River Hills CC Crowned Carolinas Interclub Champions

 

Event: 27th Carolinas Interclub Finals

Host Site: Pinehurst Resort & Country Club No. 5, Pinehurst, N.C.

Playing Dates: November 4-6, 2024

Social Media: @CGAgolf1909

 

Related: Championship Website  | Scoring |  History  |  Photos

 

LOCATION – Pinehurst, N.C.

 

332 teams began the 2024 Interclub Season on March 1, comprising 110 Carolinas Division, 121 Senior, and 101 Super Senior teams, and 5,160 golfers at 136 CGA Member Clubs in the Carolinas. It all came down to the final four in each division for two beautiful November days at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (Course #5), and a prime opportunity to engrave their names on their respective division’s trophy.

 

The 9th Senior Final Four featured NorthStone CC’s Team 1 (Huntersville, NC) and Cowan’s Ford CC’s Team 1 (Stanley, NC) in the first Semi-Finals match of the day on Course #5, and Bulls Bay GC’s Team 1 (Awendaw, SC) battled against the squad from The Club at 12 Oaks (Holly Springs, NC). The first two of four matches in the NorthStone vs Cowan’s Ford match resulted in a 20-20 tie between the teams, and the third match turned out to be the deciding match after a 13.5-6.5 win for David Boaz and Mark Lingerfelt of Cowan’s Ford, and a 10-10 tie in the anchor match. Cowan’s Ford would advance to the Championship match with a 43.5-36.5 victory.

 

Bulls Bay Golf Club traveled nearly 200 miles to face off against the Club at 12 Oaks, whose 58-mile drive turned out to be advantageous as 12 Oaks would win two matches and tie one at 10-10. Chris Pittelli and Todd Owens of 12 Oaks provided the highest point total of the day at 14, and teammates Doug Davis and Frank Frischauf added 12.5 points immediately after. Both team captains, Duane Bausman of Bulls Bay, and Dave Kinnard of 12 Oaks, faced off in a tense match. Captain Kinnard secured the tie with a Bogey on the 18th hole, and set his team up with a showdown against Cowan’s Ford.

 

In the Championship Match on Wednesday, it was Cowan’s Ford CC up against the Club at 12 Oaks. The Club at 12 Oaks earned 12.5 points from their first match out, but Cowan’s Ford CC won the second match 4 & 3 and the third match 2 up, earning 32.5 points from the first three matches. With a tie in the last match earning each team 10 points, Cowan’s Ford CC came out victorious with 42.5 points to secure the win. 

 

The 2nd Super Senior Final Four featured the inaugural champions, The Clubs at St. James (Southport, NC), and first timers Southern Pines GC (Southern Pines, NC) in a very tight match. Three of the four matches came down to the 18th hole, and all three finished in Southern Pines’ favor, 11.5-8.5. Curt Mumaw and Bob Brown of St. James claimed 13 points in the lone win for the defending champs, but it wasn’t enough to top Southern Pines’ 41.5 points. 

 

Tega Cay GC (Tega Cay, SC) met Old North State Club (New London, NC) in the other Super Senior Semi-Finals. Old North State started off hot by earning 15 points in their first match out. Tega Cay would immediately respond 15 points of their own in match #2. Chuck Kelker and Gary Anderson of Tega Cay would both birdie the last hole to win a pivotal two-point bonus, and add 11.5 total points to their total before Cleve Coldwater and Gary Jones would hang-on to win 11.5 points over Old North State’s Mike Twilley and David Sugg.

 

In the Championship Match, Southern Pines GC and Tega Cay GC went head to head to determine the 2nd Super Senior Interclub winner. Tega Cay GC won their first three matches 4 & 3, 3 & 2, and an impressive 6 & 5. Overall, the team earned 46.5 points to Southern Pines GC’s 33.5 points, making Tega Cay GC the 2nd Carolinas Super Senior Interclub Champions. 

 

In the 27th Carolinas Interclub Final Four, multi-time champion River Hills CC (Lake Wylie, SC) returned to the Semi-Finals for the first time in seven years to face off against NorthStone CC (Huntersville, NC). The match would go back and forth all afternoon, and an early 12.5 points from Martin Salas and Bud Brown, and 11.5 points from Scott Richardson and John Benear for River Hills, would set the match in their favor halfway through. A crucial 12-points for NorthStone’s Tom Dulski and Tom O’Connor would force pressure on the final match. River Hills’ John Higgins and Taylor Grassi put themselves ahead through 15 holes after a par from Grassi. The duo would ham and egg it to the finish line, and secure their spot in the Championship match.

 

The final Semi-Finals match of the day to tee off was between Statesville CC (Statesville, NC) and Croasdaile CC (Durham, NC). After digging themselves out of a 3 hole deficit through 12 holes, Croasdaile’s Scott Buckel and team captain Mike Kriston would edge-out a 10-10 tie in their first match out. After that it was all Croasdaile who would win 35 points in their next three matches after late final stands from the Croasdaile players, who sent themselves to the final match of the 2024 season.

 

In the Championship Matches of River Hills CC vs. Croasdaile CC, it was a tight race to the finish line to determine the champions. Salas + Brown and Richardson + Benear were the first two matches out for River Hills CC, and they both won their matches 1 up and 2 up respectively, earning 23.5 points for their team to kick off the competition. Allman + Rothenberg in the third match earned eight points to add to the total, and Higgins + Grassi finished out the competition winning their match 1 up and adding 11.5 points to their team’s total. River Hills CC won with 43 points over Croasdaile CC’s 37 points, making River Hills CC the 27th Carolinas Interclub Champions.

 

Thank you to all of the staff at Pinehurst No. 5 for hosting these exciting matches. 

 

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1909 to promote and protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support, and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is one of the largest golf associations in the country, with over 700 member clubs represented by over 200,000 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 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 over $3,000,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives, including junior, women and adaptive programs.

For more information about the Carolinas Golf Association, follow @cgagolf1909 on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, or visit our website www.carolinasgolf.org/

 

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