Tournament Champions
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The Upstate Amateur Players Tour hosted one of its premier events of the season this past weekend, welcoming a strong field of golfers from across the Carolinas to the scenic Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure in western North Carolina. Competitors battled through 36 holes on the resort’s two championship layouts — Apple Valley and Bald Mountain — with each course presenting a distinct challenge amid the Blue Ridge foothills.
Apple Valley, designed by Dan Maples, is known for its dramatic mountain setting, featuring several level fairways before demanding downhill approach shots into well-protected greens. Its unique layout makes it one of the most distinctive courses in the region.
Bald Mountain, designed by George Cobb protégé W.B. Lewis, is consistently rated among North Carolina’s top public courses by Golf Channel’s Golf Advisor. The layout features an unusual mix of five par-3s and five par-5s, offering a strategic contrast to Apple Valley and creating a challenging test over the two-day tournament.
The Upstate Amatuer Players Tour travels the Upstate of South Carolina, along with portions of North Carolina and Georgia, offering golfers of all skill levels a chance to compete in one of five different divisions. The tour also has Mid-Am and Senior net divisions, along with an optional cash skins game. Division winners are awarded cash and VISA gift card each tournament.
Here’s a breakdown of the results from this weekend’s tournament by division:
Division 2 – AJ Lee bounced back from a round of 80 on Saturday to card a score of 75 on Sunday and win Division 2. Lee made two birdies on the front nine during the final round, taking advantage of both par fives to play the front nine in just one-over par. He added a final birdie on the par-five closing hole to clear the field by three strokes.
Weston Brown finished second with rounds of 84 and 74. Brown made three birdies in the opening round but struggled to find his groove. On Sunday, Brown played the front nine in even-par with a birdie on the par-four third hole. He added three more birdies in his final six holes as he climbed the leaderboard to second place.
Grady Overholt finished third with rounds of 81-78. Overholt’s weekend included five birdies, four of which came in the final round on Sunday. Overholt birdied the par-four fifth hole before making three birdies in a row to close the front nine and shoot two-under par on the opening stretch.
JB Anderson finished fourth with rounds of 79-82, followed by Carlos Mojica (85-77) and Daniel Shelbo (76-86) in a tie for fifth place.
Division 3 – Chad Aiken’s solid start to the final round paid off in a big way as he carded rounds of 81-80 to win Division 3 by a single stroke. Aiken made two birdies in his first five holes on Sunday en route to a round of one-over par on the front nine.
Cody Markovich and Mark Lytle finished in a tie for second place. Markovich carded rounds of 76-86, playing his best golf of the weekend on the back nine Saturday when he made eight pars on the closing stretch. Lytle posed rounds of 82-80 and made consecutive birdies on holes eight and nine on Sunday to shoot even-par on the front nine.
Sonny Smith finished fourth with rounds of 89-75. After a slow start to Sunday’s round, Smith played his final five holes of the front nine in two-over par to climb the leaderboard. He added a final birdie on the par-three 16th hole to shoot one-over par on the back nine and secure a top-five finish.
Tim Carswell finished fifth with scores of 81-84. Carswell got off to a solid start in the tournament on Saturday, birding the par-four fourth hole as he shot two-over par on the opening stretch.
Division 4 – Tied for the lead entering Sunday’s final round, Ryan Riffle found a way to outlast his competitors, posting rounds of 85-86 to win Division 4 by two strokes. Riffle got off to a tough start on Sunday but turned it around with a birdie on the par-five ninth hole to settle into the round. He made six pars on the back nine to secure his victory.
Neal De La Cruz finished runner-up, carding rounds of 89-84. De La Cruz trailed by four strokes entering the final round and attempted to make a charge on Sunday with a birdie on the par-three sixth hole to shoot three-over par on the front nine. De La Cruz added another birdie on the par-three 16th hole on Sunday.
Daniel Andrews finished third with rounds of 91-83. Andrews bounced back from a tough round on Saturday, making five pars on the opening stretch of Sunday’s round to shoot four-over par on the front nine. Andrews finished with nine pars during the final round.
Zach Hutchinson came home in fourth place with rounds of 87-88. Hutchinson birdied the par-four 10th hole on Saturday and carded a round of six-over par on the closing nine. Lee Touchton (93-85), Joey Fyall II (91-87), and Eric Seibert (85-93) finished tied for fifth place.
Division 5 – James Wenz grabbed the lead with a round of 91 on Saturday and never looked back, carding a round of 92 on Sunday to win by two strokes. Wenz led by three after the first round, getting off to a solid start on the front nine as he birdied the par-five sixth hole and shot six-over par on the opening stretch.
James Wray finished second with round of 94-91. Wray made nine pars on the weekend, five of which came in the opening round on Saturday. Brian McMahan and Tim Kunkel finished tied for third place with rounds of 95-94 and 97-92, respectively.
Vern Verna rounded out the top five with rounds of 106-87. Verna ended his weekend in style, birding the par-five closing hole on Sunday.
Mid-Am (Net) – While Cody Markovich came up just short of the top spot in Division 3, his net rounds of 66-77 were enough to win the Mid-Am net division. Markovich made six birdies and an eagle in the opening round, carding a round of four-under par on the back nine Saturday. He also made three birdies on the opening nine holes of Sunday’s round to clear the field by two strokes.
Denver Hubert and AJ Lee tied for second place in the division. Hubert carded rounds of 68-77 as Lee posted scores of 75-70. Hubert’s opening round Saturday featured two birdies and two eagles as he played the back nine in three-under par, 33. Lee opened his round Sunday with an eagle on the par-five opening hole and proceeded to add two more bridies on the front nine to shoot two-under par on the opening stretch.
Grady Overholt and Weston Brown rounded out the top five in the division in fourth and fifth place with rounds of 75-73 and 79-70, respectively.
Senior (Net) – Mark Lytle made 13 birdies and two eagles to take home the top prize in the Senior net division with rounds of 70-69. Lytle got hot on the front nine Sunday, making two birdies and two eagles to shoot six-under par on the opening stretch. His final round of 69 was enough to erase a four-shot deficit entering Sunday.
Sonny Smith made a Sunday charge with a round of 64 as he carded a round of 77 on Saturday and finished in second place. Smith shot four-under par on the front nine Sunday, using two birdies and two eagles. He added four more birdies on the back nine to climb the leaderboard to second place.
Tim Carswell (69-73) and Chad Aiken (71-71) tied for third place. Carswell made 13 birdies on the weekend as Aiken made 11 birdies and two eagles. Carlos Mojica and Daniel Shelbo rounded out the top five in a tie for fifth place with rounds of 75-58 and 66-77, respectively.
