HILTON HEAD, SC (Oct 26th)–Justin Lowe began Sunday one shot behind first round leader Shane Thompson of Asheville, NC. Thompson fired a 4 under par 68 on the Arthur Hills Palmetto Dunes course which only gave him a one shot lead over Lowe going into Sunday.
Lowe & Thompson turned the front nine on the Fazio course all even. The battle would go back and fourth with no one having more than a one shot lead on the back nine. When both players step up to the treacherous par 3 17th hole they we all even at 2 under par. Both players hit the green and after Thompson’s missed his putt, Lowe drained his 15 footer for a birdie two and a one shot lead going into the 18th hole. With his one shot lead Lowe played the hole perfectly and made par to secure his one shot victory at 3 under par.
Charlotte rounded out the top five with Dave Schmidt (Charlotte) finishing in third place at even par and the 2003 & 2006 Tour Champion Joe Jaspers(Charlotte) shot 69 on Sunday to secure fourth place overall and Michael Bailey was fifth. Low round at the Fazio course on Sunday came from Dusty Green (Louisiana) who fired a 2 under par 68.
A Flight went to a sudden-death playoff to be decided. Tim Knight (Columbia) and Steve French (Charlotte) both finished the tournament at a 155 total just slipping past Kevin Ronan (Charlotte) and Lynn Cormier (Houston) who tied for low round of the day with a 76 to miss the playoff by one shot.
The playoff hole started on #10 on the Arthur Hills Palmetto Dunes course and Knight quickly took care of business by birding the par 4 for the victory. This was quite an accomplishment for Knight since 2 weeks earlier he had to have a stint put in to relieve pressure on his heart. Knight’s heart proved to be the biggest on Sunday as he hoisted the Tour Championship 1st place crystal.
B Flight also went into a sudden-death playoff; this time it took three holes for Brian Layne (Tidewater, VA) to snatch victory from Dan Rabaya (Orlando). The first round leader Mike Bohnsdahl (Tidewater, VA) narrowly missed the playoff by one shot.
Raleigh, NC produced the 2008 C Flight Champion as Barry Fleming fired an 84 on Sunday to beat out Jeff Cottom (Charlotte) by five shots. Len Benedetti (Orlando) and Percy Kennedy (Houston) both finished with a 2 day total of 171.
In D Flight Mark Dion (Houston) shot a 178 total and posted only a one shot victory over Joe Paul (Downeast, NC) division. Dion came from 5 shots back to take home the National Championship crown.
This marked the third year that the egolf Amateur Tour has hosted its national championship on Hilton Head Island. This year’s field of 550 golfers was the largest ever for an amateur golf tournament on the island. Competition took place on seven courses: three at Palmetto Dunes, two at Port Royal Plantation, the Robert Cupp course in Palmetto Hall and Oyster Reef GC.
In the team competition, the Tidewater, VA Tour took the cup away from defending champion Louisiana. Tidewater’s team total was 1270 beat Charlotte by just one shot at 1271. Rounding out the top five was at Orlando 1282, Louisiana (South) 1300 and Hilton Head, SC with 1317.
egolf Amateur Tour
National Championship
Results from Hilton Head
(Palmetto Dunes & Port Royal courses):
Championship Flight:
Justin Lowe (Louisiana-North) 69-70- -139
Shane Thompson (Asheville, NC) 68-72- -140
David Schmidt (Charlotte, NC) 70-72- -142
Joe Jaspers (Charlotte, NC) 74-69- -143
Michael Bailey (Charlotte, NC) 71-76- -147
Kyle Chauvin (Louisiana-South) 75-72- -147
James Moore (Triad, NC) 74-74- -148
Tim Pickering (Columbus, OH) 72-76- -148
Jim Gallagher (Tidewater, VA) 75-74- -149
Andrew Smith (Jacksonville, FL) 72-77- -149
Michael Menyhart (Orlando, FL) 75-74- -149
Brock Elder (Triad, NC) 75-75- -150
Mike Westrum (Houston, TX) 74-76- -150
A Flight:
Tim Knight (Columbia, SC)* 79-76- -155
Steve French (Charlotte, NC) 75-80- -155
Kevin Ronan (Charlotte, NC) 77-79- -156
Lynn Cormier (Houston, TX) 80-76- -156
Bob Potter (Charleston, SC) 78-80- -158
Shone Russell (Pinehurst, NC) 80-79- -159
Mike Harter (Charlotte, NC) 80-80- -160
Dave Mullis (Tidewater, VA) 77-83- -160
Dan Burrows (Tidewater, VA) 80-80- -160
Rick Ludy (Myrtle Beach, SC) 79-81- -161
Chad Pontiff (Orlando, FL) 77-83- -161
Biff Huff (Charleston, SC) 78-83- -161
Hoke Board (Jacksonville, FL) 80-81- -161
Note: Tim Knight won in a sudden-death playoff.
B Flight:
Brian Layne (Tidewater, VA) * 81-78- -159
Dan Rabaja (Orlando, FL) 80-79- -159
Mike Bohnsdahl (Tidewater, VA) 75-85- -160
Subernia Johnson (Orlando, FL) 83-80- -163
John Douglas (Louisiana-South) 84-80- -164
Cary Anderson (Nashville, TN) 78-86- -164
Freddie Clayton (Louisiana-North) 80-85- -165
Eric Tobias (Charleston, SC) 88-78- -166
Joe Langa (Orlando, FL) 86-80- -166
Darin Darnell (Upstate, SC) 83-85- -168
Ryan Bland (Myrtle Beach, SC) 84-84- -168
Darold Parker (Louisiana-North) 84-84- -168
Phil VanGeersdaelen(Charlotte, NC) 89-79- -168
Andy Murrow (W. Piedmont, NC) 85-84- -169
Note: Brian Layne won in a sudden-death playoff.
C Flight:
Barry Fleming (Raleigh, NC) 81-84- -165
Jeff Cottom (Charlotte, NC) 84-86- -170
Len Benedetti (Orlando, FL) 84-87- -171
Percy Kennedy (Houston, TX) 84-87- -171
Jeremy Motes (Tidewater, VA) 84-88- -172
Mark Greene (Louisiana-North) 79-93- -172
Dave Gabbard (Charlotte, NC) 85-88- -173
Doug Crews (Orlando, FL) 91-82- -173
John Rinaldi (Charlotte, NC) 85-88- -173
Tyler Menard (Louisiana-South) 90-84- -174
James Adams (Pinehurst, NC) 83-91- -174
John Donat (Hilton Head, SC) 84-90- -174
Clay Galloway (Orlando, FL) 85-89- -174
D Flight:
Mark Dion (Houston, TX) 88-90- -178
Joe Paul (Downeast, NC)_ 91-88- -179
Dean Teal (Charleston, SC) 97-86- -183
Keith Weaver (Columbus, OH) 88-95- -183
Scott Fry (Tidewater, VA) 91-93- -184
Troy Massey (Houston, TX) 92-92- -184
Gary Tedford (Mississippi) 96-89- -185
Alfonso McDonald (Orlando, FL) 91-94- -185
Joyce Perry (Augusta, GA) 93-92- -185
Tim Murphy (Louisiana-North) 83-103-186
Lyn Rhode (Jacksonville, FL) 85-101-186
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