The Georgia Open has lacked for late tournament excitement in recent years, but Davin White and Eddie Lee delivered plenty of fireworks as August’s tournament at Pinetree Country Club neared its conclusion.
Lee, who finished in the top five in the three previous Georgia Opens, broke away from a crowded group of leaders in the fourth round with three birdies in a five-hole stretch of the final nine.
The three birdies gave Lee a two-shot lead at that point, but White closed out his round with three straight birdies, capping a run of four birdies in the last five holes.
White’s sizzling surge down the stretch gave him a one-stroke victory at 8-under 280, the first win for an amateur in the event since future PGA Tour player Franklin Langham won his first Georgia Open in 1989.
It was the second victory in a Georgia PGA tournament for White in the span of a month, following his win in the Championship at Berkeley Hills. White, who completed his college career at Georgia State this spring, also won that tournament with a strong final round, shooting 66 the last day at Berkeley Hills to win by one over college teammate Nathan Mallonee.
White and Lee were part of a five-way battle for the lead early on the final nine, but the two combined for seven birdies over the last seven holes, with the other three contenders unable to keep pace.
Lee finished second at 281 to take home the Tilted Kilt Georgia Open first place check for $8,000. Matt Nagy, a former Kennesaw State player from Buena Vista who tied for third at Pinetree last year and was outright second in 2012, was third at 283. Jin Chung of Duluth and recent Mercer golfer Trey Rule, making his pro debut, were fourth at 284.
White, a Locust Grove resident, said winning the Georgia Open “means a lot. It’s a great honor. I’m still at a loss for words.”
With the victory, White joins a distinguished list of Georgia Open champions that range from Tommy Aaron, Hugh Royer Jr., DeWitt Weaver and Larry Nelson to Tim Simpson, Bob Tway and Gene Sauers. Langham, Matt Peterson, Justin Bolli and Roberto Castro all made their way to the PGA Tour after winning the Georgia Open, and White expects to begin that process early in 2016, if not sooner.
White plans to attempt to qualify for the PGA Tour-sponsored LatinoAmerica Tour, but is considering turning pro earlier to give himself some professional experience prior to making that effort.
White began the final round at 5-under, one shot ahead of Nagy, two in front of West Georgia golfer Barrett Waters of Dallas and three better than Lee and Chung. Rule was next at 1-under, four off the lead.
The leaders all began their final rounds on the 10th hole, with White holding at least a share of the lead until Lee moved past him early on the final nine. Nagy pulled even with White twice early in the round with birdies at holes 11 and 13 around a bogey at the 12th, with both making birdie on the short, par-5 16th.
Rule, playing in the group ahead along with Lee, briefly took the outright lead when he eagled the 16th, his second eagle on the opening nine and fourth in two days. He made two eagles in a third round 65 to move into contention after shooting 78 the day before, achieving the exceedingly rare feat of playing the four par 5s in the same number of strokes (14) as the four par 3s, scoring birdies on the other two par 5s while making his only two bogeys on par 3s.
Rule and Nagy lost their share of the lead with bogeys at the difficult par-4 18th, with Nagy and White both taking bogey at Pinetree’s first hole, the 10th of the day for the leaders.
Chung moved into a tie for the lead at 5-under with birdies at 1 and 2, with Lee joining him at the top when he birdied the third. Consecutive bogeys at 2, 3 and 4 dropped Rule out of contention, with his second shot to the par-5 second ending up out of bounds by inches. He was 11-under on the other par 5s the last two days with four eagles and three birdies, but the bogey at the second proved extremely costly.
When White bogeyed the third hole after driving into a fairway bunker, Lee had the lead by himself. Lee, who has lived in the Atlanta area for about five years after playing professionally in Japan, birdied the short, par-4 fifth, but White matched the birdie minutes later when he drove the green and had a serious look at eagle.
Lee also birdied the seventh, the other short par 4 on Pinetree’s front nine, hitting his second shot within three feet. White had only 73 yards left for his second shot, and “from the middle of the fairway, I expected to get it inside ten feet.”
