Davis Womble of Winston-Salem finished second July 11 in the 111th Carolinas Amateur at Pinehurst No. 7.
Womble, a former Wake Forest player, rallied to shoot 1-under-par 71 in the final round after making double bogey on the first hole. He finished at 13-under 273 for 72 holes, one stroke behind Chandler Mulkey of Johns Island, South Carolina.
Mulkey, an Oregon native and a long-time caddie at Kiawah Island Resort, shot 70 in the final round, taking the victory with a birdie on the 72nd hole.
Womble and Mulkey battled head-to-head with Womble during the final round, taking a three-shot lead at the turn after consecutive birdies at Nos. 7, 8 and 9. Mulkey battled back with consecutive birdies at 10, 11 and 12.
Womble, who has won six Carolinas Golf Association championships, also finished second in the event in 2015 and 2019.
Leah Edwards is in position to advance to match play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
The Greensboro golfer, a two-time Class 4A individual champion at Northwest Guilford High who will attend Western Kentucky University, shot even-par 71 Monday afternoon in the first round of stroke play at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Edwards made three birdies and three bogeys, shooting even-par on each side. She will play in the morning on Tuesday.
Edwards is one of eight players tied for 16th entering Tuesday’s final round of stroke play. The top 64 players will advance to match play. Rinka Nakayama of Japan leads with 66.
Mallory Pitts, a student at Greensboro Day School and the Carolinas Girls’ Junior champion, shot 78 after making birdie on the first hole.
Welcome to “What’s New in Triad Golf?”, a new feature to run every Monday for subscribers to the coming soon TriadGolf.com newsletter.
Let’s start with the good news:
A lighted six-hole, par-3 course is under construction at Colin Creek in Mocksville. Crews were visible and light stands are up on open land on the east end of the property.
Hickory Hill Golf Club until sold and reopened as Colin Creek in 2019, the course’s new owners had shortened the course from 18 holes to 12 holes with six extra tees allowing players to stretch rounds to 18 holes.
Customers have been told the par-3 holes, owned separately from the 12 regulation holes, are expected to be ready in the fall.
We’ll have more information on Colin Creek and other Triad golf venues this week on TriadGolf.com …
Work on the new replacement for Country Club Golf Center is well underway in Lewisville. No opening date has been set. Until the new facility opens, the current location on Country Club Road in west Winston-Salem will remain open.
Partner Chris Merritt, a PGA instructor, said the new facility’s bells and whistles will include swing analysis technology and a putting course as part of a large practice green. Short game areas and target greens had already been announced.
Merritt said the new facility will have an admission price rather than a traditional method for purchasing practice balls …
Winding Creek director of golf Jason Gentel showed Triad Golf its new indoor facility only a short iron away from the clubhouse of the Thomasville municipal course.
Simulators have been chosen. Garage-style doors for two bays will allow players to hit outdoors and into simulators. The structure is up, installation of simulators and interior furnishings should come soon …
The Par 3 Grill opened at Gillespie Golf Course on July 1.
Par 3 Grill opened at Gillespie Golf Course on July 1. The restaurant, leased by the city to a private operator, is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The kitchen got some new equipment after a tree fell on the roof of the clubhouse last summer …
The new clubhouse at Tanglewood is also approaching completion. The target date for opening in the same location as the original clubhouse is now in September.
Tanglewood Park’s new clubhouse should be ready to open soon.
Tanglewood has operated out of a mobile unit across a road from the left side of the ninth hole for several months …
The grass is starting to fill in for sprigging on some of the fairways at Starmount Forest. Greensboro architect Kris Spence is supervising the extensive renovation project, hoped to be ready before the end of the year.
Now, the not-so-good news:
Last week’s Tropical Storm Chantal caused damage at several courses. Perhaps hardest hit was Mill Creek. The Mebane course announced it would be closed until Aug. 1, citing damage from the storm.
Brookwood, Dan River, Deep Springs and Riverside were among others that were closed during my print distribution four last week due to heavy rain or storm damage. Several others were closed to aerify greens …
What’s new in Triad Golf? is posted every Monday on TriadGolf.com
A prominent Pinehurst-area golf ownership group has more than doubled its portfolio.
A corporation controlled by the Miller and McGowan families, including daughters of the late Warren and Peggy Kirk Bell, and partner Haresh Tharani, bought golf courses at Country Club of Whispering Pines and Foxfire Resort.
