Woodruff Widens his N.C. Amateur Lead

 

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 19, 2021) -- Third round results of the 61st North Carolina Amateur Championship at Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. on June 19, 2021. The field is competing at 7,228 yards (par 36-36--72).

 

Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field | Starting Times | Scoring | History | Photos
 

Moving day did not disappoint at Lonnie Poole Golf Course at N.C. State University today. The leaderboard displayed an 8-under-par, 64, four eagles and numerous position changes, with one clear exception. Ben Woodruff of Huntersville, N.C. maintained his position atop the leaderboard and widened his lead to an impressive four-strokes entering the final round. 

Woodruff came into the third round with a one-stroke lead at 5-under-par, 139 total. The pressure of leading the field on moving day did not faze him and instead fueled his fire.


“I completely embraced the opportunity to be the one with the target on my back, but I didn’t think too much about it. I just went out there and handled my business,” said the Charlotte University rising senior. “I hit good shots, executed my game plan and stayed committed to absolutely every shot that I had.”


That commitment led to a 1-under-par, 35 front nine and the solo lead after making the turn. While several players tried to make a run for the lead while he played the back nine, his consecutive birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13 cemented his position ahead of the rest of the pack. His game plan for tomorrow is simple, “I’m going to go out there, keep my foot on the gas and see how low I can go.”

 

There is a three-way-tie for second position at 5-under-par, 211 overall. The round 1 leader Spencer Oxendine of Fayetteville, N.C., Cyrus Stewart of Raleigh, N.C. and Nicholas Mathews of Mebane, N.C. have risen to second position by way of very different paths over the last three rounds.


Oxendine led the field with a 3-under-par, 69 after the first round, but a 6-over-par, 78 in the second round set him back to tied for 30th by Friday evening. He spent hours putting in work on his swing after the round to get it back to where he’d like it. That preparation instilled confidence in him to fire off the lowest round he has ever carded on this course, a striking 8-under-par, 64.


“I told my roommate last night that I couldn’t believe that I shot 78 and that I was going to go low today,” said the rising N.C. State University junior. “He was giving me a hard time saying, ‘no you’re not,’ but I just felt really confident in what I did after the round and it showed today.”
 

Six birdies peppered throughout his round and an eagle on No. 12 catapulted him up the leaderboard by 28 positions to secure his seat in second entering the final round. “I am a big believer in momentum. If you keep the ball rolling and you’re doing the right thing, you can play with that confidence,” said Oxendine. “I’m excited that I shot 64 today, but I want to get this trophy, so I am going to be very focused on what I need to do tomorrow.”


Nicholas Mathews, who is teammates with Oxendine on the N.C. State University men’s golf team, attributed his position to consistency and simply solid golf. “The front nine consisted of a lot of really good par saves, just solid golf. Then I got to the back nine and eagled No. 11 which was a nice pick up. I chipped in from greenside, about 15 yards or so. Then I birdied the next (No. 12), because it was drivable today. There was a lot of solid golf today.”


Mathews is the only other player, along with Woodruff, to card under-par rounds every day of the championship thus far. He is planning to stick with his smart golf game plan in the hopes of dropping a few more putts in the final round.


Cyrus Stewart began the 61st North Carolina Amateur with a 2-over-par, 74 to tie for 37th position after the first round. However, that did not last long as he fired off a 4-under-par, 68 yesterday and an impressive 3-under-par, 69 in the third round today to climb his way to the top. The 2020 Carolinas Mid-Amateur champion carded six birdies on the day and will look to do the same tomorrow for a shot at his second CGA championship title.


The 2016 North Carolina Amateur champion Nick Lyerly of Salisbury, N.C. holds solo fifth position at 4-under-par, 212 total after an impressive 2-under-par, 70 in the third round today.

The final round will begin tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. off of Nos. 1 and 10. Stay tuned to our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for live coverage of the final round of the 61st North Carolina Amateur Championship. 

 

61st North Carolina Amateur Championship

Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.

Third Round Results

 

