Amateur golf tournaments are set to resume in SC. Here’s what to expect
Amateur tournament golf in the state prepares to reopen in the next week with both the S.C. Golf Association and Women’s S.C. Golf Association operating events with “new normal” rules in place.
On hold since mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak, high-profile competition resumes June 8-10 with the WSCGA’s Women’s State Amateur at Columbia Country Club and the SCGA’s Junior Championship at the Tradition Club at Pawleys Island.
On the flip side, tournament officials have decided to “reschedule” the 2020 Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Championship until July 2021 due to the pandemic.
“We’re anxious to resume our tournaments, and first and foremost, we want to do all we can to assure the safety of the players, officials, spectators and the host club’s personnel,” SCGA executive director Biff Lathrop said.
To address the safety issues, the COVID-19 protocols, policies and guidelines will be in place for all events in the foreseeable future. Regulations include arrival times, practice range opportunities, social distancing requirements, formats, sizes of fields, scoring, handling of bunkers and pins, inclement weather rules and food and beverage availability.
“A lot of things will be different, and we’re asking our players and spectators to adhere to the guidelines,” Lathrop said. “A lot of players will miss the post-round camaraderie that’s part of tournaments, but this is a difficult time and adjustments have to be made.”
The SCGA office had been closed during Gov. Henry McMaster’s “home or work” executive order. The staff returned on Monday working in shifts.
“A lot of different things have been discussed,” Lathrop said. “We’re doing scoring on a smart-phone app. We’re encouraging walkers in case we have a cart shortage. We’re having pre-paid cards for the players’ food at the junior championship.
“There is extra expense involved with things like purchasing hand sanitizer and such. We just want people safe. If someone is not comfortable, we understand and ask them to take the year off and come back to play next year.”
Other SCGA events in June include the Father-Son, moved to June 25 at the Woodcreek Club in Elgin, and the Lefty-Righty and Left-Handers championships June 27-28 at Lake Marion GC in Santee.
At Columbia CC, Dawn Woodward will be seeking her ninth Women’s Amateur title against a strong field that includes 22 players with plus handicaps.
Woodard, a former Furman golfer, set the record for Women’s Amateur titles by winning her eighth a year ago at Dataw Island Club near Beaufort.
The WSCGA’s Junior Girls’ Championship had been scheduled for June 15-17 at Fort Jackson GC’s Wildcat Course, but restrictions for access to the military installation forced a change in venue. The tournament reportedly will be played at Mount Vintage in North Augusta.
With the SCGA and WSCGA returning to tournament play, officials decided to postpone — or, as tournament chairman Bobby Foster said, “reschedule” — the city men’s championship that had been scheduled for mid-July.
“Our tournament has persevered during good times and hard times,” he said. “With the exception of two years during World War II, the tournament has been played continuously 82 times since 1936. The word ‘cancellation’ is not in our City Tournament’s DNA.”
Thus, he said, the 83rd City Tourney has been “rescheduled” for July 15-17, 2021 at the Spur at Northwoods.
Foster joined tournament director Allen Knight, Spur pro Greg McBride and sponsor representative David Herndon in making the decision.
“We understand everyone might not agree, but we feel it’s better to wait until we could all more fully enjoy all aspects of the tournament,” Foster said. “All things considered, we decided it would be prudent to reschedule.”
Chip shots. University of Kentucky freshman Jensen Castle (West Columbia) set the school’s single-season scoring average (71.88) in women’s golf and became the first Wildcat since 1989 to earn a berth on the All-SEC women’s first team. She posted a pair of top-10 finishes and placed in the top 20 on five of her six tournaments. ... Nicole Cee (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), winner of multiple South Florida events, signed to play her college golf at USC.