Austin Langdale wins Azalea Invitational

March 24, 2013 | by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com

Austin Langdale

Langdale shot rounds of 66-69 to open play, which was called after rains soaked The Country Club of Charleston

CHARLESON, S.C. (March 24, 2013) -- Torrential rains forced the Azalea Invitational tournament committee to call the final day of action at The Country Club of Charleston.

Austin Langdale, who held the lead after the first two days of play, has been declared winner of the 65th playing of the event.

Langdale opened play Thursday with a 5-under 66 and shot 69 on Friday to take a two-shot lead into the weekend.

Only a portion of the field completed 18 holes in Round 3 on Saturday due to rain. The completion of the third round and the final round were both planned for Sunday. But at 8 a.m. on Sunday, the committee deemed the course unplayable.

For Langdale, though, the win is still meaningful.

“It’s pretty cool,” the Clemson-bound junior said. “It feels weird with the last shots hit on Friday but it’s a great feeling. To look at the names on the locker room wall and see Webb Simpson and names like that, it’s pretty cool to have my name next to last year’s U.S. Open champ.”

Langdale’s Friday 66 proved to be the difference maker. On a day when much of the field struggled, the Townville, S.C. teen managed to get up-and- down on all six of the greens he missed to power through the windy conditions and take an early lead. On Friday, Langdale simply managed to keep pace with the surging field.

“I was just trying to put together another solid round,” he said. “I missed a few putts that could have gotten me low again but I didn’t lose any strokes. Shooting 2-under on a good course like that isn’t too bad.

“This is by far the biggest win of my amateur career.”

Langdale won by two over Scott Harvey, a talented mid-am from North Carolina, who finished alone in second at 5-under after his Friday 67. Will Long, another junior, finished in third place after two- straight 69s to open the event.

Jim Liu, who fired a competitive course record 63 on Friday, was among a group of three players tied for fourth place. Cameron Champ and Carson Young also finished at 3-under.

Mike Miller, the highest ranked player (5th) in the event according to the Goflweek/amateurgolf.com U.S. Player Rankings, managed a pair of 70s and finished alone in seventh place. North Carolina mid-am Matt Crenshaw and Jack Maguire, who won the 2012 St. Augustine Amateur, were one shot back in eighth place at even par.

Former PGA Tour pro and 1997 Azalea Invitational champion John Engler finished tied for 12th. He shot rounds of 73-70 to finish 1-over.

Four-time U.S Mid-Amateur champion Nathan Smith was tied for 20th at 3-over, one shot better than fellow Walker Cup hopeful Todd White.

Results: Azalea Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Austin Langdale	Townville, SC	700	66-69=135
2	Scott Harvey	Kernersville, NC	500	70-67=137
3	Will Long	Gastonia, NC	400	69-69=138
T4	Jim Liu	Smithtown, NY	400	76-63=139
T4	Cameron Champ	Sacramento, CA	400	74-65=139

View full results for Azalea Invitational

About the Azalea Invitational

Austin Langdale wins Azalea Invitational

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