Pos.	Player	City, State	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Ben Woodruff	Huntersville, NC	-9	71	68	68	207
T2	Spencer Oxendine	Fayetteville, NC	-5	69	78	64	211
T2	Cyrus Stewart	Raleigh, NC	-5	74	68	69	211
T2	Nicholas Mathews	Mebane, NC	-5	71	70	70	211
5	Nick Lyerly	Salisbury, NC	-4	73	69	70	212
T6	Nic Brown	Wendell, NC	-3	74	72	67	213
T6	Kurtis Grant	Southern Pines, NC	-3	71	70	72	213
T8	Tim Bunten	Concord, NC	-2	74	73	67	214
T8	David Sargent	Cornelius, NC	-2	72	68	74	214
10	Columb Knight	Raleigh, NC	-1	70	73	72	215
T11	Davis Womble	Winston-Salem, NC	E	78	68	70	216
T11	Andy Knox	Apex, NC	E	75	70	71	216
T11	Jake Scruggs	Shelby, NC	E	73	71	72	216
T14	Maddox Whittington	Lenoir, NC	+1	74	72	71	217
T14	Mark Olbrych	Raleigh, NC	+1	75	70	72	217
T14	Stephen Carroll	Concord, NC	+1	73	71	73	217
T17	Carter Busse	Davidson, NC	+2	74	73	71	218
T17	Garrett Risner	Holly Springs, NC	+2	73	75	70	218
T17	David Gies	Pineville, NC	+2	73	73	72	218
T17	Stuart Fuller	Winston-Salem, NC	+2	73	75	70	218
T17	Bryson Boyette	Wilson, NC	+2	72	75	71	218
T17	Clayson Good	Durham, NC	+2	70	76	72	218
T17	AJ Shaffer	Horse Shoe, NC	+2	72	70	76	218
T24	Justin Morgan	Denver, NC	+3	71	75	73	219
T24	Colin Browning	Charlotte, NC	+3	71	74	74	219
T24	Kevin O'Connell	Apex, NC	+3	72	69	78	219
T24	Noah Connor	Reidsville, NC	+3	75	66	78	219
T28	Connor Armistead	Charlotte, NC	+4	75	72	73	220
T28	Caleb Keck	Concord, NC	+4	72	74	74	220
T28	Caden Baker	Mebane, NC	+4	76	71	73	220
T28	Symon Balbin	Pinehurst, NC	+4	75	71	74	220
T28	Collin Adams	Charlotte, NC	+4	72	73	75	220
T28	Addison Beam	Cherryville, NC	+4	78	71	71	220
T28	Daniel Bowden	Wilmington, NC	+4	78	71	71	220
T28	Jake Herring	Wilson, NC	+4	71	79	70	220
T36	Noah Bumgarner	Lenoir, NC	+5	75	72	74	221
T36	Graham Chase	Charlotte, NC	+5	73	75	73	221
T36	Randall Hudson	New Bern, NC	+5	74	70	77	221
T36	Keenan Royalty	Raleigh, NC	+5	73	76	72	221
T36	Ryan Blair	Charlotte, NC	+5	76	74	71	221
T36	Patrick Stephenson	Four Oaks, NC	+5	71	78	72	221
T36	Tyler Jones	Jacksonville, NC	+5	73	77	71	221
T43	Joe Jaspers	Huntersville, NC	+6	71	76	75	222
T43	Jake Conklin	Cary, NC	+6	74	73	75	222
T43	JD McNeill	Raleigh, NC	+6	74	74	74	222
T43	Matthew Younts	Greensboro, NC	+6	74	72	76	222
T43	August Lascola	Durham, NC	+6	76	73	73	222
T43	Chad Wilfong	Charlotte, NC	+6	74	74	74	222
T43	Jason Gabriel	Claremont, NC	+6	73	76	73	222
T43	Kenan Poole	Raleigh, NC	+6	74	68	80	222
T51	Connor Jones	Raleigh, NC	+7	73	75	75	223
T51	Nolan Mills IV	Charlotte, NC	+7	73	77	73	223
T53	Grayson Wotnosky	Wake Forest, NC	+8	71	76	77	224
T53	Grady Newton	Wallburg, NC	+8	73	76	75	224
T55	Jack Heath	Charlotte, NC	+9	74	70	81	225
T55	Thomas Bonney	Greensboro, NC	+9	75	75	75	225
T55	Joe Brooks	Franklin, NC	+9	75	75	75	225
T58	Anthony Conn	Raleigh, NC	+11	73	75	79	227
T58	A.J. Beechler	Pinehurst, NC	+11	75	75	77	227
T60	Jake Clodfelter	Trinity, NC	+14	77	69	84	230
T60	Harcourt Settle	Raleigh, NC	+14	76	71	83	230
62	Spencer Roberts	Cary, NC	+18	75	75	84	234
The following players did not make the cut
CUT	Grady Anderson	Greenville, NC	+7	73	78		-
CUT	Holt Allison	Conover, NC	+7	75	76		-
CUT	Timothy Driver	Holly Springs, NC	+7	70	81		-
CUT	Brandon Reece	Rolesville, NC	+7	75	76		-
CUT	Addison Lambeth	Browns Summit, NC	+8	79	73		-
CUT	Austin Bonfiglio	Holly Springs, NC	+8	79	73		-
CUT	Connor Brown	Cherryville, NC	+8	73	79		-
