Brant Stovall of Germanton shot 4-under-par 67 Saturday at Lexington Golf Club to take the lead after the first round of the Dugan Aycock Davidson County Amateur.
Michael Swaringen of Rowan County shot 69 for second place. Justin Long was third with 71. Isaac Spencer and Tyler Lambert shot 72. The final round will begin Sunday morning with 11 of the 71 participants within seven strokes of the lead.
Preston Dembowiak of Kernersville set the pace at High Point Country Club Willow Creek with a 6-under 66 in the opening round of the Triad Amateur, which also concludes Sunday. Defending champion Lincoln Newton of Wallburg shot 69.
Credit the Wyndham Championship’s position at the end of the PGA Tour regular-season schedule for continuing to bolster the field for the Triad’s annual Tour stop this coming week at Sedgefield Country Club.
As the last chance for players to reach the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings and qualify for the playoffs — or at least improve their position for a playoff run — the Wyndham has attracted some well-known names including Jordan Spieth, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott and Wyndham Clark to Sedgefield.
The top 50 after the playoffs gain entry to next year’s signature events, which offered $20 million purses this season — more than double the purse for most regular events. Plus, a bonus pool of $40 million will be paid to the top 10 in the standings after the Wyndham.
“A lot of it is where we are in the schedule,” Wyndham executive director Mark Brazil said Saturday afternoon. “The most important thing right now is getting in that top 50.”
Mark Brazil talks to reporters Saturday at Sedgefield.
Hence, Spieth (No. 48 entering this weekend’s 3M Open), Clark (51), Tony Finau (59), Fowler (63) and Scott (85) have especially good reasons for entering. Clark was a late entry, committing after finishing his second round Friday at 3M. Other commitments announced Friday included Andrew Novak (12), who could jump into the top 10 for the bonus pool.
The high payouts of the signature events and the status that accompanies making the playoffs should benefit the Wyndham’s future chances of attracting Tour elites such as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowery, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Havland and Tommy Fleetwood if they need to improvement their playoff positions. That’s why Justin Thomas played here last year.
Brazil said he was told by the PGA Tour that this Wyndham field is the third-strongest this year among non-signature events and major championships. The Wyndham will tee off Thursday with 15 of the current top 40 in the FedEx standings. Brazil said 76 of the top 100 will be at Sedgefield.
But past experience, location and relationships have also factored in some top entrants who have less at stake.
Ben Griffin (the top player in the standings at No. 7) and MacIntyre (15) were each given spots in the field in past years. Hideki Matsuyama (21) is a regular at Sedgefield.
Lucas Glover (26) won here two years ago and often played with family at Sedgefield while growing up. Akshay Bhatia (46), the third-round co-leader at 3M, lives in the Raleigh area.
The tournament did lose one potential contender. Chris Gotterup (23), who is near the top of the leaderboard at 3M, withdrew his commitment.
Pinehurst Resort will be the site of the first Titleist retail shop in the U.S., according to The Pilot newspaper. Titleist will occupy the current Padgett Learning Facility near the driving range at the clubhouse for courses Nos. 1-5.
Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Fitzpatrick and Keegan Bradley were among the headliners committed to next week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club as of the 5 p.m. Friday deadline. Andrew Novak, Tony Finau and Sahith Theegala were late commitments.
As TriadGolf.com had speculated, the additions of Spieth and Bradley to the field makes sense. With a top finish, Bradley can to grab an automatic spot for the U.S. Ryder Cup team rather than be forced to choose himself as a captain’s pick. Spieth can solidify his position for the FedExCup Playoffs.
Commitments include 15 of the top 40 players in the FedEx standings.
Other notables in the Wyndham field include Ben Griffin, Adam Scott, Max Homa, Robert MacIntrye, Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, Ryan Fox and Jackson Koivon, the top-ranked amateur. Griffin is the highest ranked in the playoff standings at No. 7. Chris Gotterup, the recent Scottish Open, withdrew after solidifying his FedEx position.
With the playoffs starting the week after the Wyndham, jockeying for position in the top 70 is coming down the stretch. Wyndham fields often include international players staying in the U.S. for the playoffs.
A Triad course is taking steps to eliminate problems on one of its best-known holes.
Cedarbrook Country Club, just outside Elkin, filled a “mucky” wet area with dirt with plans to reclaim the area as fairway.
