Local golf notes: 2015’s SC highlights

Golf 2015 in South Carolina produced so many magic moments, ranging from Todd White’s USGA championship to three PGA Tour tournament titles by players who honed their skills in the state’s acclaimed junior program to Matt NeSmith’s monster amateur year.

Before considering those achievements, those who play the game – from duffers to the more skilled – need to pause to say “thank you” to the course superintendents and their crews.

Those sometimes-forgotten and often-unappreciated keys to the game delivered above and beyond in the face two natural challenges – the lingering frigid temperatures in January and February and the October floods. They responded beautifully.

Hats off, too, to the PGA professionals who keep the game running smoothly and also fall into the often-unappreciated category. But where would golf be without them?

Take a look now, in no particular order and by no means all-inclusive, at some of the Palmetto State’s on-course headlines from 2015:

▪ Todd White (Spartanburg), the ageless wonder in his late 40s, continues to defy the calendar and successfully challenge the game’s young guns. He won the Azalea Invitational, combined with Nathan Smith (Pittsburgh) to claim the inaugural U.S. Men’s Four-Ball and reached the quarterfinals in the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

▪ Matt NeSmith (North Augusta), a senior at USC, won two college tournaments, including the SEC championship. He captured the prestigious Players Amateur and qualified for both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur. In sectional qualifying for the Open, he played 36 holes in an astounding 17 under par. He earned the South Carolina Golf Association’s Player of the Year award and is currently ranked 15^th among the world’s amateurs.

▪ Dustin Johnson (Columbia/Coastal Carolina) and Bill Haas (Greenville) added to their PGA Tour tournament titles, and Kevin Kisner (Aiken) won his first. Kisner’s playoff battles with Rickie Fowler at the Players and Jim Furyk at Harbour Town provided some of the year’s best theater, and he jumped from 236^th to 17^th in the world rankings. Johnson ended his self-imposed leave of absence with a WGC victory at Doral and banked more than $5million, but, alas, most will remember the three-putt on the final hole of the U.S. Open that kept him out of a playoff for the title. Haas joined Johnson on the victorious U.S. President’s Cup team, captained by Bill’s dad, Jay (Greer).

▪ Andrew Orishak (Hilton Head Island) missed by a whisker in the U.S. Junior at Bluffton’s Colleton River Plantation, losing on the 37^th hole in the final, and Steve Liebler (Irmo) came oh, so close in the U.S. Senior Amateur, falling on the 21^st hole in the semifinal.

▪ In the South Carolina Amateur, USC golfer Keenan Huskey (Greenville) left nothing to chance and routed the field with a 19-under-par 269 over Greenville Country Club’s challenging Chanticleer course.

▪ Rick Cloninger (Fort Mill) collected his fourth consecutive South Carolina Senior Player of the Year award, and Dawn Woodard (Greer) won the State’s Women’s Player of the Year prize for the fifth time in a row. Her triumphs included her sixth State Women’s Amateur.

▪ Lauren Stephenson (Lexington) represented the United States in the Toyota Junior World Cup Series before launching her college career at Clemson with an impressive fall. Her victory in this month’s Dixie Amateur boosted her to 51^st in the world amateur rankings.

▪ USC junior Katelyn Dambaugh (Goose Creek) forged a stellar sophomore season and holds the school’s career scoring record. Her fourth-place finish in the Dixie Amateur moved her to 42^nd in the world amateur rankings.

▪ Former USC star Kyle Thompson (Greenville) pulled a rarity, winning the same Web.com tournament (in Raleigh) for the third time. His triumph earned a letter of congratulations from Arnold Palmer.

▪ USC’s men’s and women’s teams went into the national tournament in May ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams, and Clemson’s men’s completed the fall ranked 11^th.

▪ The Bryan Brothers, Wesley (Augusta) and George IV (Chapin), continued to amaze with their trick shots that have become an art form. Wesley also qualified for the 2016 Web.com Tour.

▪ Major national tournaments will continue to be played in the Palmetto State with announcements this year that the 2017 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball is scheduled for the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur will be staged at the Country Club of Charleston and the 2021 PGA will return to Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course.

That’s just a sampling, and if performances in the new year match 2015’s, the state’s golf world will again be blessed.

Chip shots. Jackson Cole (Pawley’s Island, boys’ 13-18), Gracyn Burgess (Lexington, girls’ 13-18), Luis Thompson (Charleston, boys’ 10-12) and Kayleigh Reinke (Rock Hill, girls’ 10-12) won titles in the Picard Junior Classic at Wild Dunes’ Links Course on the Isle of Palms. Ryan and Kevin Burris combined to capture the Ford Parent-Child title.

This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Local golf notes: 2015’s SC highlights."