Instead he left himself about a 20-footer, but holed it to stay within one of the lead. Lee had a chance to post 8-under, but his short birdie try at the par-5 ninth lipped out. White pulled even when he hit his tee shot on the par-3 eighth behind the hole in the 20-foot range and again holed his birdie attempt.
White went for the ninth in two and like Lee did in the group ahead, missed the green just to the left. Unlike Lee, White was able to hole his short birdie putt after a deft chip to claim the title.
“That was one of the best finishes I’ve had in a tournament,” White said. He felt it was especially good considering “I was out of the lead by two shots after the 13th. To finish that well is the best feeling in the world.
“I actually went out and won it and I know I earned it.”
Lee had mixed feelings after his runner-up finish, but came away with first place money and said he was “happy with how well I played today.”
The missed birdie putt at the final hole stung Lee a bit, but he left the tournament with the realization that he didn’t lose it. His 67 was the low round of the day as he carded six birdies after taking bogey on his opening hole.
“He deserved to win,” Lee said of White. “To close out a tournament like that, good for him.”
Lee, who plays out of Laurel Springs, has been playing and “teaching a little bit,” but said he plans “to focus more on my game and maybe go back on tour.” He is considering returning to play in Japan and also might attempt qualifying for the European Tour.
The first time Lee made an impact in the Georgia Open was 2012 at The Legends at Chateau Elan, placing third, three shots behind Jonathan Fricke. He was one shot out of second the next year at The Legends and tied for fifth at Pinetree last year, also finishing at 7-under 281.
After the consecutive bogeys at 18 and 1, Nagy carded seven straight pars before a closing birdie at the ninth gave him a 71 and a tie for third for a second straight year at 283.
Rule shot 69 and Chung 70 to tie for fourth at 284. Chung stayed close to the lead before a bogey at Pinetree’s tough par-4 sixth, while Rule rallied with birdies at 5 and 9 after the three straight bogeys. Rule, from Eatonton, enjoyed a successful career at Mercer and won the 2014 Dogwood Invitational.
Waters closed with a 73 to tie for sixth at 286 with Statesboro pro John L. Smith, who shot a final round 70. Buford’s S.M. Lee, the GSGA Junior champion, was eighth at 287, followed by Bradley Smith and Emmanuel Kountakis at 288. Smith, an instructor at Eagle’s Landing, was low among the club professionals in the field. Kountakis, who lives just outside Augusta, played at Mercer the last two seasons with Rule, but has transferred to Augusta State.
Veteran amateur Bob Royak of Alpharetta, a former Atlanta Open champion, led by a shot after an opening 68 that included five birdies on the front nine and an eagle on the 16th. Mini-tour pro Ryan Chitwood of Gainesville, who finished 11th at 289, was the only other player to break 70, carding a 69. Waters, Nagy and Champions Tour player James Mason were among a group at 70, with White shooting 71 with four birdies.
White took the second round lead at 139 with a 68, one of just two scores below 70 that day. He ended the day with a 4-shot lead over Waters and Chitwood, the only other players under par for 36 holes. Smith, Chung, Royak and Lee were fourth at 144. Smith shot 72 with six birdies while Chung was 3-under over his last three holes for a 69, highlighted by an eagle at the 16th. Royak also eagled the 16th, but that was his lone highlight in a 76. Lee rallied for a 72 with four birdies on the back nine.
While White settled for a 72 and a 54-hole total of 211, Nagy and Rule made big moves. Nagy played his last five holes in 6-under for a 30 on the nine including an eagle at the par-4 fifth. He finished with a 67, the second best score of the day behind Rule’s 65, which featured five birdies on his first nine and eagles on holes 2 and 9. S.M. Lee had seven birdies in his 69 to end the day tied for sixth at 1-under .
The tournament was played without its defending champion, as Jay McLuen, who also won in 2011 at Barnsley Gardens, got a sponsor’s invitation into the PGA Tour event in Reno that week. Recent Kennesaw State player Jimmy Beck, who was second behind McLuen last year on the course where he played his college golf, had to miss the tournament because of an ailing hip.
Fricke was a late addition to the field, but the two-time champion played poorly the first day and missed the cut.
(See Georgia Open, page 23)
Georgia Open
(Continued from page 18)