Quackenbush Earns No. 1 Seed for South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (June 17, 2021) -- The results from the final round of stroke play qualifying at the 49th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship at Mount Vintage Golf Club (Chester/Vintage) in North Augusta, S.C. on June 17, 2021. The field is competing at 7,090 yards (par 36-36--72).
Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field | Brackets | Scoring | History | Photos
Brian Quackenbush of Aiken, S.C. earned low medalist at the 49th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship, firing 6-under-par, 66 on his final qualifying round for a two-day total of 9-under-par, 135. Quackenbush will be the No. 1 seed entering the match play portion of the championship, which begins Friday morning.
Quackenbush found magic in his putting on Thursday’s round. “Today it was actually a little worse ball-striking, but a little better putting. Putts drop more on some days, and that’s what happened today,” he said. On No. 5, Quackenbush made an impressive lengthy putt off the fringe for a birdie. He then followed up on No. 8 with another birdie, then eagled No. 9.
A decorated former collegiate golfer at the University of Virginia, Quackenbush knows his way around a course, and he knows how to handle the heat from his fellow competitors. He didn’t look at the leaderboard throughout the entirety of his round, and he knew pacing himself from Wednesday’s round to Saturday’s championship match was vital.
While Quackenbush’s mindset going into today’s round was “hit it, find it, hit it again,” he commented his strategy going into tomorrow and Saturday’s match play may need adjustment and fine-tuning when the time comes. The morning tee times including Quackenbush’s were met with strong gusts of wind which required swift adjustment and accuracy from the field. Nevertheless, Quackenbush made his way to and around the greens just fine. “I’ve gotten a couple more rounds here under my belt now. My game plan might shift a little bit, but basically I’m just trying to hit targets out here.”
Mitchell Vance of Hartsville, S.C. finished runner-up after tying the low round of the day today, 6-under-par, 66, for a two-day total of 8-under-par, 136. Initially, Vance struggled finding his game. “Through four holes I was struggling. I was 2-over, then I told myself if I could just par No. 5, I could take over on No. 6, and that’s exactly what I did.”
The junior from Francis Marion University followed up his par with a birdie on No. 6, and an eagle on No. 9., teeing off with a 3-wood, and sticking another 3-wood on his approach shot a foot from the hole for an easy tap-in. “Losing those shots through four holes today kind of hurt, but getting it back on 6 and starting to get it going from there was really good,” he said. Vance carried that momentum into the back-nine with four consecutive birdies from No. 10 to No. 13, carding six birdies total. Vance’s mindset going into match play tomorrow is simply “play good.”
Nick Mayfield of Rock Hill, S.C. finished in third with a 4-under-par, 68 for a two-day total of 5-under-par, 139. The rising junior on the men’s team at the University of South Carolina fired three eagles in his final qualifying round to secure his spot in the match play championship.
Michael Rials of Florence, S.C., Crawford Reeves of Taylors, S.C., and Oliver Rotermund of Daniel Island, S.C. went into a three-man, two-hole playoff for the final two match play spots. Rials, a senior on the men’s golf team at Francis Marion University, chipped into the hole on No. 18 to edge into the playoff.
All three players made par on the first playoff hole. 18 year-old Rotermund hit his approach shot onto the green then two-putted. Rials hit his shot straight and onto the green, two-putting for par. Reeves, a former Clemson golfer and 2009 South Carolina Amateur Match Play champion, landed his bunker shot inches from the hole on the first playoff hole, then made the putt for par.
On the second playoff hole, a par 3, all three players hit the green, but only two made par. Reeves and Rials each scored even-par on the two playoff holes to earn their spots into Friday’s match play.
Match play begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. with the Round of 32. Tee times for the round will run until 9:48 a.m. and the Round of 16 will begin in the afternoon after the Round of 32 is complete.
49th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship
Mount Vintage Golf Club (Chester/Vintage), North Augusta, S.C.