Cedarbrook grounds crew filled much of the wet area in front of the fourth green with dirt on Monday and Tuesday. The area, once a pond, was affected by erosion from construction along U.S. 21, which skirts the hole, during the last five or so years.
A hazard will remain about 20 yards short of the green. The par-5 plays to 556 yards from the back tees. Ellis Maples designed Cedarbrook, which moved from its original Yadkin County location in 1962.
Cedarbrook general manager Josh Ross told TriadGolf.com that the club had received funds from the state for the “creek restoration project.”
“It’s a work in progress,” Ross said.
Ross said the new dirt, which begins about 120 yards from the green all the way to the creek, will be sodded either later this year or in the spring, depending partly on the weather. A small strip of grass has always been in play on the right as fairway.
Until the sodded grass is playable, Ross said the area will be designated as either hazard or ground under repair, a decision to be made by the club’s board of directors.
For visitors to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, booking a tee time at Sequoyah National Golf Club may be the safest bet during their stay.
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2009, Sequoyah National offers spectacular open views of the surrounding Smoky Mountains and well as dramatic elevation changes and immaculate playing conditions in an isolated setting near the nation’s most visited national park.
Almost hidden, just a modest tee shot off U.S. 441 outside of tiny Cherokee, Sequoyah National has top-quality amenities, including a driving range and chipping area, despite a small clubhouse and modest parking area. Managed for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee National by Kemper Sports also has a well-stocked pro shop and offers lessons from a PGA member.
Many of the tough challenges of the course are easy to see from elevated tees. Shots must be navigated over and through vast ravines, deep rough edging into fescue, gaping bunkers and a variety of ponds and streams.
“It’s a challenging course,” said Holden Straughan, the course’s director of strategic partnerships and a Cherokee native. “The views are awesome. It’s tough to know how to play the contours and other stuff.”
The fast, undulating, bent greens can continually confound first-time visitors unable to see all the tiers and slopes from the fairway. And, though the carts have GPS, judging distances to landing areas and greens is particularly difficult on the uphill and downhill shots at high elevation. The Zoysia fairways are lush, and sometimes cause carts to skid slightly, but noticeably.
Though some holes are lined by forest on one side, fescue-filled rough and ravines provide most of the hazards. Most par-4s and par-5s also have fairway bunkers that serve as hazards and targets.
The mission is simple: Hit fairways, greens or bunkers. Or hit another ball.
The par-72 layout stretches to only 6,517 yards, but plays longer on some holes, especially a few where drives can roll backwards after hitting into hillsides. The course rating is 71.3 with a hefty slope of 143. From the second-longest set of tees, 6,135 yards, the rating is 69.7 with a slope of 140.
An early challenge comes at No. 2, a 165-yard par-3 with a forced carry over a ravine to a green perched above a rock bulkhead, the few yards between the rock and the green sloped sharply down into the hazard.
The quirkiness of the course is never more apparent than at No. 4, a sharp dogleg left measuring only 332 yards from the tips on the scorecard, but much longer in reality.
A solid drive carrying more than 200 yards can hit the middle or left side of the fairway and tumble downward off the fairway into fescue. The safe shot for most players — though not apparent to visitors — is to hit to the flatter right side of the landing area.
From the left fescue, the dramatically uphill shot to the green is tough to navigate. If left short, shots tumble back into the fescue. A tiered putting surface can send shots rolling away from pin positions.
The meat of the course is a four-hole stretch beginning at No. 9 that includes three par-5s of more than 500 yards each and perhaps the toughest hole on the course, the par-4 10th, measuring 414 yards with a forced carry all the way to a putting surface perched atop a hill.
At No. 13, the second of three par-3s measuring at least 216 yards from the tips, players must accurately judge the approach down an open steep slope to horizontal green framed by the mountains.
The best view — and the quirkiest hole on the back nine — comes at No. 15. From a tee perched on a hill, players hit dramatically down on the dogleg right, where the optimal shot is over tree tops to a landing area not visible from the tee.
The tee shot at 15 offers a choice between an iron to the fairway straight ahead or a longer shot right over treetops to leave only a short pitch to the putting surface.
The rack rate is $150 during the summer. Casino guests get a small discount.
If you’ve never been to Cherokee, it’s a unique experience — nothing like more gentile mountain getaways such as Blowing Rock, Linville or even the nearby (as the crow flies) hamlets of Cashiers and Highlands.
