56th NC Amateur Championship Preview

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (June 10, 2016) -- The Carolinas Golf Association will conduct the 56^th North Carolina Amateur Championship on the Lakes-Foothills routing of the Governors Club in Chapel Hill from June 16-19.

Three of the top five finishers from last year will return to vie for the championship. An eagle on the penultimate hole at the Country Club of Landfall gave Carter Jenkins a one-shot victory over Justin Tereshko of Greensboro. Jenkins has turned professional, currently playing on the Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada.

147 players are expected to compete in the 56^th edition of the championship. Exempt players were automatically accepted while others were required to qualify through one of six 18 hole qualifiers.

Past champions in the field include: Steven Brame of Henderson (2013); Matthew Crenshaw of Burlington (2012)and Mark McMillen, Jr. of Smithfield (2009).

 

 

Players to watch:

Medalist	Score	Site
Blake Taylor Atkinson	66	Pine Valley Country Club Wilmington
Scott Park Charlotte Josh Nichols Kernersville Tim Bunten Concord	68	The Club at Irish Creek Kannapolis
Patrick Stephenson Four Oaks	69	Holly Ridge Golf Links Archdale
John McFadyen Fayetteville	66	Legacy Golf Links Aberdeen
Akshay Bhatia Wake Forest	66	The Hasentree Club Wake Forest
Garrett Smith Hillsborough	68	Mimosa Hills Golf & CC Morganton

• Scott Harvey, 38, of Greensboro, won the Carolinas Mid-Amateur in April. The #1 ranked Carolinas amateur golfer, in 2015 Harvey recorded his fifth consecutive Carolinas Play of the Year honor. A 7-time CGA champion, Harvey looks to collect his first NC Amateur title. His late father, Bill, an 8-time CGA champ, won the 1966 NC Amateur.

• Wesley Conover, 23, of Holly Springs, recently graduated from East Carolina University. He placed in the top-five at both the 2014 and 2015 championships.

• Justin Tereshko, 26, of Greensboro, is the golf coach at Guilford College located in Greensboro, N.C. Tereshko earned runner-up honors at last year's championship. While competing at Transylvania University, he was a two-time PING NCAA Division III All-American Team selection.

• Sherrill Britt, 50, of West End, won the 2015 Carolinas Mid-Amateur Championship. At the inaugural U.S. Four-Ball Championship in 2015, he finished runner-up with partner Greg Earnhardt.

• Greg Earnhardt, 47, of Greensboro, won the 2015 North Carolina Mid-Amateur. He was runner-up at the 2015 U.S. Four-Ball Championship with partner Sherrill Britt.

• Matt Crenshaw, 34, of Burlington, is a 6-time CGA champion. Crenshaw won this championship in 2012 at Treyburn Country Club in Durham.

• Victor Wiggins, 21, of Gastonia, finished in the top-10 at last year's Carolinas Amateur. Wiggins shot a course-record tying 64 in the second round on Greensboro Country Club's Farm Course.

• Eric Bae, 17, of Pinehurst, is a high school senior committed to playing golf at Wake Forest University. Bae recently finished second in the NC 4-A state championship. He is currently #5 in the NC junior boys’ rankings.

• Patrick Stephenson, 18, of Four Oaks, is a high school senior headed to play for East Carolina in the fall. Stephenson recently won the NC 3-A state championship and defended his title at the TYGA Bojangles Junior Open. He is #2 in the NC junior boys' rankings.

• Jack Massei, 16, of Cary, is a high school sophomore. Massei won the 2015 NC Junior Boys' Championship. He is ranked 15th in the NC junior boys' rankings.

• Nicholas Lyerly, 17, of Salisbury, plays out of Corbin Hills and was the 2015 NC Junior Player of the Year. He won the North State High School Challenge and finished in the top five at the NCHSAA 3A State Championship and the Jimmy Anderson Boys' Championship. Lyerly has verbally committed to play golf at UNC-Greensboro starting fall of 2017.