The properties each have 36 holes. Whispering Pines’ courses were designed by Ellis Maples. Foxfire’s layout were designed by Gene Hamm. Whispering Pines is five miles northeast of Pinehurst, Foxfire is a similar distance to the west.
The new owners also own Pine Needles Resort, Mid Pines Resort and Southern Pines Golf Club, all original Donald Ross designs regarded as among the best Pinehurst-area courses. They recently sold the Pine Needles and Mid Pines hotels while retaining ownership of those properties’ golf courses.
Whispering Pines and Foxfire courses are open for public play. None are considered among the region’s elite.
The Pilot newspaper reported the sale of Whispering Pines and Foxfire for more than $3.5 million — including $411,000 for time share units at Whispering Pines — by GreatLife Golf Management, which bought Sapona Golf Club in Lexington in 2024.
According to the Pilot, architect Kyle Franz, who completed a major renovation of Southern Pines after it was acquired, is evaluating changes for the new owners at Whispering Pines and Foxfire.
Greensboro players at different stages in their junior careers are among the 156 players entering Monday’s first-round of stroke play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Leah Edwards, a two-time Class 4A state individual champion at Western Guilford High, will attempt to finish her junior career on a high note before heading to Western Kentucky University on a golf scholarship. Edwards qualified with a second-place finish at a qualifier filled with regional and international players at Spring Valley Country Club in Columbia, South Carolina.
Mallory Pitts, a 15-year-old rising sophomore at Greensboro Day School, made a big splash in June by winning the Carolinas Junior Girls’ Championship at WildeWood Country Club, also in Columbia, to earn an automatic U.S. Girls’ slot.
Mallory Pitts won the CGA Carolinas Girls’ Junior.
The tournament consists of two rounds of stroke play with the top 32 players advancing to match play.
The site of the 1976 U.S. Open won by Jerry Pate, AAC has since hosted one U.S. Women’s Open and three PGA Championships. The course is expected to play to par-71 at about 6,300 yards.
Rianna Maxili, a Filipina, won the U.S. Girls’ and U.S. Women’s Amateurs last year and now plays at Duke University.
With only three weeks left before the Wyndham Championship, let’s look at which PGA Tour starts are most likely to come to Sedgefield Country Club.
How about U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who won a few weeks ago in Connecticut and ranks No. 8 on the PGA Tour money list and No. 9 in the Ryder Cup standings?
By coming to Greensboro, Bradley could try to cement a spot in the top 6 in the Ryder Cup standings, giving him an automatic spot on U.S. team rather than the dilemma of considering himself for one of six wild-card picks. He could also touch base with potential wild-card candidates/Wyndham entrants such as Jordan Spieth.
When projecting the field, it’s easier to start with who probably won’t be here.
Given the FedExCup standings and former history we can probably rule out Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, perennial no-shows. Likewise for other stars in the top 30 in standings such as Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg and Victor Hovland.
Considering the dates, only a week before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, typically few of the top 20 players in the standings come to Greensboro. Those players are confident they’re safe to make the top 70 to qualify for Memphis, the top 50 for the BMW near Baltimore, and in good position to make the top 30 for the Tour Championship at East Lake.
But the majority of players between Nos. 30-100 will be in the field for one last attempt to make the playoffs or solidify their positions.
Lucas Glover, the 2023 Wyndham champion, has already committed to play. The 2009 U.S. Open champion, Glover is ranked No. 23 in the standings. The Greenville, South Carolina, native, has family in Greensboro and often played the course as a youth during summer vacations.
Ryan Fox, No. 27 with two victories this year, has also committed. Making his first full trip around the PGA Tour, the Kiwi may see a good chance to make another big check.
Other prominent players likely to be here include Justin Rose (33) and Spieth (46). Former Wake Forest player Cameron Young (37) and emerging South African star Aldrich Potgeiter (38) would seem good bets.
So would Raleigh resident Akshay Bhatia (43), former Wyndham winner J.T. Poston (48) of Hickory, Rickie Fowler (68), Billy Horschel (84), Adam Scott (85) and former Wyndham champion Tom Kim (94).
Some international players high in the standings may see the Wyndham as a better way to get acclimated to the climate and tune up for the playoffs than to take a week off.
Players have until July 25 to enter. Tournament director Bobby Powell has not announced the tournament’s four sponsor exemptions. Recent UNC star David Ford would be a likely choice if not exempt. Same with Wake product and former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson (168), former FedExCup winner and Wake standout Bill Haas (228) and recently turned pro Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst.