The nearest nightlife and public golf options are in Waynesville, about 30 minutes away. The small town of Silva, close to Western Carolina University, is a few minutes closer with a few restaurant options.
Waynesville Golf & Inn has an 18-hole course renovated a few years ago by architect Bobby Weed with accommodations renovated in the past few years and placed under the Hilton umbrella in 2024. Laurel Ridge Country Club, designed by Bob Cupp, has a 6,900-yard layout and offers limited tee times with accommodations on the property.
The best restaurants are at the casino hotel, where the choices include Ruth’s Chris and an offering from Bobby Flay. There’s not much else in Cherokee — a few fast-food chains, a couple local spots and a few hotels. Restaurants and convenience stores close by 9 p.m.
Who are some of the top names coming to Sedgefield Country Club for the Wyndham Championship next week?
The tournament has made some recent announcements about commitments. But truth is, eligible players have until late Friday afternoon to commit. And it’s not unusual for a few withdrawals in the days leading up to the first round.
The biggest stars, the Schefflers, McIlroys, Schauffeles, etc., are taking two weeks off prior to the playoffs.
With the Greensboro event the last opportunity for players to get into the FedExCup Playoffs — or improve their position — a lot may depend on the first two rounds of this week’s 3M Open in Minnesota — for several reasons.
Coming directly after the British Open, 3M is short on star power. Maverick McNealy, at No. 11, is the highest ranked player in the FedEx standings. Sam Burns (22) and Chris Gotterup (23) and Sungjae Im (29) are the only others in the 30 at Memphis.
In recent years, most of the players in the top 30 don’t play in Greensboro, opting to rest up for the playoffs. A majority between Nos. 31 and 120 will be in the field.
The top 70 in the standings after Greensboro go to Memphis for the playoffs. The top 50 after Memphis go to Maryland, where the players will be cut to 30 for the finals at East Lake Club.
Greensboro figures to have a better field than Memphis. Gotterup, Lucas Glover (26), Im and Ryan Fox (30) have committed. Glover won here two years ago and has family here. This is only Year 2 on the PGA Tour for Fox, who already has two wins this year and probably likes his chances to make another big check.
Rickie Fowler (63) is playing in Minnesota. If he doesn’t rise in the standings, he’s a good bet for Sedgefield. Jordan Spieth (48) has played here multiple times and may want to improve his playoff position.
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (10th in U.S. Ryder Cup standings) could play in an attempt to leap into one of six automatic Ryder Cup spots and avoid making a choice about taking a captain’s pick. But he’s not playing in Minnesota.
OLD FIELD PAR-3 TAKING SHAPE
Now, some more information about the six-hole par-3 walking course adjacent to Colin Creek in Mocksville that TriadGolf.com reported last week to be under construction.
Melinda Groomes, the pro shop manager at Colin Creek, told TriadGolf.com has been told that the course’s name will be “Old Field.” The owner is Matt Tullos, who purchased the former Colin Creek (previously Hickory Hill) driving range.
The architectural firm of Smyers, Craig and Coyne is designing the course, with construction from Landscapes Unlimited. An opening is expected by the fall.
Old Field will soon have new grass.
Though Colin Creek, which has 12 holes from Hickory Hill, has separate ownership, Groomes said that Old Field will be run out of the Colin Creek pro shop — at least initially.
Old Field will have greens similar to those on regulation courses. Some of the walks from tee to green will be surrounded by high vegetation mimicking links-style layouts.
Some unique features include a double green for Nos. 2 and 4 and a deep bunker expected to draw attention. Hole lengths will range from 68 yards to 149 yards with 631 total yardage.
Lights from the Hickory Hill driving range remain on the property, but Groomes said she did not know whether they would be used. The facility will include a “Himalayan-style” putting course and a practice area.
Groomes said future plans at Old Field could include building a pro shop/snack bar.
Former Wake Forest assistant coach Dan Walters fired a spectacular 65 Thursday at Cedarwood Country Club in Charlotte to climb into a tie for third place finish in the 101st Carolinas Open.
Walters’ 65 tied for the low round of the 54-hole tournament. Colin Salema, a Clemson golfer from Matthews, posted 13-under-par 200 to win by six shots over Nick Rencis of Cornelius.
Steve Scott of Winston-Salem closed with 70 to finish at 209 in a tie for eighth. Amateur Ben Jordan of Greensboro finished at 211.
