Johnson Holliday and Connor Bruns to square off tomorrow
(Carolinas Golf Association Photo)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (June 18, 2016) -- The top
two seeds failing to reach the quarterfinals proved to
foreshadow the resilience shown by lower seeds. The
No. 24 seed Jarrett Grimes of Columbia won holes four
through six to take control of his match against fellow
Columbian John O’Brien. The No. 16 seed used strong
play on the back nine to upend the medalist in his
match Friday, but it was Grimes who won back-to-back
holes after the turn to push his lead to five-up. O’Brien
won the par-3 11th but it proved to be too little too late
as Grimes won 6&5.
Parker Dudley of Charleston, the No.14 seed,
continued the trend of lower seeds winning by knocking
off the No.11 seed Austin Zoller of Summerville. Zoller
took a one-up lead to the 10th tee but Dudley quickly
evened the match by winning the 10th. Dudley did not
lose a hole on the back nine and closed out the match
3&2. Connor Bruns of Duncan and Jd Hoft of Bluffton
needed extra holes to decide the match. Bruns, the No.
12 seed ultimately prevailed on the 21st hole,
eliminating the No. 4 seed.
Johnson Holliday of Aynor was the only higher seed
to win. The No. 10 seed outlasted the No. 15 seed Tripp
French of Columbia. French staved off elimination nine
different times Friday so being two-down on No. 17 was
no reason to worry. French did everything he could to
extend the match by making birdie on No. 17 but
Holliday delivered the decisive blow by matching
French’s birdie on No. 17 to claim a 2&1 victory.
After winning on the 21st hole Bruns moved right
into his semifinal match against Grimes. The back and
forth affair began with four halved holes. Grimes
continued his steady play into semifinals but never
grabbed a lead. However, the 2009 Carolinas Mid-
Amateur champion won the next hole every time Bruns
took a one-up lead. “I had so many good looks today,
every now and then I converted,” Bruns said. After
Grimes squared the match on No. 13 the match
remained squared until Bruns won the par-4, 16th.
Grimes once again squared the match after Bruns hit a
wayward drive on No. 17. It was Grimes who lost his
drive on the 18th which eventually led to him conceding
Bruns’ birdie putt giving the Furman product a 1-up
victory and a ticket to the Finals. Bruns admittedly
lacked match play experience heading into the week, “I
discussed this with my brother, I haven’t played a
match play event since back in high school. I have
definitely learned a lot this week.” Bruns explained. “In
the final I plan on going for the middle of the green and
take advantage when I hit a good shot.”
Holliday raced out of the gate picking up the first
two holes of his semifinal match against Dudley. The
USC Aiken golfer extended his lead to four-up after
winning the eighth. Dudley began to climb back in the
match by winning the ninth. The Charleston resident
continued his comeback on the back nine, eventually
squaring the match with a win on No. 16. “After losing
nine I knew I was still three up. It got tough when the
wind kicked up. It was tough to get up and down. I got
a little tired and my mental game slipped a little bit for
a while.” Holliday explained. Holliday regained the lead
by winning the par-4,17th. That brought the match to
the 18th, a hole Dudley was not very familiar with, “I
closed out most of my matches before 18 so I hadn’t
been there much,” Dudley said. That may have proved
costly as Dudley hit his lay up from the fairway bunker
into the water. Holliday’s par was conceded giving him a
2-up victory. “I knew I could finish coming down the
stretch. Tomorrow I plan on just playing the course, I
know I can come out here and hang with any of these
guys,” Holliday said.
Tomorrow’s Final Round match between Connor
Bruns of Duncan and Johnson Holliday of Aynor will
begin 8:00 a.m.
View results for South Carolina Amateur Match Play
ABOUT THE South Carolina Amateur Match Play
Championship format is 36 holes of stroke play to
determine 32 qualifiers for
match play. The defending champion is seeded
number one
for match play if otherwise eligible.
Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who has
reached his 13th birthday, is a legal resident of
South Carolina, is a member in good
standing of a club which is a member of the
Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)
and has an active GHIN® USGA Handicap Index® at
a CGA member club that
does not exceed 7.4.
View Complete Tournament Information