2027 UPS/AUG/WNC- Woodfin Ridge GC

For players searching for Upstate South Carolina amateur golf tournaments or Greenville and Spartanburg golf events, the Upstate South Carolina Amateur Players Tour teed it up Saturday at Woodfin Ridge Golf Club in Inman, South Carolina.

The day started in the low 50s under an overcast sky, and the high never got out of the 60s — cool, heavy air that kept the ball down and gave nobody much help. The greens were the real defense. Sodded areas where the putting surfaces had been lost made them play very difficult, and the scoring showed it from the first group to the last.

The par-72 layout took its biggest toll at the finish. The par-4 17th did not surrender a single birdie all day across 60 players and played a shot and a half over par, and the par-4 16th gave up only two. Sixty-two players filled the field 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.

Division 1 went to Joe Brooks of Franklin, North Carolina, in from the Western North Carolina chapter, who posted an 8-over 80 for a two-shot win. Brooks was not in front early — Brad Johnson was a stroke ahead of him through six holes and Charles Hammer, visiting from the Nashville chapter, was five clear at that point — but Brooks turned the division around on the middle holes and led all three of his closest pursuers by the twelfth. He went out in 5-over 41 and came home in 3-over 39 with 11 pars, the steadiest inward nine in the division. Daniel Herber of Greenville finished second at 10-over 82, four back at both the twelve- and fifteen-hole checkpoints. Johnson, of Simpsonville, and Hammer shared third at 13-over 85, with Hammer within one of the lead with three holes to play before the closing stretch had its say.

Division 2 produced the low round of the day. John Schiemer of Hendersonville, North Carolina, signed for a 7-over 79 to win by a single stroke, turning in 3-over 39 and coming home in 4-over 40. He opened with a birdie at the par-4 1st and added another at the par-4 16th, one of only two birdies that hole yielded all day, then played the last three in even par to hold on. Scott Nichols of Mooresville, North Carolina, had drawn level with Schiemer after fifteen holes and finished second at 8-over 80 on the back of a 2-over 38 start and a birdie at the par-5 9th. Weston Brown of Gaffney matched him at 8-over 80, making the most birdies of anyone in the division — three, at the 2nd, the 9th and the par-5 18th — and playing his closing six holes in even par. Five players finished within two of the lead.

In Division 3, Cody Markovich of Simpsonville claimed top honors with a 9-over 81, a two-shot win built on patience rather than fireworks: 12 pars, only three bogeys, 4-over 40 out and 5-over 41 back. It was not comfortable at the turn. Mark Lytle of Anderson actually led him by one after twelve holes before finishing second at 11-over 83. Zach Hutchinson, another Western North Carolina visitor from Rosman, tied Lytle at 11-over 83 after coming home in 4-over 40 with a birdie at the par-5 18th.

Division 4 belonged to Robbie Burgess of Piedmont, who won for the first time in his career on the tour. Burgess and Grayson Moody of Greenville finished regulation locked together at 13-over 85 — Burgess two behind after six, a shot ahead after twelve, a shot back again with three to play — and Burgess took the title in the playoff. Moody made the division’s only pair of birdies among the leaders, at the par-5 4th and the par-5 9th. John Fowler of Simpsonville and Shane Wright of Ellenboro, North Carolina, shared third at 16-over 88, three back of the winning number. Wright’s day was the most lopsided of the four: out in 12-over 48, home in 4-over 40, with the last three holes played in even par.

Division 5 was decided by one shot. Rodney Ferrell of Gaffney posted a 15-over 87, holding off Dick Jenkins of Marion, North Carolina, who was a stroke ahead through twelve and level with three to play before signing for 16-over 88. Jenkins made back-to-back birdies at the par-4 6th and the par-4 7th. James Wenz of Travelers Rest took third at 18-over 90.

Hutchinson doubled back in the Mid-Am Net and won it with a net 2-under 70, a stroke clear of Markovich, who followed his Division 3 win with a net 1-under 71. Brayden Anderson of Hendersonville, North Carolina, and Moody tied for third at net even-par 72, with four players inside two shots of the top number.

The Senior Net ended in a tie at net 5-under 67 between Tony Koechli of Lyman and Jenkins, the pair sharing the points and the purse — and for Koechli it was a first win on tour. Jenkins added it to his runner-up finish in Division 5. Ferrell made it a double of his own, taking third at net 3-under 69 to go with his Division 5 title, and Desmond Smith of Pickens was fourth at net 1-under 71 to round out the money positions.

Universal Retirement was on site for the day, and two Mission belts and a windbreaker went to the lucky winners who received them. Our thanks to Universal Retirement for supporting the chapter.

Next up in the Upstate South Carolina chapter — a trip to Southern Oaks Golf Club on Sunday, November 22nd. Space is limited and registration closes November 20th. The Clemson University Golf Club Walker Course follows on Saturday, December 5th, with registration closing December 3rd.