Sizzling finishes highlight Columbia, Palmetto Amateur golf tournaments

Tournaments to match the weather — sizzling finishes that went to the final putt — put the stamp of excitement on South Carolina amateur golf over the past couple of weeks.

First, the Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Championship featured two players who competed in USGA national events last summer, and four golfers combined to forge a stirring finish over Fort Jackson Golf Club’s Old Hickory Course.

Then, at storied Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, another blanket finish unfolded in the Palmetto Amateur that featured a late hole-in-one, and the champion secured the title in the most compelling way — birdies on the final two holes.

Henry Augenstein stormed from behind to win the Columbia title with a final 5-under-par 67 for a three-day total of 5-under 211. Playing in the penultimate group, he could not rest easy until his challengers — two-time champion Patrick Stephenson, Drake Cassidy and Spencer Skiff — all fell short on the 18th green.

Call Augenstein an unexpected champion. He did not enter until the last minute, after his weekend plans fell through. But his name is familiar to area fans: He played at Hammond School and Wofford College, and he advanced to the finals of the first Drive, Chip and Putt competition.

“I haven’t played much this year, maybe six or eight times,” he said after his final round that included seven birdies, an eagle and a double-bogey. “I started great (in the final round) and managed to overcome a big mistake on 16” that led to double-bogey.

Cassidy, who played at Wofford with Augenstein and now works for Sonoco, started the final round with a one-shot edge on Stephenson with Skiff three off the pace and Augenstein five back.

Four early birdies put Augenstein in the mix and they matched shot for shot. Stephenson and Augenstein both eagled the drivable par-4 12th, and they went to the final tee with Augenstein and Cassidy one shot ahead of Stephenson and two up on Skiff.

Augenstein made par and watched. Skiff rolled in a birdie putt and Stephenson two-putted for par, leaving both one shot short and Cassidy with a chance to tie. After his second shot missed the green right, he chipped past the hole and his putt to force a playoff twisted away.

“I haven’t played much tournament golf this year,” said Stephenson, who like Skiff played in the U.S. Mid-Amateur last summer. “I think I had six three-putts and it’s hard to win like that.”

Palmetto Amateur

At Aiken, the Palmetto Amateur featured its usual stellar field and produced a finish to match the Columbia championship. The battle for the title boiled down to West Columbia’s Sam Jackson, a semifinalist in the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur, and Chase Nevins, a Virginian who is a rising sophomore at Vanderbilt.

Jackson, a Palmetto member, owned a one-shot lead after Nevins bogeyed the long par-3 16th, and parred the final two holes to post a four-round total of 4-under-par 276.

But Nevins bounced back, making birdies on the final two holes, both par-4s, to win by one stroke. Sharing third behind Jackson were Miles Eubanks (Warrenville, College of Charleston), Daniel Boone (UNC-Charlotte) and Matthew Doyle (Summerville/Elon).

Division winners in the Columbia event included Carey Hite (legends), Robin Alley (super seniors) and John Obrien (seniors). The tournament also honored the Dargan brothers, presenting the Scott Hannon Sportsmanship Award to David Dargan and the David Bennett Service to Golf Award to Robert Dargan.

▪ Chip shots. All-American Louise Rydqvist, a rising senior at USC, won the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship by three shots in Finland. USC sophomores Maylis Lamoure and Vairana Heck posted top 30 finishes. ... USC’s Nathan Franks, who won two individual titles last season despite missing four tournaments with an injury, starts the year at No. 24 in the PGA Tour’s University Rankings. The No. 1 player in the final rankings next May will earn PGA Tour membership, and players Nos. 2-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) will received Korn Ferry Tour membership. ... Yoshio Yamamoto has been named USC’s assistant women’s golf coach. Yamamoto, an assistant on the Coastal Carolina men’s staff the past three years, replaces Michael Roters, recently named head women’s coach at Tulsa after three season with the Gamecocks. ... The Georgia squad claimed a 9-7 win in the Georgia-South Carolina junior team matches in Greensboro, Georgia. ... Dawson Szabo (Greer) won the boys’ title and Emerson Devers (Pawleys Island) led the girls in the Jimmy Self Junior Invitational at Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island. ... Caroline Hawkins (Columbia) earned the girls’ championship and Cade Kriscunas (Hilton Head) claimed the boys’ title in the Blade Junior Classic at Thornblade Club in Greer.

This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 7:36 AM with the headline "Sizzling finishes highlight Columbia, Palmetto Amateur golf tournaments."