Historic Rainfall wipes out CNCC Amateur after one round

PINEHURST, N.C. (Dec. 21, 2018) – Record rainfall hit the Pinehurst area, rendering the Country Club of North Carolina course unplayable and forcing the cancellation of the final two rounds of the tournament. Larkin Gross, on the strength of his bogey-free 68 on Wednesday, came out on top. It takes a lot of rain to wipe out play in Pinehurst -- a big reason it has become such a hotbed for golf is because of its location in the North Carolina Sandhills, with sandy soil that normally provides excellent drainage and playing conditions.

ROUND ONE REPORT

Larkin Gross, a senior on the Methodist University golf team, took the lead Wednesday in the opening round of the Country Club of North Carolina Amateur. Gross logged a bogey-free 6-under 68 to reach the top of the leaderboard.

While Gross’ card was relatively boring, Spencer Oxendine, in second place, had a little more color. The N.C. State commit from Fayetteville, N.C., had three birdies on the front, but two bogeys to go along with two more birdies on the back. His 3-under 69 left him one shot off the lead.

Three players are tied for third at 2-under 70, including Xavier’s Matthew Wetterich (who reached the final 16 at last year’s North & South Amateur), East Carolina’s Patrick Stephenson and mid-amateur Erik Ehlert. Stephenson is the defending champion, and is the only East Carolina player to win the CNCC trophy.

Four more players are at 1 under, including Charlotte’s Ben Woodruff.