2026 UPS Riverbend GC

A crowded field of 89 golfers on the Upstate Amatuer Players Tour traveled north of the state line on Saturday for the tour’s annual tournament at River Bend YMCA Golf Club in Shelby, NC.  

Nestled in the rolling landscape of Cleveland County, River Bend YMCA Golf Course remains one of the area’s best-kept secrets. The course is known for its picturesque setting and outstanding playing conditions, featuring some of the finest MiniVerde greens in the region paired with well-maintained Bermuda fairways.  

Opened in 1966 by Bob and Paul Porter, River Bend offers golfers a challenging yet enjoyable test while preserving the charm and character that have made it a local favorite for decades. As one of the few YMCA-owned golf courses in the United States, River Bend combines quality golf with a longstanding commitment to community and personal development. 

The Upstate Amatuer Players Tour travels the Upstate of South Carolina, along with portions of North Carolina, offering golfers of all skill levels a chance to compete in one of five divisions. The tour also features Mid-Am and Senior net divisions as well, along with an optional cash skins game. Division winners are awarded cash and VISA gift card prizes each tournament, as the tour strives to create a world-class experience for its competitors.  

Here’s a breakdown of the results from Saturday’s tournament by division: 

Division 1 – John Masotti managed to keep his scorecard clean, posting a round of three-under par, 69 to win Division 1 on Saturday. Masotti opened with a round of two-under par 34 on the front nine, birding the fifth and sixth holes. He made two more birdies on the back nine, as his only bogey of the day came on the par-four 17^th hole.  

Joe Brooks finished second with a round of one-under par, 71. Brooks overcame a slow start with three consecutive birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh holes. Brooks birdied the uphill par-four 13^th hole and added his final birdie of the day on the par-five 15^th.  

Carlos Santana and Dylan Lancaster carded rounds of even-par 72 to finish tied for third place. Santana made three back nine birdies to shoot two-under par on the closing stretch. Lancaster made three birdies on the day, two of which came in his first six holes. Christopher White finished fifth with a round of 74, which included a pair of birdies on the back nine.  

Division 2 – Eleven golfers finished within five shots of the eventual winner in Division 2, as when the dust settled, Weston Brown claimed the top spot with a round of 74 in a playoff over Marc Janse van Rensburg and John Wayne Parrish.  

Brown made two birdies on the front nine to shoot two-over par. He found his groove on the back nine, birding the short par-four 11^th hole as he shot even-par on the closing stretch.  

Van Rensburg tied for second place after falling just short in the playoff. Van Rensburg made 14 pars on the day during his steady round, playing his final eight holes in one-under par with a birdie on the par-three 12^th hole. Parrish also tied for second place, carding two birdies on the round and keeping his scorecard relatively clean with just four bogeys. 

Travis Wartluft finished in fourth place with a round of 75. Wartluft’s highlight of the round came on the par-four seventh hole where he made birdie. Tyler Phillips and Jack Fitzhugh tied for fifth place with rounds of 76.  

Division 3 – Spud Casper was the class of the field in Division 3, posting an even-par round of 72 to clear the field by five strokes. Casper got off to a hot start on the front nine, making three birdies, including two in a row on the seventh and eighth holes. Casper added his final birdie on the par-four 17^th hole to shoot two-over par on the back nine.  

John Beck finished runner-up with a round of 77. Beck took advantage of both par fives on the front nine, making birdie. He added a final birdie on the par-five 15^th hole to play the par fives in three-under par on the day.  

Michael Nicosia came home in third place with a round of 80. Nicosia made two birdies on the back nine, playing the stretch in four-over par. Allen Hagen finished fourth with a round of 81 that featured eight pars on the back nine. David Moses, Sonny Smith, and Wayne Blyler finished tied for fifth place with rounds of 82. 

Division 4 – Zach Hutchinson made three birdies on the back nine, which proved to be the difference in his three-stroke victory as he carded a round of 80 to win Division 4. Hutchinson made three birdies in his first six holes of the back nine to climb up the leaderboard.  

Calvin Carter, Billy Trull, and Grayson Moody tied for second place with rounds of 83. Carter finished with nine pars on the round, and shot four-over par, 40, on the back nine. Trull got off to a solid start with pars on five of his first seven holes. Moody’s round was highlighted by a birdie on the par-five 15^th hole as he shot two-over par on the back nine. Ryan Riffle and Kenny Brown tied for fifth place with rounds of 84.  

Division 5 – Eighteen holes of golf were not enough to determine a winner in Division 5 as Shane Wright and Tim Kunkel found themselves tied for the top spot with rounds of 87. In the end, it was Wright who emerged victorious in a playoff.  

Wright finished the day with eight pars, five of which came on the back nine. Kunkel got off to a hot start, playing his first five holes in one-over par. He also made four pars on the back nine.   

Keegan Jerabek, Brian McMahan, and Rodney Ferrell tied for third place to round out the top five as all three golfers posted rounds of 91. 

Mid-Am (Net) – Zach Hutchinson made it a clean sweep of the weekend as he carded a net round of five-under par, 67, to win the Mid-Am net division. Hutchinson finished with six birdies and three net eagles as he shot four-under par 32 on the back nine.  

Weston Brown and Tyler Phillips tied for second place with net rounds of 69. Brown made three birdies and two eagles on the day and shot a bogey free, two-under par, 34 on the back nine. Phillips also made three birdies and two eagles as he played his final four holes of the front nine in four-under par.  

Carlos Santana, John, Beck, Kenny Brown, and Grayson Moody tied for fourth place to round out the top five as all four golfers posted net rounds of two-under par, 70.  

Senior (Net) – Joe Brooks outlasted a crowded field of challengers in the Senior net division to win with a round of 68. Brooks made four consecutive birdies on the front nine to shoot two-under par, 34. He made three more birdies on the back nine to clear the field by one stroke.  

Tim Kunkel finished runner-up with a round of 69 that featured eight birdies. Kunkel made four birdies in his first five holes of the day to shoot two-under par on the front nine. John Wayne Parrish, Wayne Blyler, and Calvin Carter tied for third place with rounds of 70. Parrish finished with five birdies on the round as Blyler made three birdies and an eagle. Carter finished the day with four birdies, three of which came on the back nine.