• Akshay Bhatia, 14, of Wake Forest is the youngest player in this year's field. His five-under-par 66 earned medalist honors at the NC Amateur qualifier at The Hasentree Club in Wake Forest.

Related: Starting Times | Hole-by-hole Scoring | History

Scoring will be provided by the CGA throughout the championship, offering 9 and 18-hole updates. Live updates will also be available on the CGA’s official Twitter, @cgagolf1909. Continue to visit the CGA website throughout this championship and all year long for complete championship coverage including scores, interviews, photos, and recaps.

The championship is conducted at 72 holes of stroke play. After 36 holes, there will be a cut to the low 60 scores and ties. Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who has reached his 13th birthday by June 16, 2016, is a legal resident of North 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 7.4.

Full field of players

Adams, Nicholas, Goldsboro, NC	Flynn, Kenny, Winston Salem, NC	Mcneill, Jd, Raleigh, NC
Allen, Jeff, Jacksonville, NC	Fontes-Zitzer, Johannes, Lillington, NC	McPartland, Robert, Cary, NC
Austin, Kyle, Mebane, NC	Fowler, David, Winston-Salem, NC	Messenheimer, Thomas, Morganton, NC
Bae, Eric, Pinehurst, NC	Franken, Stephen, Raleigh, NC	Metz, Chandler, Wilkesboro, NC
Bagwell, Josh, Marion, NC	Freeman, John, Asheville, NC	Mills, Nolan IV, Charlotte, NC
Bailey, Jackson, Matthews, NC	Fuller, Stuart, Winston-Salem, NC	Moore, Dustin, Greensboro, NC
Baker, Anthony, Walkertown, NC	Funderburg, Joey, Wilmington, NC	Morgan, Andrew, China Grove, NC
Ball, Preston, Raleigh, NC	Fuquay, Ashley, Greensboro, NC	Nagy, Ryan, Raleigh, NC
Bateman, Davis, Charlotte, NC	Furr, Andrew, Clayton, NC	Neveu, Daniel, Pinehurst, NC
Beasley, Rob, Kernersville, NC	Germann, David, Clayton, NC	Nichols, Josh, Kernersville, NC
Bhatia, Akshay, Wake Forest, NC	Gies, David II, Charlotte, NC	O'Connell, Kevin, Raleigh, NC
Blum, Chris, Raleigh, NC	Golliday, Jake, Pinehurst, NC	O'Connor, Sean, Indian Trail, NC
Boteler, Wade, Mebane , NC	Graham, Kell, Matthews, NC	Oweida, Philip, Charlotte, NC
Brame, Steven, Henderson, NC	Grisette, Uly, Winston Salem, NC	Page, Dallas, Staley, NC
Brinker, Walter, Sanford, NC	Gross, Tanner, Archdale, NC	Palmer, Ty, Kernersville, NC
Britt, Sherrill, West End, NC	Harvey, Scott, Kernersville , NC	Pappas, Evan, Asheville, NC
Brooks, Joe, Franklin , NC	Hendrix, Bryce, Greenville, NC	Park, Scott, Charlotte, NC
Bryan, Josh, Chapel Hill, NC	Henry, Jon, Cornelius, NC	Phillips, Brantley, Greensboro, NC
Buben, Ben, Charlotte, NC	Hicks, Jacob, Mebane, NC	Price, Parks, Calabash , NC
Bunten, Tim, Concord, NC	Hocker II, Michael, Durham, NC	Ray, Jeremy, Pfafftown, NC
Burton, Trey, Hickory, NC	Howard, Jay Jay, Concord, NC	Redding, Thomas, Hudson, NC
Cansler, Joseph, Clemmons, NC	Inman, Austin, Wilmington, NC	Reece, Brandon, Rolesville, NC
Carter, William, Laurinburg, NC	Jaspers, Joe, Huntersville, NC	Rhoades, Harrison, Raleigh, NC
