Davis Womble (Credit: Carolina Golf Association)
Davis Womble's day started with a triple-bogey and ended with an eagle to win the Carolinas Mid-Amateur Championship in a playoff over fellow Demon Deacon alum
Cyrus Stewart.
"I hit my approach shot long and left on the first hole. It hit the cart path and went out of bounds. A bit of bad luck, for sure," Womble said.
When Womble walked off the first hole of the final round he was 5-over par and seven shots behind leader Hayes Brown. However, it was the only over-par hole he played the rest of the day.
A bounce-back birdie on the second steadied Womble.
On the par 5 seventh hole, Womble hit a five iron to 40 feet. His third shot from the fringe found the bottom of the cup. Suddenly his triple bogey was wiped out and Womble was back to even par for his round and feeling in command.
Three holes later, Womble birdied the downhill par-3 10th hole.
"It plays way downhill and the clubhouse up in that area does some strange things to the wind," Womble said.
A birdie on fourteen got Womble to even par for the tournament and in the lead with Hayes Brown.
"I thought I had to get to 1-under par at the start of the day," Womble said.
Womble fell short of his goal, but he made pressure-packed par putts on holes 15, 16, and 18 that all measured between five and seven feet.
"I hit a lot of important putts today, especially for par," Womble said.
Once Womble posted even par, all he could do was wait for the leaders to finish their rounds.
Hayes Brown finished at 1-over par, a single shot out of the playoff. Back-to-back bogeys on fifteen and sixteen dropped him to 2-over par; a birdie on eighteen proved too little too late.
Cyrus Stewart slipped back into a tie with Womble after making a bogey on the 17th hole, setting up the playoff.
Stewart put the pressure on Womble when he put his second shot to 15 feet. Womble stepped up and hit his shot just a little bit closer. Stewart missed his eagle putt, giving Womble the stage.
"It was beneficial that he went first," Womble said. "My eagle putt was very fast. So it allowed me to ease it down the hill and I got the speed right and the ball rolled into the center of the cup."
The two playoff competitors were Wake Forest teammates for three years from 2013-2015.
"We still play together a lot and I'm excited to play with him in the future in events, too."
On a chilly three days, Womble credits his hot putter for his victory.
"It was a grind out there between the wind, cold, and fast greens. I was glad I had a hot putter and I'm excited I could pull out the win this week."
View results for Carolinas Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE Carolinas Mid-Amateur
The Carolinas Mid-Amateur Championship format is
54 holes of
stroke play. After 36 holes, the field is cut to the low
60 scores and
ties. Entry is open to any male golfer who has
reached his 30th
birthday, is a legal resident of North or South
Carolina, is a
member in good standing of a club which is a
member of the
Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) and has a current
USGA Handicap
Index® at a member club that does not exceed 7.4.
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