amateur Preview

54^th Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship Preview
Top-ranked senior players to compete at Dataw Island Club

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. -- The Carolinas Golf Association will conduct the 54^th Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship on Dataw Island Club's Cotton Dike Course from September 13-15. 

Alpha Player List

Tee Times & Pairings

Scoring (available 9/13)

The Cotton Dike Course at Dataw Island Club is hosting its second CGA championship of the year. In July, the South Carolina Junior Match Play Championship was contested there.

A series of dikes, created to generate more planting ground for 18th century plantation cotton fields, influenced the Cotton Dike course by Tom Fazio. Jenkins Creek flows by nearly half of the 18 holes, between emerald fields and fairways. In 2011 the Cotton Dike course was completely renovated.

118 players are expected to compete in the 54^th edition of the championship. Exempt players were automatically accepted while others were required to qualify through one of four 18 hole qualifiers. The championship is conducted at 54 holes of stroke play. After 36 holes, there will be a cut to the low 60 scores and ties.

Top-ranked players in the field (as of 8/1/15):

• Defending champion Jim Grainger of Charlotte, N.C.: ranked 7th among senior golfers in the Carolinas. Led after second round of 2015 N.C. Senior Amateur, lost in playoff to Paul Simson. Won the 2015 Carolinas Senior Four-Ball with Rick Cloninger.

• Rick Cloninger of Fort Mill, S.C.: the #1 ranked senior golfer in the Carolinas. 2012 & '13 Carolinas Senior Amateur champion. Won the 2015 Carolinas Senior Four-Ball with Jim Grainger. Finished runner-up to Grainger in last year's championship.

• Gary Robinson of Fayetteville, N.C.: 2nd ranked senior in the Carolinas. Finished T-3 last year. Won this year's Durham Senior Amateur and Dave King Senior Invitational. With partner Keith Waters of Raleigh, N.C., finished runner-up to team of Grainger-Cloninger at 2015 Carolinas Senior Four-Ball.

• Pat Thompson of Asheville, N.C.: ranked 3rd among senior golfers in the Carolinas. Qualified for this year's U.S. Senior Open. Led after first round of 2015 N.C. Senior Amateur, finished third. Won the 2015 Low Country Senior Invitational. Finished T-3 at last year's championship.

• Todd Hendley of Greer, S.C.: 4th ranked senior in the Carolinas. Won both the 2015 South Carolina Golf Association's Senior Championship and Senior Four-Ball Championship. Finished T-9 in the 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur.

• Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C.: 29-time CGA champion. 2007 & '08 Carolinas Senior champion. Captured this year's Senior Men's North & South championship. Won the 2015 N.C. Senior Amateur in playoff over Jim Grainger. Finished runner-up in 2015 Low Country Senior Invitational to Pat Thompson. Simson is ranked 5th among senior golfers in the Carolinas. 

Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who has reached his 55th birthday by September 13, 2015, is a legal resident of North Carolina or South Carolina, is a member in good standing of a club which is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) and has an active GHIN® USGA Handicap Index® at a CGA member club that does not exceed 10.4.

                                        
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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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