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For players searching for Upstate South Carolina amateur golf tournaments or competitive local golf tournaments near Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson, the Upstate South Carolina Amateur Players Tour opened its 2027 season Saturday at Lakeside Country Club.
A field of 74 players filled the tee sheet on Saturday, October 3rd, for the chapter’s first stop of the new season, with five gross divisions plus the Mid-Am Net and Senior Net competitions all decided over a single round on the par-72 layout. The day also drew a strong traveling contingent, with members from the Western North Carolina, Atlanta, Charlotte, East Tennessee, Augusta and Charleston chapters crossing into the Upstate to get their seasons underway.
In Division 1, the two best gross rounds in the division came back on the same number. Aaron Adamchik of Pauline, South Carolina, and Joe Brooks of Franklin, North Carolina, each posted 5-over 77 to finish deadlocked at the top, forcing the issue beyond regulation. The two got there by entirely different routes: Adamchik was steady from the start, going out in 2-over 38 and home in 3-over 39 with a dozen pars and a birdie at the par-5 16th, while Brooks made the turn in 5-over 41 before an even-par 36 on the inward nine, kick-started by consecutive birdies at the par-4 10th and the par-3 11th. Erik Benson of Atlanta took 3rd at 7-over 79, a bogey-free-of-big-numbers card with 11 pars, 4-over 40 out and 3-over 39 coming home. Five of the seven players in the division finished within seven shots of the number.
Division 2 produced the low round of the day by a comfortable distance. JB Anderson of Hendersonville, North Carolina, signed for a 4-under 68, turning in 1-under 35 and then coming home in 3-under 33, with five birdies against a lone bogey. The heart of it was a run of three straight birdies at the par-4 14th, the par-4 15th and the par-5 16th, the stretch that turned a good round into the best score anyone returned at Lakeside. John Schiemer, who birdied the par-5 1st and the par-3 17th on his way to a 1-under closing three holes, finished in 2nd. Adam Leys of Covington, Georgia, was a shot further back in 3rd at 8-over 80, recovering from a 6-over 42 on the front with a 2-over 38 inward half that included a birdie at the par-4 12th.
Division 3 belonged to Wayne Blyler of Gray Court, who was the class of the field with a 7-over 79, built on 11 pars, a birdie at the par-4 3rd and halves of 3-over 39 and 4-over 40 that never let the round get away from him. Cody Markovich of Simpsonville claimed 2nd at 11-over 83 after an 8-over 44 start, playing the inward nine in 3-over 39 with a birdie at the par-3 17th and a level closing three. Kevan Nikolich of Charlotte took 3rd at 12-over 84, out in 2-over 38 before the back nine bit, and Sonny Smith of Lyman posted 13-over 85 to finish 4th and round out the money positions. The division was the most congested on the property, with three players bunched on 88 and two apiece at 91, 92 and 94.
Division 4 came down to a single stroke. Dakota Justice of Elizabethton, Tennessee, took top honors at 12-over 84, grinding out 10 pars across a 5-over 41 and a 7-over 43. Michael Chastain of Easley pushed him to the last, finishing 2nd at 13-over 85 with a birdie at the par-4 15th. Jason Cogdill, also of Easley, was 3rd at 16-over 88 with birdies at the par-4 3rd and the par-3 6th, and Ken Steele of Lexington signed for 17-over 89 to take 4th and round out the money positions, having repaired an 11-over 47 opening nine with a 6-over 42 on the way in.
In Division 5, James Wenz of Travelers Rest cleared the field by seven strokes, opening with a birdie at the par-5 1st and posting 14-over 86 with eight pars on the card. Desmond Smith of Pickens finished 2nd, having played the back nine in 8-over 44 after a difficult start, and Dick Jenkins of Marion, North Carolina, was 3rd at 22-over 94 to round out the money positions.
The Mid-Am Net competition went to Dakota Justice, who completed the double-dip by adding a net 3-under 69 to his Division 4 title, the only net number under par in the 11-player contest. Kevan Nikolich and Zach Chapman of Brevard, North Carolina, shared 2nd at net 1-over 73 to round out the money positions. Six of the 11 entrants finished within five shots of the winning score.
The Senior Net contest, the largest contest of the day at 33 players, was the other half of JB Anderson‘s afternoon. His 68 translated to a net 9-under 63 and a five-shot win, making him the only player to win twice on the day. Wayne Blyler backed up his Division 3 victory with a net 4-under 68 in 2nd, Desmond Smith took 3rd at net even-par 72, and Dick Jenkins was 4th at net 1-over 73. Jeff Orr of Elgin and Sonny Smith tied for 5th at net 2-over 74 to round out the money positions, with six players stacked on net 80 behind them.
The Upstate South Carolina chapter stays on the road for its next two stops of the 2027 season, returning October 24th for a joint event with the Augusta and Western North Carolina chapters at Woodfin Ridge Golf Club, with registration closing October 22nd. The chapter then joins Western North Carolina again on November 22nd at Southern Oaks Golf Club, where registration closes November 20th.