The Dugan Aycock Davidson County Amateur is accepting registrations for the July 26-27 tournament at Lexington Golf Club.
The 36-hole stroke-play tournament is open to all amateurs 16 and over. The field will be flighted after the first round. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. each day off the first tee.
Players do not have to live in Davidson County to play. Players can register in person at the pro shop or by calling 336-248-3950.
Players must be 16 years and older. A Senior Division is open to players 55 and older.
The newest addition to the Wake Forest women’s golf team showed good form this week.
Winston-Salem native Morgan Ketchum, who transferred to Wake Forest this summer after three seasons at Virginia Tech, finished third in the Carolinas Women’s Amateur Championship at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem, South Carolina.
Ketchum shot 71 with two birdies on her last three holes Wednesday to finish at 2-under-par 214, one stroke behind Sydney Roberts of Chesnee, S.C., a player at nearby Clemson University, and Australian Samatha Whateley of Mississippi State, the recent winner of the CGA North Carolina Women’s Amateur.
Whateley, who makes her summer home in Charlotte, won a one-hole playoff with a birdie after a dramatic swing on the 54th hole. Whateley birdied the final hole of regulation play, while Roberts, who took a two-shot lead into the final hole, made bogey. Roberts had birdied Nos. 16 and 17 to take control.
The 52-player field included many of the top collegiate players in the Carolinas.
Emily Mathews of Mebane, a teammate of Ketchum at Virginia Tech, tied for 10th at 223 after a final-round 80. Mathews entered Wednesday only two shots off second-round leader Roberts, who rebounded from an opening 76 with 65 on Tuesday.
Anna Howerton of Winston-Salem, who plays for High Point University, tied for 16th at 225 with two-time Class 4A individual champion Leah Edwards of Northwest Guilford High, who qualified for this month’s U.S. Girls’ Junior at Atlanta Athletic Club and begins her college career this fall at Western Kentucky.
Hallie Wilson, a 16-year-old from Winston-Salem, tied for 20th at 229 after recovering with an opening 80. Emery Lewis, a rising junior at Northwest Guilford, placed 24th at 231. Ellen Yu of Greensboro, a University of North Carolina recruit, came in 31st at 240.
If you want to play the best public golf courses in North Carolina, Golfweek would advise you to go to Pinehurst.
The top eight public courses in the state are in the Pinehurst area, according to a Golfweek list released Friday.
The top 10, in order: Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst No. 10, Pinehurst No. 4, Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Tobacco Road, Pinehurst No. 8, Southern Pines, Bald Head Island Club and Woodlake Club, a course in Vass reclaimed from abandonment two years ago by Greensboro architect Kris Spence.
Four are part of Pinehurst Resort and three (Mid Pines, Pine Needles, Southern Pines) are owned by Bullet and Peggy Kirk Bell family members.
Tot Hill Farm at No. 12 was the only Triad course on the top 20 list.
The rest of the top 20 (in order): Thistle Golf Club in Sunset Beach, Tot Hill Farm, Duke Golf Club, Waynesville Inn, Pinehurst No. 7, UNC Finley, Mid South in Southern Pines, Pinehurst No. 9, Currituck in Carolla and Rock Barn (Jones Jr.) in Conover.
Earlier in the month, a Golfweek list made Old Town Club the state’s top private course ahead of Wade Hampton Club in Cashiers. None of the magazine’s top 15 private courses in the state were in the Triad.
Southern Methodist golfer Mackenzie Lee of North Little Rock, Arkansas, won the North & South Women’s Amateur on Saturday at Pinehurst No. 2. Lee beat Australian Jazy Roberts 2-up in the championship match.
Winston-Salem golfer Macy Pate, a rising junior at Wake Forest, claimed a share of medalist honors for the second straight year. Pate shot 72 at Pinehurst No. 7 and 66 at Pinehurst No. 2 to post 6-under-par 138 and tie two other players.
Pate, runner-up in match play last year, was upset 3 and 1 in the first round by Sara Im of Duluth, Georgia, a player at Vanderbilt.
In the North & South Men’s Amateur, Carlos Astiazaran of Tucson, Arizona, and the University of the Pacific, beat Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Alabama, in 19 holes in the championship match. Astiazaran was one of the two players who advanced from a nine-way tie at 1-over 142 in stroke play for the final spots in the 32-player match play format.
