Tournament Champions
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For players searching for Augusta GA amateur golf tournaments or CSRA golf events, the Augusta Amateur Players Tour opened its 2027 season on Sunday, November 1 at Orangeburg Country Club in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
Conditions were overcast, windy and chilly from the first tee time, and the golf course met the field in excellent shape — with greens running really fast. That combination made Orangeburg play hard, and putting became the theme of the day. Players who kept the ball below the hole had a chance; those who did not spent the afternoon defending three-footers.
The par-72 layout did most of its work on the inward half. The par-4 14th was the hardest hole on the card, surrendering a single birdie across 56 players and playing nearly a shot and a half over par. The par-5 11th was the one real scoring opportunity, giving up two eagles and four birdies.
Sixty players filled out the tee sheet across five divisions, with the Mid-Am Net and Senior Net games running alongside. Players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index. The field drew from well beyond the CSRA, with members of the Charleston, Upstate South Carolina and Myrtle Beach chapters making the trip to Orangeburg.
Division 1 belonged to Taylor Gove of Grovetown, Georgia, and it was not close. Gove signed for a three-under par 69, the low round of the day, and cleared the field by seven strokes. He turned in 2-under 34 with birdies at the par-4 4th, the par-4 5th and the par-5 8th, then came home in 1-under 35 — adding an eagle at the par-5 11th, a birdie at the par-3 12th and another at the par-4 15th. Five birdies, an eagle and only four bogeys on greens that gave nobody else anything like that. Phil Pfeiffer of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, kept it to within two strokes through six holes and played the steadiest round of anyone in the division — fifteen pars and just two bogeys — turning in even-par 36 before a 4-over 40 inward nine left him at 4-over 76 and second. Jonathan Mullane of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, took third with 5-over 77, and he made the day’s other eagle, also at the par-5 11th, on his way to an even-par 36 coming home that included a birdie at the par-4 16th.
In Division 2, David Banks of Branchville, South Carolina, won with 7-over 79, and he did it without a single birdie. Banks made eleven pars, went out in 4-over 40 and came home in 3-over 39, playing the closing six holes in two over — exactly the kind of card the fast greens rewarded. Alfred Meggett of Blythewood, South Carolina, actually held a one-stroke edge on Banks through twelve holes, with birdies at the par-4 1st, the par-5 11th and the par-3 12th, but the margin swung back over the closing stretch and Meggett finished second at 9-over 81, two behind. Weston Brown of Gaffney, South Carolina, was third at 10-over 82 after matching 5-over 41s on each nine.
Division 3 went to Larry Penfield of Walterboro, South Carolina, who posted 10-over 82 for a three-shot win. Penfield built the margin early, turning in 3-over 39 with a birdie at the par-3 6th, and he never trailed at any of the checkpoints. Ethan Vining of Lexington, South Carolina, was four back after six holes and six back at the turn, closing the gap to five over the final three holes to take second at 13-over 85. Myron Samuels of Columbia, South Carolina, was within three of Penfield after six and finished third at 16-over 88 to round out the money positions.
Division 4 produced the tightest finish of the day. Jeff Leagan of Lexington, South Carolina, won by a single stroke at 16-over 88 after one of the more remarkable turnarounds on the property: Leagan went out in 13-over 49 and came home in 3-over 39, with a birdie at the par-4 15th. He trailed three of his closest pursuers after six holes and was level with them at twelve before the inward nine settled it. Tracy Franklin of Columbia, South Carolina, led by one at the turn and finished second at 17-over 89. Andy Dumont of Johns Island, South Carolina, Kenneth Johnson of Manning, South Carolina, and Sitty Mendez of Evans, Georgia, all signed for 19-over 91 to share third. Six players in the division finished within five strokes of the winner.
Division 5 was won by John Greider of Summerville, South Carolina, with 18-over 90, three clear of the field. Greider turned in 6-over 42 with a birdie at the par-4 7th and held the lead at every checkpoint, though his advantage very nearly disappeared late — Zachary Chavis of Barnwell, South Carolina, had drawn level with three holes to play before Greider closed it out. Chavis took third at 22-over 94. Second went to Anthony Johnson of Blythewood, South Carolina, at 21-over 93, and Johnson owns the day’s rarest line on the scorecard: the lone birdie made at the par-4 14th, the hardest hole in the rotation.
The Mid-Am Net game produced the headline of the day. Taylor Gove won it with a net 3-under 69 — the same number he shot in Division 1, because he received no strokes on his net score. Gove beat the rest of the Mid-Am field by three on scratch terms, taking Division 1 and Mid-Am Net in the same afternoon. John Greider was second at net even-par 72, backing up his Division 5 title, and Allen Hall of Johns Island, South Carolina, was third at net 2-over 74.
Senior Net went to David Banks, who added a net 2-under 70 to his Division 2 win for the second clean double of the day, and his four-stroke margin was the largest in either net game. Larry Penfield was second at net 2-over 74, adding to his Division 3 title, after holding a stroke on Banks through twelve holes. Alfred Meggett and David Key, Sr. of Grovetown, Georgia, tied for third at net 3-over 75. Six players then shared fifth at net 4-over 76 — Andy Dumont, Mike Hubert of Evans, Georgia, Sitty Mendez, Tracy Franklin, Vern Verna of Greenville, South Carolina, and William Beck of Camden, South Carolina — to round out the money positions. Twelve players in the division finished within seven strokes of Banks.
Next up in the Augusta chapter — the 2027 Lowcountry Boil, an Elevated Event, at Ocean Point Golf Links on Saturday, November 7. Space is limited and registration closes November 4. The chapter then heads to Mount Vintage Golf Club on Saturday, November 21, with registration closing November 19.
