Mark Joy
Spartanburg, SC (6/19/11) – Wofford College junior Mark Joye of Columbia defeated USC-Upstate sophomore Adam Goins of Gaffney, 3 & 2, to win his first CGA championship title.
Joye, a 20 year-old finance major had his brother Carson serving as caddie during match play after Carson failed to advance to match play in this event.
Joye came out firing and blazed to an early 2 up lead by making birdies on the first two holes. He would hold that lead until the 6th hole where Goins canned a birdie to win the hole. This was the start of a back-and-forth battle over the next five holes.
Joye birdied the drivable 274-yard par four 7th hole to go 2 up. A miscue by Joye on the 8th hole led to a bogey giving the hole to Goins. Joye immediately answered with a birdie on the 9th hole to take a 2 up lead heading into the back nine. Goins won the 10th hole with a par after Joye three-putted from the fringe and the 11th hole with a birdie to square the match.
Joye then took control of the match with a three-foot birdie on the par three 12th hole to take a 1 up lead. Then he won the 13th hole via a three-putt bogey by Goins to go 2 up. 14th hole was halved with pars. An errant tee shot on the 220-yard par three 15th hole led to a bogey by Goins to give Joye a 3 up lead with 3 holes to play. Joye sealed the 3 & 2 win by halving the 16th hole with par fours.
“I hit my wedges and did not make any mistakes this week,” Joye said. “My toughest match was in the first round when I had to birdie the last two holes to win 1 up (over Kamito Hirai). From there I was in control of the rest of the matches.” Joye’s closest match after the first round was a 3 & 1 win over Mitch Gray in the round of 16.
The victory is Joye’s first match play title and first win since the 2009 Sea Trail Intercollegiate.
Goins, an 18-year-old cart attendant at The Carolina Country Club, was pleased but disappointed in the final outcome. “I did not apply any pressure to Mark and you have to if you are going to beat a player of his caliber. I will take away a lot of confidence from this week.”
This championship is conducted by the Carolinas Golf Association which is celebrating its 102nd year of serving amateur golf in the Carolinas.
Finals
Mark Joye, Columbia, SC def. Adam Goins, Gaffney, SC, 3 & 2
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.
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