Country Club of Columbus
The Southeastern Amateur, one of the oldest amateur golf events in the country and boasts alumni that have won 14 major championships and over 250 PGA Tour events, gets underway on Thursday at the Country Club of Columbus, Ga.
The 54-hole stroke play event features some of the top collegiate and mid-amateur players in the nation. Southeastern Amateur alumni have won U.S. Amateur's, NCAA Championships and played on Walker Cup, President's Cup, and Ryder Cup teams.
Full 2023 Field
HISTORY
The Southeastern Amateur, originally named the Columbus Country Club Invitational, was created in 1922 by Fred Haskins, former Head Golf Professional at the Country Club of Columbus. W.H. Dismuke Sr. won the inaugural event.
The tournament was rebranded to the Southeastern Amateur in 1938, and Mr. Tommy Barnes was the first to have his name inscribed on the newly named Jordan-Martin Trophy.
The tournament has been held in both Match-Play and Stroke-play formats, and many records have been set along the way.
Among the winners since that event are Doug Sanders, Tommy Aaron, Danny Edwards, Curtis Strange, Columbus native Kenny Knox, and 5-time champion Allen Doyle. Included on the runner-up list are Mason Randolph, Gardner Dickinson, Bert Greene, Steve Melnyk, Gary Koch, Ben Crenshaw, Fuzzy Zoeller, Andy Bean, Willy Wood, and Paul Azinger.
Aaron, Crenshaw, and Zoeller wear the green jacket of a Masters Champion, and Mr. Doyle launched into his senior tour career shortly after winning his fifth Southeastern, where he has won the Senior U.S. Open twice.
Once the course’s Donald Ross design was introduced between 1923 and 1925, making for a full 18 holes, the tournament flourished. By the 50s, it had become the premier tournament for amateurs in the southeastern United States.
As travel became more convenient, the tournament has transformed into what it is today, a top-level amateur tournament that attracts the most notable players from around the world.
Throughout the tenure of the Southeastern Amateur, the golf course underwent many changes, including an extensive renovation in 2002 after Cecil Calhoun obtained the original Donald Ross designs.
The course was made as close to those designs as possible during that renovation, including the famous postage stamp green on No. 4, and of course, the ever-present “shaved” collection areas that are the signature of all Donald Ross designs.
LAST YEAR
Andy Mao shot a final round 68 on Saturday to finish off a two-stroke victory.
Mao played the first 34 holes of the tournament without a bogey, carding a 7-under-par 63 Thursday and a 5-under-par 65 Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round.
In the final round, Mao birdied four of the first 14 holes to 16-under-par and build a four-stroke lead. He was able to withstand a pair of bogeys at 15 and 17 to win the tournament by two over Tyler Lipscomb, who shot 7-under-par 63 to make a late charge.
FRED HASKINS
From the seaside town of Liverpool to a quaint Donald Ross course in Georgia, Fred Haskins built a reputation for mentoring young golfers. Haskins was head professional at the Country Club of Columbus for 34 years, recommended for the position by the legendary Bobby Jones. His proteges learned the game in Saturday morning classes that cost a nickel. They went on to win more than 150 collegiate and amateur tournaments. Haskins, a master club-maker as well, died in 1981.
Since its formation in 1971, the Haskins Commission has been devoted to amateur golf and the presentation of the Haskins Award. This coveted trophy honors the year’s outstanding college golfer and the memory of Fred Haskins, an obscure club pro that spent his life nurturing and mentoring amateur golfers. The commission, based in Columbus, Ga., oversees the voting conducted among college golfers, coaches and golf media.
ABOUT THE Southeastern Amateur
The Southeastern Amateur is a top-level amateur
golf tournament with a rich history
dating back to 1922 - when the tournament was
created by Fred Haskins. Each year,
the Southeastern Amateur has the great honor of
hosting many of the nation's top
amateur golfers, from Division I NCAA National
Champions to the nation's top Mid-
Amateurs.
Field is limited to 90 players. The format is 54 holes
of stroke
play with no cut. Open qualifier held the day before
the tournament.
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