Dogwood Invitational: after long rain delay, Dobbelaar on top

June 11, 2021 | by Savannah Leigh Richardson of AmateurGolf.com

- Savannah Richardson photo

Australian Amateur champ Louis Dobbelaar endures a long wait to tee off, but makes 3 birdies in the fading light to grab the lead

After a four-hour rain delay, round 3 for the Dogwood Invitational leaders finally got underway.

Despite only having about two or so hours of daylight, Louis Dobbelaar, Josh Edgar and Connor Howe completed seven holes.

Dobbelaar extended his lead to 16 under as he made four birdies, while Howe was able to get to 12 under. As for Edgar, a bogey on the first hole pushed him back but he remains in contention heading into a busy final day.

“It was, I guess, a tough day in the lead up to teeing off pretty late,” Dobbelaar said. “I think that’s the latest I've probably ever teed off. I guess accepting the challenges of the weather was the first part, but it was nice to be able to get out there eventually.”

After making eight birdies in the second round, that momentum carried over into the round three. Dobbelaar said he felt like he was hitting it nicely out there. After parring the first hole, he made his first birdie on hole 2. Howe matched that birdie on two to get within one of Dobbelaar.

Then after two nice par putts on three and four, Dobbelaar closed out the day with three birdies to finish his seven holes.

“My caddie has got me doing some good numbers, so we’re looking pretty good,” Dobbelaar said. “Made a few birdies to finish off today, which is quite nice, so hopefully, I can keep that flowing into tomorrow however many holes we play.”

Even though he wasn’t able to finish the round when he was just warming up the putter, Dobbelaar seemed confident that the momentum will carry into the final day.

“Just got to sleep on it and do our same thing in the morning — hit our spots, and we’ll see what happens,” Dobbelaar said.

Louis Dobbelaar on the 2nd hole at Druid Hills (Savannah Richardson photo)

Even though Dobbelaar will have 29 holes to play tomorrow, the preparation will be the same.

“You got to go through your same processes,” Dobbelaar said. “At the same time, we’re going to have to pack a bit of extra food and just making sure we’re resting when we can because it ends up being a long hot day. I think the forecast is going to be pretty hot tomorrow.”

Dobbelaar will have a mixture of snacks in the bag, but there’s one thing, in particular, he enjoys on the course.

“I do love Nutella, so I might try to sneak that out tomorrow, but I’ve got some other healthy things in there as well that I might sneak in,” Dobbelaar said.

Despite the rain delay, some other notable scores were USC’s Leon D’Souza, and LSU’s Michael Sanders were each 5 under. In addition, future University of Georgia golfer Maxwell Ford was 4 under through nine holes.

D’Souza’s momentum elevated him into the top ten when play ended on Friday, and Ford pushed himself into the top 16.

Saturday will be a long day. Players will resume play at 8:30 a.m., and once they’re finished, the top 40 plus ties will make the cut and get their tee times for the final round which will start immediately after round three concludes.

Results: Dogwood Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Louis Dobbelaar	, Australia	1000	68-64-66-72=270
T2	Nicolas Cassidy	Johns Creek, GA	700	71-67-72-62=272
T2	Garrett Rank	, Canada	700	65-69-70-68=272
T4	Cole Anderson	Camden, ME	500	71-65-72-65=273
T4	Manuel Lozada	, Argentina	500	70-64-71-68=273

View full results for Dogwood Invitational

About the Dogwood Invitational

Dogwood Invitational: after long rain delay, Dobbelaar on top

**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...