2017 South Carolina Amateur winner Gregg Jones

Beginning the day tied for the lead with Parks Price of Longs 9-under-par, Jones had an uneven front nine, recording three birdies that were negated by two bogeys and one double bogey. However, with thick rough, fast greens and testy hole locations, the rest of the field found scoring to be difficult as well. Third round co-leader Price struggled early, making bogey on three of his first four holes. Price bounced back with an eagle on the par five fifth hole, but faltered again with a double bogey on the par four ninth. The first and third round leader finished in a tie for fourth in his very first SCGA Amateur Championship.

While Jones’ third round co-leader struggled early in his round, Columbia’s Ryan Marter, also playing in the final pairing, got off to a most ideal start, holing his approach shot on the par four first hole for an eagle two. Marter went on to hold or share the lead for much of the round, up until the par four 13th, where a bogey left him one shot behind Jones. Two more bogeys on the inward nine left Marter finished in a tie for second with second round leader RJ Keur, who also made his presence known atop the leaderboard. After a two under par front nine, Keur faltered with a bogey on number 11 and a double bogey on 15.

Buoyed by the support of a hometown crowd consisting of family and friends, Gregg Jones steadied his play on the back nine, making decisive birdies on holes 12 and 18 to secure a two-shot victory. Jones thanked the Florence crowd in his victory speech, most importantly his wife for “putting up with him the last two weeks in preparation for this year’s championship.” The 2017 Amateur Champion joins a select club of former SCGA Junior Champions who have gone on to also claim the state’s top amateur prize.

The 2018 edition of the SCGA Amateur Championship will be contested at Dataw Island Club’s Cotton Dike course.

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