The old golf adage that you can’t win a tournament the first day but you can lose it in the opening round is usually reliable.
That wasn’t the case, however, in the recent Georgia PGA Championship at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside course.
Hank Smith, the head professional at nearby Frederica Golf Club, shot a tournament best 65 the first day in the 54-hole event to build a 2-shot lead.
A 2-stroke lead with two rounds to play is certainly not insurmountable, but the way Smith shot the 65 provided an indication that he was going to be very difficult to catch.
Seven of his eight birdies on the par-70 Seaside layout, which hosts the annual PGA Tour McGladrey Classic, came on what described as “tap-ins”
A 69 in the second round was Smith’s highest score of the tournament, but his lead reached six after 36 holes as his three main pursuers all shot 72 or higher the second day. Only two players shot as low as 68, with a bogey at the 18th costing Smith a chance to match the low score of the round.
Smith was in position to again post the low score in the final round, but another bogey at the 18th left him with a 67, one of just two 3-under par scores that day.
When they added up the scorecards, Smith finished a whopping 10 strokes in front of his closest pursuers, who turned out to be six players tying for second. Smith’s 9-under 201 total was the lowest score in the tournament since Chan Reeves shot 201 on Seaside in 2003 and likely the largest margin of victory in the history of the event, which dates back more than 50 years.
It was the second Georgia PGA major victory this year for Smith in just two starts in Section events. He won the Atlanta Open in June at Atlanta National, but his only other Georgia PGA tournament appearance came recently in the East Chapter Championship, where he finished third.
Smith is the new head pro at Frederica GC, which is also on St. Simons Island, and is extremely familiar with the Seaside layout after working as an assistant for five years at Sea Island GC. He also practiced at the club during his years as a mini-tour pro, and estimated he has “played the course a thousand times, literally. I’m really comfortable here.”
While many of the players struggled to make birdies on the outstanding but sometimes perplexing Bermuda putting surfaces on Seaside, Smith converted a healthy percentage of his birdie opportunities, even those that were outside kick-in distance.
“The greens are very difficult, but I know how to read them,” Smith said.
Smith considers his ball striking, particularly his iron play, the strongest part of his game, and that was definitely evident the first day.
Each tournament round began with a shotgun start to minimize the weather delays that have hampered the tournament in recent years. Smith began his first round on the lengthy par-3 12th hole and made a bogey, but birdied four of five holes beginning at the 14th and closed his round with three more birdies on his last six holes for a 65.
The closest player to Smith after 18 holes was defending champion Craig Stevens, who has won the event three times. Stevens, an instructor at Brookstone G&C, was 4-under after seven holes the first day with an eagle on the par-5 seventh, but made only two birdies over his last 47 holes. After an opening 67, Stevens closed with scores of 73-71 and was part of the 6-way tie for second.
Tim Weinhart, the 2005 Georgia PGA Championship winner and a seven-time Player of the Year, was 4-under after his first nine holes of the tournament, but settled for a 68 after four bogeys on the back nine. Weinhart, an instructor at the Standard Club, was 3-over after three holes the second day and shot 72-71 the final 36 holes to join Stevens in the tie for second.
The fourth member of the lead group the last two days was Stephen Keppler, a 4-time Section champion and also 4-time Player of the Year. Keppler opened with a 68 and was just behind Smith midway through the second round at 2-under for the day after 11 holes. But Keppler, the Director of Golf at Marietta Country Club, was 4-over on his next four holes for a 72, and did not make another birdie until the 16th hole in the final round. He also tied for second at 211, closing with a 71.
It was the ninth straight year Keppler has finished no lower than third in the Section Championship, which includes a win in 2011 and five runner-up finishes in that span.
Also tying for second were Champions Retreat head professional John Wade, Champions Tour member James Mason and Kyle Owen of Dunwoody Country Club.
Wade shot 68 in the second round and was in position to finish second outright before bogeys at 14 and 15 the final day left him with a 71.
Mason was 3-under after nine holes in the second round and within range of Smith, but played the next five holes in 5-over to fall out of contention. He closed with a 69 for his share of second.
Owen, who won the Georgia PGA tournament at Chicopee Woods earlier this year, was also in contention late in the second round, standing 3-under for the day and 1-under for the tournament after 14 holes. But he settled for a 69 after a double bogey at 16 and a bogey at 17, and shot 70 the next day to join the sizeable tie for second place.
Smith earned $5,600 for his victory, with the six runners-up all taking home $2,375.
Rivermont head pro Matthew Evans was 8th at 213 including a second round 68. Jordan Arnold of Achasta and veteran tour player Sonny Skinner tied for 9th at 214, with Skinner closing with scores of 70 and 69.
Charlie King of Griffin Golf Course and Victor deSola were 11th at 215, with deSola shooting a final round 69 to finish first among the Sea Island GC contingent in the field. Former champions Tommy Brannen of Augusta Country Club and Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods were among a group of players tying for 13th at 216. Lee shot 68 the final day and Brannen closed with a 69.
Smith began his final round with a 6-shot lead over all three of his playing partners, and opened with a birdie on the first hole. He managed a bogey after pushing his tee shot into the water on the par-4 fourth hole, and had a brief moment of concern at the par-5 seventh before scrambling for a par that could have been much worse.
After driving down the left side on the seventh, Smith had to contend with a tree along the edge of the fairway for his second shot. He thought he could clear it with a 3-wood, but did not come close in his effort, and his ball ricocheted left into the hazard left of the fairway.
Fortunately for Smith, his ball came to rest in a spot that gave him a clear recovery shot from a friendly lie and he capitalized on his good fortune to save par.
“That was the best thing that happened to me,” he said of his escape on the seventh. “It made me mad and got my focus back. I was lucky not to make something a lot worse. That could have been a disaster.”
Smith was still five ahead at that point, and after a birdie at the eighth, one of five he had on the day, there wasn’t much doubt about the outcome. He was 3-under on the back nine with birdies on 10, 14 and 17, nearly landing his tee shot in the hole on the fly on the par-3 17th. A rare short missed par putt at the 18th kept from finishing double digits under par for the tournament.
During the time he worked at Sea Island GC as an assistant, Smith said he thought it would “be an accomplishment to get my Class A (PGA status) and just be able to play in this.
“I did not have very many expectations and I was as surprised as anybody,” he said of his opening 65. “My iron play that day was fantastic.”
Smith sad he tried to keep his mind free of thoughts about his position, but admitted he was “nervous with a six-shot lead,” going to the last round. “I’ve never had a six-shot lead.”
Smith played in college at both Alabama and Georgia Tech in the early 1990s, and was a moderately successful mini-tour player before joining the Georgia PGA. He worked at Frederica GC as an instructor and manager of the club’s learning center before being elevated to head pro earlier this year,
The tournament was sponsored by E-Z-Go and Path2College and was presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf-Ashworth and the PGA Tour.