58th Annual Junior Championship
Phillips takes 58th Junior Championship
Hollywood, SC – Trent Phillips of Inman set the goal of winning the SCGA Junior Championship presented by the Heritage Classic Foundation. Not only does he join history with the win, he also earns exemptions into the Bobby Chapman, Sage Valley Junior Invitational and SCGA Amateur Championship, among others.
After two days, the Inman native found himself six shots out of the lead. James May (Ninety Six) led the field going into the final day after firing the tournament low score of 66 during the second round. But May could not find the same magic for the final day. Colby Patton (Fountain Inn) and Tyler Gray (Lugoff) were in the final group alongside May and both got it to five under par by the 10th hole. However mistakes mounted up at the end and Patton and Gray finished even par for the day and two under for the tournament.
Phillips took advantage of his opportunity making three birdies and a lone bogey on the back nine to match his opening nine of 34 to pass Patton and Gray. The two stroke margin allowed him to fulfill his goal, capture the Charlie Rountree Trophy and win the SCGA Junior Championship presented by the Heritage Classic Foundation.
Nathan Franks headed up the boys 13-14 bracket after 36 holes with a two day total of 147. He eagled the par four 18th to get to two under for the final round. His hot play took the championship out of reach for his fellow competitors as his margin swelled to nine shots by the end of play. Franks solid play also put him into the top eight overall qualifying him for the GA-SC Team Matches.
The 13-14 age bracket was cut to the low 17 players and ties. That mark fell at 167 after two days. The low 54 scores and ties earned a berth into the final round for the boys 15-17. A total of 54 players came in at a score of 157 or better.
The low eight scores of the tournament automatically qualify for the 41st Annual Georgia-South Carolina Junior Team Matches. They will be played July 22-23 at Idle Hour Golf & Country Club in Macon, Georgia. These coveted Matches are the longest running interstate matches in the country. The top eight also qualify for the prestigious Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational and the Junior Heritage.
Qualifiers for the Georgia-SC Junior Challenge Matches include the aforementioned Phillips, Gray, Patton, May and Franks. Also qualifying are Jacob Bridgeman (Inman), Drayton Stewart (Charleston) and Seth Taylor (Gaffney).
Also, for the ninth consecutive year, The Heritage Classic Foundation is the presenting sponsor of the South Carolina Junior Championship and continues their strong support of junior programs in SC. The Heritage Classic Foundation is the general sponsor of the RBC Heritage presented by Boeing and The Players Amateur and has contributed over $32 million to local charities since its inception in 1987. The Heritage Classic Foundation has a long history of supporting junior golf and educational programs in SC. They have been the title sponsor of the South Carolina Junior Golf Association Rankings for the past 12 years, have awarded over $3.7 million in four-year college scholarships to 267 high school seniors since 1993 and facilitated more than $2.6 million in donations in 2015 alone! For more information about the Heritage Classic Foundation, contact Angela McSwain at (843) 671-2448.
The SCGA, founded in 1929, is the governing body for amateur golf in South Carolina. As a non-profit organization, the SCGA’s purpose is to promote, preserve and serve the game of golf. Made up of more than 270 member clubs and more than 50,000 individual members, the SCGA annually conducts 21 SCGA statewide championships, 71 one-day contests, ten USGA qualifiers, seven 40-plus tournaments and six special events. Other Member services offered include GHIN – the USGA Handicap Computation System, a Tournament Software System and support, Rules of Golf and Handicap education, USGA Course/Slope Ratings and Course measuring, Amateur Status information, the Palmetto Golfer Magazine and the SC Golf Hall of Fame. The SCGA also houses the offices of the SC Junior Golf Foundation and SC Junior Golf Association in a combined effort to support junior golf and grow the game’s initiatives.
