Aaron Rai claimed an unlikely victory in a dramatic finish at the PGA Tour’s annual Wyndham Championship, which concluded as scheduled Aug. 11 despite heavy rains from Hurricane Debby that flooded the Sedgefield Country Club course and postponed the start more than 24 hours.
Rai, who watched a chip land short of target and roll back off the ninth green to his feet during a marathon weekend, took advantage of the collapse of former Duke player Max Greyserman on the tournament’s home stretch.
Rai shot 64 in the final round to finish at 18-under-par 282, grabbing control when Greyserman made double-bogey 8 on No. 15 to relinquish a seemingly safe four-shot lead.
Early in tournament week, Truist, a longtime secondary sponsor of the Wyndham, announced it had taken over title sponsorship of the Tour’s annual big-money event at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, with reports that the bank created by the merger of BB&T and SunTrust, will pony up as much as $25 million per year.
First Responders set for Oct. 4
The sixth-annual First Responders of the Triad Golf Tournament at Greensboro National, had a few sponsorship and team spots available with three weeks remaining before the Oct. 4 event.
The 2023 event raised $60,000 for area First Responders. The tournament allows the winning team and two other teams chosen by drawing to select recipients among local First Responders. For information, contact Greensboro National general manager Bruce Mohler at bmohler@greensboronational.com.
Cadieux wins, heads to N.C. State
Tanner Cadieux of Greensboro, N.C. won the boys’ title at the 7th Hope Valley Junior Invitational in Durham.
Cadieux, a former Page High standout now a freshman on the N.C. State team, shot 10-under-par 200, then beat Aidan Wilson of Winston-Salem, a sophomore at Oak Grove, in a four-hole playoff.
The 54-hole event at Hope Valley Country Club was condensed to two days with a shotgun format due storms and inclement weather.
Precision’s Haarlow shines
Chris Haarlow of Greensboro, director/instructor with Robert Linville’s Precision Golf School, finished the summer strong with a tie for fourth at the Carolinas PGA Senior Professional at Pinewood Country Club in late Augusta and a sixth-place finish at the CPGA North Carolina Senior Open in early September at High Point Country Club’s Willow Creek course.
Haarlow shot 2-over 145 at Willow Creek to finish four strokes behind winner Hank Smith of Briar’s Creek near Charleston, South Carolina. Neal Lancaster of Smithfield was the winner at Pinewood with 140, five ahead of Haarlow.
Robert Linville of Charlotte, director of instruction at Precision, tied with Haarlow at Pinewood, and finished third, only two shots behind Smith, at Willow Creek.
Hernandez wins first UNCG title
UNC Greensboro’s Kelvin Hernandez picked up where he left off, taking medalist honors at the Spartans’ first tournament of the fall season, the Byron National Collegiate, as UNCG won the team title at Bryan Park Champions course.
The sophomore from Puerto Rico shot rounds of 68, 69 and 71 to finish at 8-under-par 208. The Spartans, who also won the event last year, shot 10-under 854 to beat Delaware by two strokes. Boston College was third at 862.
The victory was the first for Hernandez (pictured) in his UNCG career. The Puerto Rico native became the first first UNCG player to qualify for the NCAA Championship last spring.
Newton adds Mimosa victory
Lincoln Newton of Wallburg continued his winning summer, posting a 6-under-par 134 total to win the Mimosa Hills Junior Invitational in Morganton by one stroke over James Rhodes of Columbia, South Carolina.
Newton shot 68 in the final round at Mimosa Hills Country Club, including a birdie on No. 16 that proved to be the difference. Rhodes birdied No. 17 to pull within one shot. Since July, the 16-year-old Newton has won the Davidson County Junior, the CGA Father-Son and the Triad Amateur.
