Golf’s daily double: Top amateurs tackle Palmetto one week, CC of Charleston the next

The world of South Carolina golf dipped into baseball vernacular in staging a doubleheader — the Midlands Chevy Dealers City Men’s Championship and a World Long Drive competition — over the weekend at Fort Jackson Golf Club.

Now, golf borrows from horse racing to present a daily double that features the state’s top amateur tournaments on back-to-back weeks over two of the state’s most storied courses.

The Palmetto Amateur unfolds for the 49th time over Aiken’s Palmetto Golf Club course that dates to 1892 from July 24-27, and the South Carolina Amateur follows Aug. 1-4 at the Country Club of Charleston’s Seth Raynor classic design that dates to the 1920s.

Neither course is long by today’s standards, “but they hold their own,” said Biff Lathrop, executive director of the South Carolina Golf Association.

As an example, he pointed out that Emmett Turner won the 2005 State Amateur at Daniel Island Club at 7,200-7,300 yards with a 274 score and Jeffrey Golf captured the State Am a year later at Palmetto at 6,700 yards at 277.

The Palmetto field of 84 features a strong contingent of college players with 16 states and eight international countries represented. South Carolinians compose the State Amateur field of 150 with collegians largely dominant in recent years.

“But we have a great mix of ages and some mid-amateurs (ages 25 and older) who can compete with anyone,” said Palmetto co-chairman Brad Crain. His list includes Sam Jackson, two-time South Carolina player of the year who lost in the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur; Austin Langdale, a former Clemson All-American; and Brian Quackenbush, a local favorite who played at Virginia and finished seventh a year ago.

Those three will be in Charleston a week later, too, and will be joined by defending champion Todd White, who last week added the R&A’s British Senior Amateur title to his 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur and 2023 South Carolina Amateur championships.

Players at both venues can expect firm and fast conditions, and the Palmetto field will need to adjust to extensive upgrades.

“We re-grassed the whole course last summer,” Palmetto superintendent Mark Swygert said. “We redid the fifth green completely and made small changes on No. 12, but otherwise, it’s ‘the way it was.’ ”

The “way it was” — and is — is challenging. Holding shots on the new greens will be the first test, then solving the putting surfaces that will run 11.5-12 on the Stimpmeter comes next.

Both Palmetto and the Charleston course drip in history. Notables who have competed at both include a who’s who in golf. For starters, Ben Hogan liked to use Palmetto for his Masters preparation. And Hogan and fellow legend Sam Snead sang praises to the Charleston layout with one exception — the par-3 11th hole.

“Yes, Charleston has No. 11,” Lathrop said. “There aren’t many par-3 holes where, depending on the weather conditions, a layup off the tee is the best option.”

This will be the 49th Palmetto Amateur, which got its start for mostly local players before expanding to attract national and international players. And the tournament committee is already looking for special ways to celebrate the event’s golden anniversary next year.

Charleston played host to the first two State Amateurs, 1929 and 1930, but the event will be returning for the first time since Lucas Glover claimed the second of his three championships in 1999. In the meantime, in addition to its annual high-profile events, the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open have been played along Wappoo Creek.

“Lots of possibilities,” Lathrop said in pondering the state golf’s daily double. “The college guys will be longer off the tee, but these two courses require more than length. How the players adapt will be interesting” — and decisive.

Chip shots . Former USC All-American Matt NeSmith came within a whisker of winning his first PGA Tour tournament on Sunday in the ISCO Championship in Kentucky. After NeSmith missed two putts to win in a five-player playoff, Englishman Harry Hall captured the title with a chip-in birdie on the third extra hole. ... USC’s Louise Rydqvist has been named recipient of the 2024 Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award, which is present by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association to the player who is an upperclassman and both a WGCA All-American and a WGCA Scholastic All-American. A rising senior, Rydqvist maintained a 4.0 grade average as a double major in finance and marketing and led the Gamecocks in scoring. ... South Carolina again will have two PGA Tour tournaments in 2025, the RBC Heritage on its traditional week-after-the-Masters date (April 17-20), and the Myrtle Beach Classic on Mother’s Day weekend (May 8-11).