Lloyd Jefferson Go Breaks Through at Dogwood Invitational

July 1, 2017 | by Yianni Gogonas of AmateurGolf.com

Lloyd Jefferson Go goes low at the Dogwood, shooting 67-67-67-66

Lloyd Jefferson Go goes eight under on his last twelve holes to edge Luke Schniederjans by one shot at Druid Hills GC

By Yianni Gogonas

ATLANTA, GA (July 1, 2017) - After weeks of threatening leaderboards on Callaway’s One Epic Summer Tour, Seton Hall’s Lloyd Jefferson Go from the Philippines was able to put the pieces together and break through with a win on Saturday in Atlanta. The 2017 Dogwood Champion fell behind early but made a furious charge that would be just enough to edge ahead of the field, winning by one shot over Georgia Tech golfer Luke Schniederjans.

Related: Dogwood Invitational Daily Video Coverage

Go would begin the day in a three-way tie for the lead, shared with former champion Dawson Armstrong, who has had plenty of experience at Druid Hills, winning The Dogwood in 2015 and finishing in a tie for second in last year’s championship; and Campbell’s Gaston Bertinotti from Argentina who was hoping to cap off an impressive 66-68-67 performance with a big win.

Unfortunately for Armstrong and Bertinotti, neither player would be able to conjure the sort of play needed to win in such a strong field, shooting 71 and 72, respectively.

Go would begin the day slowly, giving shots back with bogeys on 3 and 5, the only mistakes he would make on Saturday before catching fire. Birdies on 7 and 8 would take him back to 15-under-par, and one more on the 9th would bring Go into the red numbers for the day.

"I came off a rough start," said Go to AmateurGolf.com's Kevin Cassidy. "I was two over after five holes...hitting it everywhere. But I turned it around, birdied 7, birdied 8, birdied 9, came alive."

Schniederjans, who shot 66 in his final effort was making some noise of his own, playing one group ahead of Go. After starting the back nine with a bogey, Schniederjans would go on to make a birdie on the 12th, following it with an eagle on the par-5 15th. Unfortunately, after another birdie on the 16th, he would stifle his chances greatly with a costly lip-out bogey on the long par-3 17th. He made par on the 18th to finish at 20-under-par.

When asked about his round Schniederjans offered, "It was a great round. I made two eagles. If you would have told me that at the start of the round, I would have been really happy, so I played good golf, just came up short and missed a few putts."

Go continued his torrid pace on the back nine, coming home in 31, ignited by an incredible hole-out for an eagle 2 on the 432-yard 11th hole. Go racked up three more birdies on 14, 15, 17, before making a par on 18 that would wrap up 6-under-par 66, the best of 21-under-par week that he began with three straight rounds of 67.

Go was not looking at the leaderboard as he played the back nine, so he was not aware of his standing as he was making his run. "I holed out for eagle on 11 and I thought the put me in the lead," he said. After making two more birdies and as he was walking off the sixteenth green, he asked where he stood.

Still assuming he was in the lead, he was surprised to hear that he was tied with Schniederjans. But he immediately told himself "I've got to birdie 17 or 18."

His 4-iron on the long par-3 17th settled to within fifteen feet, but it left him with a sharply breaking right-to-left putt.

"I said to my caddie, 'I've got to make this putt. This putt is big. And I drained it.'"

"It's definitely one of the biggest moments of my life."

Go will play in three more major amateur tournaments this summer before returning home to the Philippines and attempting to play his way onto the Japan Tour.

Armstrong would finish in a three-way tie for third with Austin Fulton and Steven Fisk, who both closed with a five-under 67.

Bertinotti fell into a tie for sixth with first-round leader Bryson Nimmer and Benjamin Shipp, who had the low round of the tournament, an eight-under 64 that included an eagle and seven birdies.

Last year's winner Charles Huntzinger closed with a 69 to finish tied for ninth at 14-under.

A rain-softened Druid Hills course allowed for low scoring all week, as an amazing 22 players finished the tournament in double-digits under par. All 42 players who made the cut finished the tournament under par.

Results: Dogwood Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Lloyd Jefferson Go	, Philippines	1000	67-67-67-66=267
2	Luke Schniederjans	Alpharetta, GA	700	67-68-67-66=268
T3	Austin Fulton	Villa Rica, GA	500	67-67-71-67=272
T3	Steven Fisk	Stockbridge, GA	500	68-67-70-67=272
T3	Dawson Armstrong	Brentwood, TN	500	66-65-70-71=272

View full results for Dogwood Invitational

About the Dogwood Invitational

Lloyd Jefferson Go Breaks Through at Dogwood Invitational

**Compete June 4–7 at Atlanta's Druid Hills GC. Entry includes daily meals, elite play, and exclusive events at one of amateur golf’s top tournaments.** **Dogwood Invitational Overview** Welcome to the Dogwood Invitational, one of the premier showcas...