Final Round of Stroke Play Qualifying Results
Pos. | Player | City, State | To Par | R1 | R2 | Total |
1 | Brian Quackenbush | Aiken, SC | -9 | 69 | 66 | 135 |
2 | Mitchell Vance | Hartsville, SC | -8 | 70 | 66 | 136 |
3 | Nick Mayfield | Rock Hill, SC | -5 | 71 | 68 | 139 |
4 | Andrew Propes | Charleston, SC | -1 | 72 | 71 | 143 |
T5 | Garrett Cooper | Cowpens, SC | E | 75 | 69 | 144 |
T5 | Colin Trahan | North Augusta, SC | E | 71 | 73 | 144 |
T5 | Michael Sims | Lexington, SC | E | 74 | 70 | 144 |
T5 | Zachary Armentrout | Walterboro, SC | E | 72 | 72 | 144 |
T5 | Jason Steiner | Fort Mill, SC | E | 75 | 69 | 144 |
T10 | Nick Willis | Cowpens, SC | +1 | 73 | 72 | 145 |
T10 | Spencer Skiff | Columbia, SC | +1 | 73 | 72 | 145 |
T12 | Grant Sellers | McBee, SC | +2 | 74 | 72 | 146 |
T12 | Connor Fahey | Greenville, SC | +2 | 70 | 76 | 146 |
T12 | Brandon Hiott | Walterboro, SC | +2 | 72 | 74 | 146 |
T12 | Connor Moore | Bluffton, SC | +2 | 75 | 71 | 146 |
T16 | Henry Augenstein | Columbia, SC | +3 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
T16 | Caleb Loudin | Summerville, SC | +3 | 76 | 71 | 147 |
T16 | Anthony Clark | Fort Mill, SC | +3 | 73 | 74 | 147 |
T19 | Christian Sease | Greenville, SC | +4 | 79 | 69 | 148 |
T19 | John O'Brien | Columbia, SC | +4 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
T19 | McClure Thompson | Little River, SC | +4 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
T19 | Drew Weary | Bluffton, SC | +4 | 76 | 72 | 148 |
T19 | Brian Sears | Myrtle Beach, SC | +4 | 75 | 73 | 148 |
T19 | Grainger Howle | Darlington, SC | +4 | 78 | 70 | 148 |
T25 | James Lightsey | Indian Land, SC | +5 | 78 | 71 | 149 |
T25 | Zach Pardoll | Kiawah Island, SC | +5 | 74 | 75 | 149 |
T25 | Henry McGannon | Charlston, SC | +5 | 74 | 75 | 149 |
T25 | Robbie Biershenk | Boiling Springs, SC | +5 | 71 | 78 | 149 |
T25 | Jarrett Grimes | Columbia, SC | +5 | 74 | 75 | 149 |
T25 | Luke Cashion | Seneca, SC | +5 | 71 | 78 | 149 |
T31 | Crawford Reeves | Taylors, SC | +6 | 74 | 76 | 150 |
T31 | Michael Rials | Florence, SC | +6 | 75 | 75 | 150 |
The following players did not make the cut | ||||||
CUT | Oliver Rotermund | Daniel Island, SC | +6 | 73 | 77 | 150 |
CUT | Pierce Fox | Greenville, SC | +7 | 76 | 75 | 151 |
CUT | David Kidd | York, SC | +7 | 80 | 71 | 151 |
CUT | Dylan Murray | North Augusta, SC | +7 | 77 | 74 | 151 |
CUT | Daniel Brasington | Woodruff, SC | +8 | 77 | 75 | 152 |
CUT | Daniel Ezelle | Taylors, SC | +8 | 78 | 74 | 152 |
CUT | Corbin Pye | Duncan, SC | +8 | 77 | 75 | 152 |
CUT | Frank Wrenn | Greenville, SC | +9 | 78 | 75 | 153 |
CUT | Trevor Gerard | Hartsville, SC | +9 | 77 | 76 | 153 |
