SCGA likes how year shaped up, has plan ‘to keep moving forward’ in 2020
Naturally, rain showers and strong wind gusts increased the final-round challenge facing players in the South Carolina Golf Association’s Super Senior Championship that ended Wednesday at Florence Country Club.
“Naturally” is the proper word. After all, “even with the drought across the state, we’ve had weather issues in practically every tournament,” SCGA executive director Biff Lathrop said.
But bad weather could not prevent South Carolina from enjoying another banner year, Lathrop said in reviewing the season that only has a couple of events on the calendar.
“We’ve had great competition, surprise winners and some familiar names to win,” he said. “We’ve had emotional moments, a celebration of the association’s 90th anniversary and introduced an Upstate golf celebration.”
The “many positives” include:
▪ international exposure from the U.S. Women’s Open at the Country Club of Charleston added to the annual coverage of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island;
▪ and Lea Anne Brown, an accomplished player and member of the State Golf Hall of Fame, becoming the first female on the organization’s Board of Directors.
Overall, “the state of the game in South Carolina is very good,” Lathrop said. “We have lost a few clubs that have closed, but our individual membership is stable (in the 56,000 range), we have had full fields for almost every event, every junior event is over-subscribed and the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association continues to grow.
“All the organizations (professionals and amateurs) are working with the same goal of bolstering the game, and I’m confident we’re doing that.”
In choosing “one moment from many” to treasure, Lathrop picked the emotion showed by Tyler Gray after his victory in the South Carolina Amateur at the Thornblade Club in Greer. “To see that, to see what it meant to win, is special,” he said.
Then, there is Kevin King adding the Senior Amateur title to his championships in the State Amateur and State Mid-Amateur championships, the tight race for player of the year honors between Mid-Amateurs Raymond Wooten and Jordan Sease, and the battle for the top senior player between Walter Todd and Eddie Hargett.
“Those are things involving highly skilled players, but those playing a lesser level are equally important,” Lathrop said. “Really, golf is a game for a lifetime, regardless to ability.”
Away from tournaments, Lathrop enjoyed watching four members of his staff participate in fund-raiser for the Youth on Course program that involved playing 100 holes in a single day. Then, there are the administrative duties that include securing tournament sites for 2020 and beyond. Plus, a worldwide handicap system will begin with the new year and, he said, “we’ve got to educate everyone, pros at clubs and players, on what that entails.”
With tournaments dwindling, the staff will have time to look back to evaluate 2019 “and to see what we can do better,” Lathrop said. “I’m pleased with a lot of the accomplishments, but we always want to keep moving forward.”
For the record, the 2020 schedule places the State Amateur at Columbia CC, the Senior Amateur at the CC of Spartanburg, the Junior Championship at the Tradition at Pawleys Island and the Mid-Amateur at Florence CC.
Expect outstanding golf — and, naturally, weather issues.
Chip shots. USC’s women’s team finished seventh and Clemson placed 12th in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. Senior Lois Kaye Go tied for ninth individually to pace the Gamecocks and Ivy Shepard led the Tigers with a share of 13th. Kentucky freshman Jensen Castle (West Columbia) also tied for 13th. . . . John Long (Murrells Inlet) won the SCGA’s Harry Wilson Super Senior Championship at Florence CC, edging Tim Pope (Spartanburg) and Gus Sylvan (Columbia) in a sudden-death playoff. . . . Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, a freshman who won the individual title and led USC to the team championship in her second college tournament, is among 15 players on Golfweek’s Annika watchlist. The Annika is present to the season’s top women’s college golfer. Roussin-Bouchard is No. 8 in the world amateur golf rankings.