By STEVE WILLIAMS
Chandler White has been playing some solid golf this summer and he capped it by claiming his hometown title.
White shot 66 at Tanglewood’s Championship Course and followed with a 69 at Maple Chase Country Club to hold off Isaac Spencer by one shot in the early August event that was shortened to 36 holes after the first round was rained out.
It was White’s second title on Forsyth turf in less than a month. In the North Carolina Players Championship at Oak Valley and Tanglewood in July, White fired a final-round 63 for a come-from-behind three-shot victory in the 54-hole event.
Spencer has also been playing great this summer. He rolled to a 10-shot victory in the inaugural Triad Amateur at Willow Creek in late June by shooting 64-67. White was second at 74-67.
In the Forsyth Invitational, White’s 66 set the first-round pace. Spencer, who opened with 72 and was tied for 12th, then posted a 64 and waited for White to finish. A two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th clinched it for White.
Former two-time Forsyth champ Uly Grisette finished third with 72-66, but it was the youngsters who stole the show. White, age 20, tied for second youngest winner of the event – ranking only behind Jason Harris, who won as a 19-year-old in 2002.
Holly Ridge Charity Classic
ARCHDALE • Aug. 9-10 – Guilford College sophomore Tanner Gross played steady golf over two rounds and won the Holly Ridge Charity Classic at Holly Ridge Golf Links.
Gross shot 71-70 and edged Josh Turner by one shot and Gary Pugh by two.
Gross, playing in the final group with Pugh, rolled in a 25-foot birdie on the 15th hole – his fifth birdie of the round – to break a tie with Pugh.
Turner, who opened with 74, posted the low round of the tournament on day two but his 68 ended one shot short. Pugh placed third with 69-74.
Crooked Tree Amateur
BROWN SUMMIT • Aug. 23-24 – Addison Lambeth fired a pair of 67s and won the Crooked Tree Amateur by three shots over defending champ Ben Pinkleton.
Pinkleton also opened with 67, but Lambeth took the lead with a 33 on the front nine of the second round.
Pinkleton went out in 34 and was still was just a shot back after he birdied No. 17. But Lambeth birdied the 18th as Pinkleton bogeyed for the three-shot margin.
Brookwood Amateur
WHITSETT • Aug. 16-17 – Willie Noah, often a contender in amateur tournaments in Alamance County and on home turf at Brookwood Golf Club, finally captured his first invitational title by turning back Tony Byerly and winning the Brookwood Amateur.
Noah, a former two-time club champion at Brookwood, shot 66-64 and finished four shots ahead of Byerly, who shot 65-69.
An eagle at the par-5 ninth highlighted Noah’s 31 on the front nine and he never trailed after that although Byerly was within one shot after 13. Noah closed the deal by notching birdies at Nos. 14 and 18.
Charles Allred Invitational
GREENSBORO • Aug. 9-10 – Neal Long of Roxboro got up and down for pars on the first two playoff holes and then made another par to outlast Garrett Smith in the Charles Allred Invitational at Forest Oaks Country Club.
Long, Smith and Gaston Bertonotti all shot 69 in the first round. Playing in rainy conditions on day two, Long and Smith posted 74s to force a playoff. Bertonotti placed third, two shots back.
Smith is a 21-year-old UNC Greensboro senior who works part time at Forest Oaks.
Davidson County Amateur
LEXINGTON • July 26-27 – Rodney Thomas opened with a 66 and never trailed while winning the Dugan Aycock Davidson County Amateur for the second time.
Thomas was one of five players to card rounds in the 60s in the opening round but none of his closest pursuers could mount a challenge in the second round when Thomas matched par 71. Chris Kiser and Marc Lamoureaux both shot 69 in the second round and moved into a tie for second at 139, two shots off the pace.
Max Thore Memorial
REIDSVILLE • July 26-27 – Tony Byerly held off a pair of Appalachian State players to win his second consecutive Max Thore Memorial Championship at Wolf Creek Golf Club.
Byerly shot 64-67 and was a shot better than Lee Mitchell (69-63) and Caleb Keck (65-67). Both Keck and Mitchell are juniors at ASU.
It was Byerly’s 41st title in amateur events, including five at Wolf Creek. In addition to the two Max Thore titles, he won the Reidsville Invitational in 1998, 1999 and 2009.
