45th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Preview

Three-time SC Amateur Match Play champion Todd White of Spartanburg (photo: USGA)

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (June 11, 2017) -- The Carolinas Golf Association's 45th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship will take place June 14-18 at The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, S.C. This will be the fifth time the championship has been hosted by the club.

The championship format is 36 holes of stroke play to determine 31 qualifiers for the match play portion. The defending champion, Connor Bruns, will be seeded number one for match play. 91 golfers will be competing.

Related: Championship Website | Full Field | History | Starting Times |

Players to Watch:

Connor Bruns of Duncan looks to repeat as champion after a 4 & 2 victory over Johnson Holliday in last year's final match at Bear Creek Golf Club. "I know that I will be giving everything I have to defend the title," said Bruns, a rising junior at Furman University. "While I haven’t been able to practice much, I have never really had a problem getting back in the groove of things. A few rounds under my belt will definitely help assess what parts of my game are strong and what type of strategy I need to have for the match play portion." One aspect of his game that Burns, 19, has looked to improve upon this summer is putting. "I made a few minor adjustments this spring with Coach Satterfield and it has definitely helped. As long as I have a decent look at birdie on most holes, I feel like I will have a pretty good chance to take the trophy home with me on Sunday."

The top-ranked amateur golfer in South Carolina, Todd White, 49, of Spartanburg, S.C. is a three-time SC Amateur Match Play champion (1991, 2004, 2010). When Carolina Country Club hosted this championship in 1988, White earned stroke-play medalist honors. A member of the 2013 USA Walker Cup Team, White won a USGA championship the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in 2015 with Nathan Smith of Pennsylvania.

Austin Zoller of Summerville was a quarterfinalist last year. The 21-year-old ranks 6th in S.C. after third place finishes in the 2016 Carolinas Amateur and Carolinas Young Amateur championships.

Jarrett Grimes, 44, of Columbia, ranked 7th in S.C., took home the 2009 Carolinas Mid-Amateur Championship. Grimes was a semifinalist in last year's S.C. Amateur Match Play before losing to Bruns and runner-up at the South Carolina Mid-Amateur.

Thomas Todd III, 30, of Laurens is ranked 10th in S.C. In last year's championship, Todd advanced to the Round of 16. This year Todd has a top-5 finish at the Carolinas Mid-Amateur and won a rain-shortened Greenwood Invitational.

Andrew Orischak of Hilton Head Island skipped his senior season of high school to enroll early at the University of Virginia. The 18-year-old rising sophomore was a runner-up at the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur.

Parker Dudley, 26, of Johns Island was a semifinalist in last year's South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship.

Matthew Laydon, 42, of Charleston won this championship in 2012.  Laydon was a semifinalist in 2015.

 

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.

 

Championship Facts

Event: 45th SC Amateur Match Play Championship 

Playing Dates: June 14-18, 2017

Host Site: The Carolina Country Club, Spartanburg, S.C.
7,069 yards, par-72, Course/Slope 74.5/139

Defending Champion: Connor Bruns, Duncan, S.C.
Format: 36 holes of stroke play to determine 31 qualifiers for match play. Bruns will be seeded No. 1 in the match play bracket.

Eligibility: Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who has reached his 13th birthday by June 14, 2017, is a legal resident of 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 7.4.  

 

Schedule of rounds

Wednesday, June 14
First round of stroke play qualifying.

Thursday, June 15
Second round of stroke play qualifying.
Cut to low 32 players for match play.

Friday, June 16
First and second round of match play (18 holes each round).

Saturday, June 17
Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play (18 holes each round).

Sunday, June 18
Championship match (18 holes).
 

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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