95th Carolinas Amateur Championship

July 8-12, 2009

Country Club of Charleston, Charleston, SC

Championship Fun Facts

- This is 95th playing.

- 5 years were missed due to wars

        1917 and 1918 WWI

        1943, 44 and 45 WWII

Out of 95 times:

- Ten times has the stroke play medalist gone on to win the Championship

- Ten times has the stroke play medalist gone on to finish runner-up.

- 15 people have won multiple championships. 8 of them have won back to back and only 1 has won three years in a row. (F.M. Laxton)

- Paul Simson is the latest to win 2 championships, which came 14 years apart. His first in ’91 and his second in ’05. Billy Joe Patton from Morganton also won the championship 14 years apart with his first one in ’47 and his last in ’61 he also had a third one when he one the 1958 championship.

- Only 4 times has the final match had to go on to extra holes, while 14 times it has been decided on the final hole.

- The runner up has only gone on to win the championship the following year 3 times.

- The lowest 36-hole total was Stephen Woodard of Charlotte who shot 133 in 1996 at Cape Fear Country Club. One stroke better then Paul Simson’s 134 in the 2008 championship held at Cape Fear Country Club

 

Host State

Out of the 94 championships, 56 of them have been held in North Carolina and 38 have been held in South Carolina.

 

Country Club of Charleston

This will be the 6th Carolinas Amateur Championship held at The Country Club of Charleston. (1911-C.C.Allen, 1915-Louis Grimball, 1927-T.D. Blair, 1935-Thad Street Jr., 1995-Charles Warren)

 

Where are they from?

The winner has hailed from North Carolina 64 times and 30 times from South Carolina. Out of the 5 previous Carolinas Amateur Championships at the Country Club of Charleston only once has a North Carolinian claimed victory  .

 

The Trophy

Although the Trophy is named after Richard Tufts for his great contribution to Amateur golf in the Carolinas, he never actually hoisted the trophy. He twice was the runner-up once in 1925 and the second time in 1939. His loss in the 1939 Championship was the largest margin of defeat to date, losing to Robert Dunkelberger 12 & 10 at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, NC.

 

Family Affair

Charles B. Smith of Gastonia, NC finally captured his first title in 1962 at Florence Country Club, after finishing low stroke play medalist the 3 previous years and runner up in the 1958 championship. His brother Dave Smith Jr. also claimed victory in the 1955 championship. They are not the only family to have brought the trophy to their home twice. The Laxton brothers did so as well with F.M. Laxton winning 3 straight years from 1921-1923 and his brother Erwin L. capturing the 1932 championship. The 1992 Champion Frank Ford III and his son Cordes Ford the 1996 Champion each brought home the trophy.

 

Two Time Champions

  1. Walter M. Paul-1913, 1916

  2. Roland Hancock-1925, 1926

  3. T.D. Blair-1927, 1929

  4. Thad Street Jr.-1934, 1935

  5. James McNair-1946, 1948

  6. Harvie Ward Jr.-1949, 1950

  7. Richard D Chapman-1953, 1957

  8. Chip Beck- 1976,1977

  9. Matt Peterson-1987, 1988

  10. Terry Ezell-1989, 1998

  11. Paul Simson-1991, 2005

 

Three Time Champions

  1. F.M. Laxton-1921, 1922, 1923

  2. Eugene Mills-1924, 1930, 1931

  3. Billy Joe Patton-1947, 1958, 1961

  4. Billy Harvey- 1964, 1965, 1973