We cannot say thank you enough to all our members and guests who made our first official tournament on Amateur Players Tour a great success! 

Cherokee Valley played host to the first official tournament of the Amateur Players Tour – Palmetto/Highlands Chapter. Typically, a fun yet challenging course, mother nature decided to up the difficulty with 15-20 mph winds. 

Division 1 got the day started. The front played tight as players settled into the round. At the turn, Greg Moore and Jimmy Popp took the early lead at +2. Scott Roberts and Matt Moore played solidly but stood one shot back at +3. 

Scott Roberts got hot starting at 12 birding 3 of the next 4 holes finishing the day at 1 over (73). Matt Moore couldn’t keep pace with Roberts but played a solid back 9 to finish the day solo second +4 (76). Jimmy Popp and Greg Moore would stumble on the inward nine, both finishing the day with a solid 78 but just outside the money. 

Division 3 was the next group to accept the challenge of the day. Chad Harrington set a blistering pace for the division, making the turn in 39 shots. William Buie was on his heels with 41. Followed by Matt Miller (43) and TJ Eaves (46). 

The inward nine would shuffle the leader board. William Buie would hang on to a 3 shot lead and finish the day with an 85. TJ Eaves, takes second in a scorecard playoff with an 88. Losing on the scorecard playoff is Matt Miller (88). Rounding out the top 4 is Chad Harrington (89). 

Division 4 is full of volatility and characters. Ben Wylie would take the early lead today after nine. Jimmy Sullivan, Joseph Lee and Les Schofield close on Ben’s heels. When the dust settled on the back nine, Jimmy Sullivan fires an 88 to take the win. Les Schofield takes second with an 89. Joseph Lee (90) takes third and Brian Gregor (91) plays a solid back none to take fourth. 

Division 5 is usually entertaining as the leader board never stays static for long. Well except for today. Jace Calhoun, our youngest member on tour, played solidly all day. Shooting 47-46 (93 total) to take the runaway win. Terry Bollenbecker (102) looking to get on the road for his ride home, decided to look at the leader board one last before having to get out of the car to collect his second-place gift card. Denton Lanning takes third beating out Derek Kemp on a score card playoff. 

Division 2 saw Josh Calhoun and Chapter Owner Phil Vangeersdaelen both firing a 42 on the front nine. Josh was able to minimize his mistakes on the back and a couple of timely bounce back birdies to edge out Phil for the win. Josh went on to shoot 80 and a 5 stroke victory. Phil (85) takes second will have wait another day to win. Nick Hinton (87) takes third on the scorecard playoff over Chris Franklin (87). 

The Amateur Players Tour – Upstate will make it’s next stop at Connestee Falls Golf Club on April 17^th. 

Charlotte will be hosting two events before then. 

March 31^st – Charlotte Season Opener - Verdict Ridge 

April 5^th - Pine Island CC