Scott Harvey (Carolinas G.A. photo)
After a four-day battle between an incredibly challenging course, the elements and, of course, 140 of the best golfers in North and South Carolina,
Scott Harvey of Greensboro, N.C. came out on top and was crowned the 107th Carolinas Amateur Champion.
Entering the final round, Harvey was just one shot off of the lead held by
Cyrus Stewart of Raleigh, N.C. at 6-under-par, 204. Both Harvey and Stewart were dialed in and it was anybody’s game.
“I played with Cyrus (Stewart) for the first two rounds and I knew he was playing very solid. Everything about his game was solid and I knew he was going to play well so I wanted to come out and make a statement early,” said Harvey. “That’s just not how it works sometimes, but that was my goal. I birdied No. 1 and he made a birdie on top of me so I said, ‘OK, here we go’.”
After Stewart carded a bogey on No. 2, the hardest hole on the course this week, Harvey seized the opportunity to tie for the lead with a clutch par putt. That is when his momentum started to build and no force was strong enough to stop it. The 8-time Carolinas Player of the Year birdied Nos. 5 and 6 to catapult to a three shot lead through No. 6. Stewart applied the pressure on Harvey with a birdie on No. 7 to pull within two.
After making the turn, Harvey and Stewart both got off to a hot back nine going birdie for birdie on Nos. 10 and 11. As they approached the 13th tee, the weather started to turn and brought heavy rain and lightning. There was an inclement weather suspension that would cool any hot streak. However, Harvey was eerily familiar with this situation.
“In 2010, there was a rain delay in the final round of the Carolinas Am at Pinehurst No. 8. I was in contention, and I’ll never forget it, I was stalking the leaderboard and getting worked up over it. Then Logan Harrell went back out and won it that year,” said Harvey. “When we ran into that same situation here, I did my own thing and stayed away from too many people. That is how I dealt with it in a positive way and it helped me out after the delay.”
Following the delay, Harvey’s patience and experience paid off with a key par save on No. 13. From there he played smart, conservative golf to cruise in with his low round of the week, a 5-under-par, 65. He claimed the title with a 10-under-par, 270 total score. Stewart claimed runner-up with a 7-under-par, 273 overall finish.
This is Harvey’s second Carolinas Amateur Championship title as he won it in 2011, 10 years ago this week. One key difference between his 2011 win and this go around: his son was by his side for every shot.
“My dad won the Carolinas Am three times and I never got to see him win. Now my son is getting into golf big time and for him to be here the whole time, watching every shot means so much to me,” said the 10-time CGA Champion. “My mom drove over with my step dad and they brought a friend. It is just so cool and it makes the experience that much better.”
The gracious champion remarked on his incredible victory. “It is the biggest event in the Carolinas and it is so hard to win against so many great players. I am really honored. Coming in I felt like I had a chance, but again, it has been so long. I’m 43 now and you’ve got high school kids, college kids, kids getting ready to turn pro and you just never know. This course is a thinkers course and I feel like I can think just as good as anybody. You still have to execute, but I feel like that played to my hand quite a bit. I was able to get it done and I’m pretty happy.”
One could say that Scott has followed in the footsteps of his father, Bill Harvey. Bill was a three-time Carolinas Amateur Champion and was inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame in 1984 for his extraordinary amateur golf career.
We would be remiss to not mention the run made by
Matthew Sharpstene of Charlotte, N.C. today. He made the most of his final round at Biltmore Forest Country Club by firing off a bogey-free 4-under-par, 66, his low round of the week, to climb from fifth to third place with a grand total of 6-under-par, 274. Sharpstene carded one of only three rounds under-par in the final round.
ABOUT THE Carolinas Amateur
The championship is conducted at 72 holes of stroke
play. After 36 holes, there is a cut to the low 60
scores and ties. Entry is open to any male amateur
golfer who has reached his 13th birthday by the first
day of the championship, is a legal resident of North
Carolina or South Carolina, is a member in good
standing of a club which is a member of the CGA
and
has an active GHIN USGA Handicap Index at a CGA
member club that does not exceed 9.9.
The Frank F. Capers Cup Team Competition is held
during rounds one and two of the Carolinas Amateur
Championship. Three or four bona fide members
from the same club comprise a team. The low three
scores count each round.
Format changed from match play to stroke
play in 2010.
View Complete Tournament Information