Preview: 11th Carolinas Young Amateur

 

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (December 27, 2019) – The Carolinas Young Amateur Championship returns to Pinewild Country Club’s Magnolia Course in Pinehurst, N.C. for the 11th playing of the championship. The event marks the last CGA Championship of the calendar year and with that, the last chance to obtain critical points in the Carolinas Player of the Year Rankings. 

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

The field is comprised of several top-ranked, collegiate athletes who claim North Carolina or South Carolina as their state of residency. Returning to this year’s field are both the 2019 Men’s champion, Caleb Proveaux of Lexington, S.C. and the Women’s champion, Jessica Spicer of Bahama, N.C.

The tournament format is 36 holes of stroke play for male and female amateur golfers ages 18 to 25 who have finished high school and have a current USGA handicap Index at a CGA member club. Trophies will be awarded to the top five spots in each division. Due to NCAA regulations, gift certificates will not be issued.

Originally designed by Gene Hamm, the par-72 Magnolia Course at Pinewild Country Club opened to rave reviews in 1989, and within two months was ranked as one of the top 50 courses in the entire southeastern United States by Golfweek. The Magnolia has seen a complete multi-million dollar redesign, to include new greens complexes with Crenshaw BentGrass, bunkers and cart paths. The result is a fantastic layout with emphasis on risk-reward golf. In an area that boasts numerous award-winning courses, the Magnolia remains a local favorite. The course is characterized by vast elevation changes, generous driving areas, and challenging greens.    

Players to Watch:
Women

Jessica Spicer of Bahama, N.C. is a senior at Virginia Tech and the defending champion of the Carolinas Young Amateur. Spicer’s big win of 2019 came at the Carolinas Women’s Amateur Championship. She also finished in second place, teamed with her sister and Virginia Tech teammate, Sarah, at the Carolinas Women’s Four-Ball Championship, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Carolina Women’s Match Play Championship and advanced to Round of 32 at Women’s North & South Amateur.

Jodee Tindal of Rock Hill, S.C. is a junior at the College of Charleston. In 2019, Tindal finished T7 in the Carolinas Women’s Amateur Championship, third place in the WSCGA Amateur Championship and the WSCGA South Carolina Women’s Open and finished as the runner-up in this event last year.

Madison Isaacson of Greensboro, N.C. is a sophomore at Western Carolina University. In 2019, Issacson finished T7 at the Carolinas Women’s Amateur, T4 at the WSCGA South Carolina Women’s Open and ninth place in this event last year. Issacson is a Two-time winner of the TYGA Archdale-Trinity Junior Championship.

Gracyn Burgess of Lexington, S.C. is a sophomore at Clemson University. Burgress placed fifth at the 2019 WSCGA Amateur Championship and finished T4 in this event last year. She is a two-time winner of the Twin States Junior Girls’ Championship (2016, 2017) and is the first female junior golfer to win the Twin States, the Vicki Disantis Junior Girls’ Championship and the Carolinas Junior Girls’ Championship in the same year.

 

Men

Caleb Proveaux of Lexington, S.C. is a senior at the University of South Carolina, the defending champion of the Carolinas Young Amateur and the top-ranked amateur golfer in the field. In 2019, Proveuax finished T3 at the Palmetto Amateur, eighth at the Southeastern Amateur and T12 at the South Carolina Amateur Championship. 

Jack Parrott of Columbia, S.C. is a junior at the University of South Carolina. He is the ranked 14^th in the Carolinas Men’s Ranking in the field after a note-worthy year that included a win at the South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship, a fourth-place finish at the Carolinas Amateur Championship and a top-20 finish at the South Carolina Amateur Championship.

Fulton Smith of Pinehurst, N.C. is a freshman at Wake Forest University. He won the 2019 Carolinian Amateur Championship in May. His round one score of 61 tied the CGA all-time, low-scoring record. He was the 2018 NCISAA Individual Championship and led The O'Neal School to two team state high school championships. Smith is also a two-time CGA Dogwood State Junior champion (2017, 2018).

Drayton Stewart of Charleston, S.C. is a freshman at Clemson University. He is the 2018 CGA Junior Boys’ champion and finished in third place at the South Carolina Junior Match Play. Stewart also has a pair of top-four finishes at the Junior Azalea, third place in 2016 and fourth place in 2018, and has finished in the top eight of the South Carolina Junior Golf Championship three of the last four years.

Michael Childress of Salisbury, N.C. is a sophomore at the University of Richmond. Childress had top-five finishes in this event last year and in the 2019 N.C. Amateur Championship. He made it to the Round of 16 in the 2019 N.C. Match Play Championship and had a top-20 finish at the 2019 Carolinas Amateur Championship.

Tyler Gray of Lugoff, S.C. is a sophomore at Coastal Carolina University. Gray won the 2019 South Carolina Amateur Championship, finished in second place in this event in 2018 and made it to the Round of 16 in the 2019 South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship. 

Schedule of Rounds:
Monday, December 30, 2019
10:30 A.M. - Round 1 - 18 holes stroke play
Lunch immediately following play for players

Tuesday, December 31, 2019
10:30 A.M. - Round 2 - 18 holes stroke play
Lunch immediately following play for players