Taylor Funk returns to defend Southern Amateur title
Taylor Funk (Golfweek photo)
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (July 12, 2016) -- The 110th edition
of the Southern Amateur Championship is set to begin
on Thursday at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Defending
champion Taylor Funk will be back, as he headlines a
deep and talented field.
Last year Funk, son of PGA Tour veteran Fred Funk,
rallied on the
homeward nine to capture the title by one shot
and join a list of former Texas Longhorns to win the
Southern Amateur. The list includes Ben Crenshaw
(1973), Mark Brooks (1981) and Justin Leonard (1993).
After being played at the Old Waverly Golf Club in
2015, the 72-hole event moves to Myrtle Beach and The
Dunes & Beach Club. The par-72 course is a Robert
Trent Jones design, that when played from the tips can
be stretched to 7,370 yards. Hole 13 is a 640 yard par-
5 and it is considered the hardest hole on the course.
The Dunes & Beach Club will also be hosting the
2017 USGA Women's Four-Ball.
This year's field once again includes many of the up
and coming names in the game of golf, here is a look at
some of the players to watch at the 2016 Southern
Amateur.
|
NAME |
ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| Dawson Armstrong | The
Lipscomb University junior comes into the Southern
Amateur with some momentum after finishing second at
the Dogwood Invitational a couple of weeks ago.
Armstrong was the defending champion at the event
and also won the Western Amateur in 2015. | |
| Philip Barbaree | The 2015
U.S. Junior Amateur champion has already committed
to LSU and in June he competed in his first PGA Tour
event, the FedEx St. Jude Classic. | |
| Jared Bettcher | Bettcher is heading
into his senior season at Troy, where he is a two-time
All-Sun Belt first teamer. The summer got off to a
strong start for Bettcher, as he won June’s Southeastern
Amateur. | |
| Patrick
Christovich | The 15th ranked mid-amateur,
Christovich has played well in ranking events this year,
finishing in the top-10 four times. His best finish came
at Lupton Invitational where he tied for fourth. |
|
| Sean Crocker | The 4th
ranked amateur in the world recently won the Monroe
Invitational and finished second at the Northeast
Amateur. Crocker will be entering his junior year at
USC. | |
| Cameron Davis |
From Australia, Davis has had a successful, yet
frustrating start to his 2016 season. Ranked 24th in the
world, Davis has twice finished runner-up this year at
both the English Amateur and Avondale Amateur Medal.
He also has a top-10 finish at the Riversdale Cup. |
|
| Harrison Endycott |
Another Australian and ranked 6th in the world
rankings, Endycott has four ranking event wins this
year. His victories have come at the South Australia
Amateur Classic, Riversdale Cup, Lake Macquarie
Amateur and Avondale Amateur Medal. | |
| Sam Horsfield | The Englishman and
rising Florida sophomore is fresh off his second
consecutive U.S. Open appearance. During his freshman
year at Florida, Horsfield won twice and finished inside
the top-5 eight times. | |
| Cheng
Jin | Jin will tee it up in the Southern
Amateur just days after winning the Players Amateur.
Jin won the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
and played in this years Masters. In 2014 Jin became
the youngest amateur to lead a PGA Tour China event.
| |
| Garrett Rank |
The 2nd ranked mid-amateur in the world finished in a
second place tie at last weeks Sunnehanna Amateur.
Rank won the 2015 Canadian Mid-Amateur. | |
| Anthony Quayle | Quayle was
named the Queensland Male Golfer of the Year in 2015
after he won twice. So far in 2016, Quayle has finished
inside the top-10 three times and he recently tied for
second at the Dogwood Invitational | |
ABOUT THE Southern Amateur
The Southern Amateur, which dates back to 1902, is
one of two competitions held by the Southern Golf
Association (the other is the Southern Junior). This
is a 72-hole stroke play championship with a cut
made after 36 holes. Entries are open to any male
amateur golfer who has a current USGA Handicap
Index® not exceeding 3.4 under the USGA Handicap
System. Non-exempt players must pre-qualify at
one of the qualifying sites held across the southern
U.S. in the two months leading up to the
championship.
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