CUT | Parker Fain | Boiling Springs, SC | +9 | 80 | 73 | 153 |
CUT | David Hrubala | Spartanburg, SC | +9 | 76 | 77 | 153 |
CUT | Drew Greene | Aiken, SC | +9 | 79 | 74 | 153 |
CUT | Nick Howell | Laurens, SC | +9 | 76 | 77 | 153 |
CUT | Daniel Coker | Hartsville, SC | +10 | 77 | 77 | 154 |
CUT | Kobie Morton | Greenwood, SC | +10 | 81 | 73 | 154 |
CUT | Ryan Anderson | Aiken, SC | +11 | 78 | 77 | 155 |
CUT | Benny Hagerty | Aiken, SC | +11 | 82 | 73 | 155 |
CUT | Ben Burton | Charleston, SC | +11 | 77 | 78 | 155 |
CUT | Patrick Golden | Murrells Inlet, SC | +12 | 77 | 79 | 156 |
CUT | Scott Sullivan | Blythewood, SC | +12 | 81 | 75 | 156 |
CUT | William Phipps | Florence, SC | +12 | 78 | 78 | 156 |
CUT | Andrew Lockliear | Bonneau, SC | +12 | 79 | 77 | 156 |
CUT | Brandon Twigg | Charleston, SC | +12 | 81 | 75 | 156 |
CUT | Will Durrett | Aiken, SC | +12 | 80 | 76 | 156 |
CUT | Felix van Kleef | Hilton Head, SC | +14 | 83 | 75 | 158 |
CUT | Jared Jillson | Columbia, SC | +15 | 77 | 82 | 159 |
CUT | Baylor Geer | Johnston, SC | +15 | 78 | 81 | 159 |
CUT | John Weiss | Columbia, SC | +16 | 74 | 86 | 160 |
CUT | Daniel Kopp | Conway, SC | +18 | 82 | 80 | 162 |
CUT | David Gibson | Lexington, SC | +18 | 84 | 78 | 162 |
CUT | Ben Brodhead | Charleston, SC | +18 | 79 | 83 | 162 |
CUT | Trey Howard | Woodruff, SC | +20 | 79 | 85 | 164 |
CUT | Travis Gantt | Moncks Corner, SC | +20 | 83 | 81 | 164 |
CUT | STEVE Paley | Columbia, SC | +20 | 84 | 80 | 164 |
CUT | Lee Hoggard | Greer, SC | +21 | 81 | 84 | 165 |
CUT | Eli Ricker | Greenville, SC | +21 | 80 | 85 | 165 |
CUT | John Moss | Fort Mill, SC | +21 | 87 | 78 | 165 |
CUT | Derek Byzinski | Charleston, SC | +22 | 82 | 84 | 166 |
CUT | Sullivan Hooper | Leesville, SC | +22 | 89 | 77 | 166 |
CUT | Daniel Donato | MOUNT PLEASANT, SC | +23 | 85 | 82 | 167 |
CUT | Jonathan Abrams | West Columbia, SC | +23 | 85 | 82 | 167 |
CUT | Keith Chichester | Blythewood, SC | +26 | 83 | 87 | 170 |
CUT | Jenkins Dwight | Sumter, SC | +27 | 84 | 87 | 171 |
CUT | Graydon McNair | Summerville, SC | +27 | 87 | 84 | 171 |
CUT | Josh Nichols | Tega Cay, SC | +27 | 86 | 85 | 171 |
CUT | Evan Greenplate | Hilton Head Island, SC | +32 | 85 | 91 | 176 |
CUT | Preston Andrews | Chester, SC | +33 | 93 | 84 | 177 |
CUT | Rye Tifft | Mount Pleasant, SC | +33 | 86 | 91 | 177 |
CUT | Connor Keating | Daniel Island, SC | +41 | 98 | 87 | 185 |
CUT | Ayden Farrington | Beaufort, SC | +41 | 93 | 92 | 185 |
WD | Matthew Laydon | Charleston, SC | - | 72 | WD | WD |
WD | Stephen Heard | Greenville, SC | - | WD | NS | WD |
NS | Shea Bogan | Clover, SC | - | NS | NS | NS |
NS | William Sheppard | Mt. Pleasant, SC | - | NS | NS |
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.
##30##