Cashwell, A. t., Concord, NC	Johnson, Drew, Oak Ridge, NC	Rice, Candler, Asheville, NC
Clark, Reid, Raleigh, NC	Joines, Zach, Wilkesboro, NC	Richards, Davis, China Grove, NC
Conover, Tim, Holly Springs, NC	Jones, Chris, Charlotte, NC	Roberts, Jay III, Davidson, NC
Conover, Wesley, Holly Springs, NC	Jordan, Cole, Winterville, NC	Robinette, Mitch, Charlotte, NC
Councill, Hardin, High Point, NC	Kastelic, Joe, Hickory, NC	Sargent, David, Cornelius, NC
Cover, Patrick, Huntersville, NC	Keck, Caleb, Reidsville, NC	Scruggs, Jake, Shelby, NC
Crain, Andy, Raleigh, NC	Kennedy, Jacob, Mt. Ulla, NC	Segall, Cory, Charlotte, NC
Crenshaw, Matthew, Burlington, NC	Kiger, Davis, Harrisburg, NC	Shuping, Logan, Salisbury, NC
Cress, Walker, Concord, NC	Kostyal, David II, Wilmington, NC	Smalley, Alex, Wake Forest, NC
Curtis, Brooks, Elizabeth City, NC	Latham, Matthew, Wrightsville Beach, NC	Smith, Garrett, Hillsborough, NC
Davis, Joey, Cornelius, NC	Lester, Kaleb, Mebane, NC	Smith, Grant, Charlotte, NC
Davis, Riley, Kinston, NC	Lewis, Justin, High Point, NC	Spak, Matthew, Cary, NC
Denny, Keenan, King, NC	Lilly, Thomas, Newton, NC	Spruill, Matthew, Elizabeth City, NC
Donovan, David IV, Hampstead, NC	Lukes, Quade, Chapel Hill, NC	Spry, Charles, Winston salem, NC
Driver, Timothy, Holly Springs, NC	Luster, Pete, Chapel Hill, NC	Stafford, Nick, Belmont, NC
Duerr, Kevin, Wake Forest, NC	Lyerly, Nicholas, Salisbury, NC	Stephenson, Patrick, Four Oaks, NC
Early, Jr., Jubal, Charlotte, NC	Mader, Brandon, Greenville, NC	Stewart, Will, Charlotte, NC
Earnhardt, Greg, Greensboro, NC	Martin, Drew, Pinehurst, NC	Stockwell, Joshua, West End, NC
Edmondson, Noah, Davidson, NC	Martin, Zachary, Pinehurst, NC	Stowe, Jarett, Matthews, NC
Edwards, Eric, Salisbury, NC	Massei, Jack, Cary, NC	Swanson, Zack, Waxhaw, NC
Eldridge, Thomas, Raleigh, NC	McClellan, Scott, Cary, NC	Taylor, Blake, Atkinson, NC
Elliott, Matt, Wilkesboro, NC	McCombs, Hunter, Morganton, NC	Tereshko, Justin, Jamestown, NC
Elmore, Mason, Charlotte, NC	McFadyen, John, Fayetteville, NC	Townsend, Gray, Winston Salem, NC
Erhardt, Regan, Greensboro, NC	McKelvey, Zach, Rutherfordton, NC	Wiggins, Victor, Gastonia, NC
Erhardt, Reilly, Greensboro, NC	McLamb, Brett, Coats, NC	Willoughby, Rex, Chapel Hill, NC
Fitzgerald, Paul, Charlotte, NC	McMillen, Mark Jr, Smithfield, NC	Yang, David, Cornelius, NC

Championship Schedule
Thursday, June 16             Round 1 - 18 holes of stroke play.
                                          
Friday, June 17                  Round 2 - 18 holes of stroke play. Cut to low 60 scores and ties. Field re-paired according to score.

Saturday, June 18              Round 3 - 18 holes of stroke play.

Sunday, June 19                Round 4 - 18 holes of stroke play. Awards ceremony immediately following 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 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 our website.

 

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