CUT	Jerell Fields	Pineville, NC	+8	81	71		-
CUT	Walker Taylor	Wilmington, NC	+8	74	78		-
CUT	Ben Morehead	Charlotte, NC	+8	77	75		-
CUT	Christopher Sperrazza	Raleigh, NC	+8	74	78		-
CUT	Cole Sutherland	Charlotte, NC	+8	80	72		-
CUT	Evan Boyer	Morrisville, NC	+8	76	76		-
CUT	Blake Brantley	Winston-Salem, NC	+9	79	74		-
CUT	Ryan Nagy	Raleigh, NC	+9	78	75		-
CUT	Steven Brame	Henderson, NC	+9	77	76		-
CUT	Andrew Ward	Charlotte, NC	+9	76	77		-
CUT	Carter Rains	Greenville, NC	+9	77	76		-
CUT	Will Tharin	Rocky Mount, NC	+9	76	77		-
CUT	Chad Fultz	Charlotte, NC, NC	+10	78	76		-
CUT	Jake Clayton	Burlington, NC	+10	84	70		-
CUT	Jerry Richardson	Cary, NC	+10	76	78		-
CUT	Justin Guilford	Davidson, NC	+10	75	79		-
CUT	Pearse Lucas	Charlotte, NC	+10	75	79		-
CUT	Ryan O'Neil	Waxhaw, NC	+10	81	73		-
CUT	Zac Lewis	Winnabow, NC	+10	75	79		-
CUT	Alex Campbell	Charlotte, NC	+10	79	75		-
CUT	Andrew Gates	Greensboro, NC	+10	81	73		-
CUT	Carter Boulia	Cary, NC	+10	79	75		-
CUT	Daniel Neveu	Pinehurst, NC	+10	76	78		-
CUT	Davis Spradling	Clayton, NC	+10	77	77		-
CUT	Lexton Ford	Lenoir, NC	+10	78	76		-
CUT	Zach Swink	Whitsett, NC	+10	81	73		-
CUT	Jackson Brimfield	Chapel Hill, NC	+11	76	79		-
CUT	Mitchell Tanis	Pineville, NC	+11	76	79		-
CUT	Michael Childress	Salisbury, NC	+11	79	76		-
CUT	Bruce Bevins	Matthews, NC	+12	77	79		-
CUT	Calvin Hawkins	Lexington, NC	+12	77	79		-
CUT	Brad Clark	Durham, NC	+12	77	79		-
CUT	Charlie Fetter	Charlotte, NC	+12	75	81		-
CUT	Christopher Blum	Raleigh, NC	+12	78	78		-
CUT	Keith Early	Charlotte, NC	+12	80	76		-
CUT	Matias La Grutta	Cary, NC	+12	76	80		-
CUT	Josh Lendach	Raleigh, NC	+13	78	79		-
CUT	Landon Hawley	Charlotte, NC	+13	79	78		-
CUT	Attie Giles	Pinehurst, NC	+13	75	82		-
CUT	Brady Eckard	Conover, NC	+13	81	76		-
CUT	Evan Mendyk	Summerfield, NC	+13	80	77		-
CUT	Jim Aughtry	Concord, NC	+13	76	81		-
CUT	Jay Roberts	Concord, NC	+14	73	85		-
CUT	Jordan Smith	Summerfield, NC	+14	83	75		-
CUT	Stephen Helton	Clayton, NC	+14	81	77		-
CUT	Casey Osiecki	New Bern, NC	+15	81	78		-
CUT	Dustin Moore	Burlington, NC	+15	82	77		-
CUT	Bob McGee	Cary, NC	+16	81	79		-
CUT	Jack Anderson	Charlotte, NC	+16	80	80		-
CUT	William Buchanan	Greensboro, NC	+16	77	83		-
CUT	William Locey	Charlotte, NC	+16	76	84		-
CUT	Dexter Rice	Charlotte, NC	+17	86	75		-
CUT	Tommy Lamb	Cary, NC	+17	78	83		-
CUT	Chad Parris	Charlotte, NC	+18	82	80		-
CUT	Luke Nelson	Raleigh, NC	+18	80	82		-
CUT	Avery Papalia	Kernersville, NC	+18	82	80		-
CUT	Daniel Jackson	Indian Trail, NC	+18	84	78		-
CUT	Gary Pugh	Asheboro, NC	+18	80	82		-
CUT	Matthew Spak	Cary, NC	+19	79	84		-
CUT	Adam Kersey	Hickory, NC	+19	81	82		-
CUT	Cole Howard	Benson, NC	+20	84	80		-
CUT	Justin Nagy	Holly Springs, NC	+20	83	81		-
CUT	Chris Bitzenhofer	Mount Olive, NC	+21	85	80		-
CUT	Austin Alexander	Rutherfordton, NC	+22	86	80		-
CUT	Andrew Haarlow	Greensboro, NC	+24	83	85		-
CUT	Bobby Scarboro	Rolesville, NC	+24	81	87		-
CUT	Sam Terry	Thomasville, NC	+24	85	83		-
CUT	Eli Kinlaw	Mount Holly, NC	+28	86	86		-
WD	Chase Clayton	Locust, NC	-	WD	WD		-
WD	Zach Roberts	Holly Springs, NC	-	WD	WD		-
WD	Wade Boteler	Burlington, NC	-	75	WD		75

 

Schedule of Final Round:

 

Sunday, June 20

Final Round - 18 Holes of Individual Stroke 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 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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