Remi Chartier defends New Years Invitational title in a playoff

January 9, 2022 | by Kent Paisley of AmateurGolf.com

Credit New Year's Invitational

The East Tennessee State sophomore became the 10th player to successfully defend in the 96-year-old history of the tournament

History stared New Year's Invitational's defending champion, Remi Chartier, in the face Sunday at the New Year's Invitational, holding a two-stroke lead with 18 holes to play. But, unlike his 2021 wire-to-wire victory at St. Petersburg Country Club, the East Tennessee State sophomore finished tied for the lead with Aidan Kramer at 9-under and went to the 73rd hole to find the winner's circle again. Chartier became the 10th player to defend their title in the 96-year-old tournament's history.

The Montreal native wasn't within five strokes of the lead heading into the weekend. Ervin Chang broke away from the pack with an opening 11-under into the weekend, bolstered by a Friday 65. Chartier's second round 73 pushed him to eight back of the leader. He responded Saturday with a 65 of his own to take the lead into the final round.

Kramer teed off in the group in front of Chartier, and fired a 69, the low round of the day on Sunday, to finish nine-under. Kramer, a sophomore at Georgia Tech, held the outright lead after birdieing the 16th and 18th, with Chartier and Nic Hofman sitting on the par 5 18th at eight under.

Chartier carded his third consecutive birdie on the hole, with Hofman posting a par to miss out in the playoff. The Purdue sophomore birdied the final hole the previous two days. Chartier and Kramer went to the first for their playoff, with the Canadian ending it with a stuffed approach to 2 ½ feet for birdie.

The victory is Chartier's third top-5 finish in his last five starts, finishing third at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and fourth at the White Sands Bahamas Invitation.

Mike Barkley also defended his senior division title at one-under-par, with his second round 68 marking the low round of the group. David Lang won the Mid-Am group at 6-under, posting an opening 67 for the low round of the division. Lang's score finished tied him for fourth in the championship flight.

Results: New Years Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Remi Chartier	, Canada	400	68-73-65-73=279
2	Aidan Kramer	Oviedo, FL	300	69-70-71-69=279
3	Nic Hofman	Lafayette, IN	200	75-68-65-72=280
T4	Ervin Chang	, Malaysia	200	68-65-76-73=282
T4	Brett Schell	Saint Augustine, FL	200	71-74-67-70=282

View full results for New Years Invitational

About the New Years Invitational

Remi Chartier defends New Years Invitational title in a playoff

The New Year's Invitational is one of the oldest and most respected amateur invitationals in the United States, held annually at St. Petersburg Country Club in Saint Petersburg, Florida. First contested in 1927, the championship has been played every...