Port Royal (Barony) Provides Tough Test! (Hilton Head-Savannah Tour)

The Hilton Head-Savannah GolfWeek Amateur Tour held its second event of the young season this past weekend (Jan. 29^th) at Barony on Port Royal. The course was in great shape, the weather was amazing and the competitors were ready to play and continue their quest for the season long points total. A total of 36 golfers came out to play in this event and all of them seemed to have some fun.

With only four players in the Championship flight, making it the smallest group today, all the players were grouped together. So, the battle was on. Face-to-Face, shot for shot, toe to toe. When the players walked off the 18^th green everyone in the group already knew who won. That player was Danny Nash who fired a 3-over round of 75 to claim the 900 points and the first place trophy. Danny also rattled off 4 birdies on the day and won one skin. Coming in second was Adam Dozier followed by Cram Cooper who finished third. A personal illness forced Laird Robinson out of the competition.

The A flight saw nine golfers take to the course on the day. With scores ranging from 78 to 86, the competition was tight all day long. In the end Lenin Lezcano used three birdies to help secure his first victory of the 2011 season. Eddie Wright was close behind Lezcano all day. Wright put together a solid round of 80 to come in second place. Finishing T3 was Mark Harrison and Chris Pronaut (81).

The biggest flight of the day was the B flight with 11 golfers. The B flight saw the first playoff on the day. This playoff came between Pat Helm and Mark Morris who both fired rounds of 85. After the first playoff hole one player had par and one had a bogey. Congratulations Pat on the win! Larry Lee used a 30-yard chip in on hole 18 to shot an 86 on the day and secure his third place finish. That chip in also won Lee a flight skin, a super skin and some bragging rights.

The C flight had six players today and half of them came off 18 with the same score. So off to hole #1 for another playoff the players went. But one playoff hole wasn’t enough for these guys; it took a second one to declare a winner. After the second playoff hole Mike Kline was able to hold off John Donat to claim his first win of the season. Gerard Mahieu rounds out the top three.

The D flight also had six players competing today. Coming off his second place finish at the Ice Breaker Open, KC Andrews was able to carry that momentum into Barony and come away with a victory. KC also had two birdies that ended up winning him one flight skin and a super skin. Rounding out the top three was Todd Champitto and Ronald Railey.

Congratulations to all the winners. It was a great way to keep the season rolling. Our next event will be Feb. 12 at The Crescent. Sign up early to secure your spot in the tournament. Remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Also, continue to spread the word about the tour. We have started off pretty well but let’s get our golfing friends involved in the tour. More people equals more prizes!