Chris Cartwright, the PGA professional at West Pines Golf Course in Douglasville, won the Georgia PGA Professional Championship on Tuesday at Barnsley Resort in Adairsville.
Cartwright shot 68-73 to finish at 3-under 141 and earn a two-shot win. Anthony Cordes of the Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta and recently crowned Georgia Section champion Tim Weinhart of Heritage Golf Links in Tucker tied for second at 1-under 143.
Tied for fourth at even par were J.P. Griffin and Francisco Bide, both of Capital City Club in Atlanta. Finishing sixth was Dan Merriman of Atlanta Country Club in Marietta at 1-over 145. Tied for seventh at 2-over 146 were Alex Sutton of The River Club in Suwanee, Chad Ferrell of Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta and Dylan Malafronte of Frederica Golf Club in St. Simons.
The top four finishers and four alternates earned a place in the National Professional Championship, where the top 20 qualify for the PGA Championship. Weinhart already had qualified by virtue of winning the Georgia Section.
Cartwright is a native of Cartersville who played at Clayton State and Reinhardt, where he won four tournaments, set a school record for the low round and helped the team win the conference championship and qualify for the NAIA nationals. He won the Georgia PGA North Chapter championship in 2015.
Credit: Georgia State Golf Association
Credit: Georgia State Golf Association
Doug Hanzel wins fourth Georgia Senior Am
Doug Hanzel of Savannah, runner-up at the U.S. Senior Amateur earlier this month, won his fourth Georgia Senior Amateur Championship at Green Island Country Club in Columbus.
Hanzel, the 2013 U.S. Senior Am champion, shot rounds of 70-68-69 to finish at 6-under 207 and earn a two-stroke victory over Atlanta’s Jack Larkin Sr.
Jeff Knox of Augusta was third at even par, with Mark Nickerson of Greensboro fourth at 1 over and Bob Royak of Alpharetta in fifth at 4 over. Tied for sixth at 5 over were Wright Waddell of Columbus, Doug Stiles of Athens and Rusty Strawn of McDonough, the U.S. Senior Am champion.
Atlanta team claims Georgia Women’s Team title
The team of Karen Bartlett of Johns Creek and Velika Brown of Atlanta won the net division Georgia Women’s Team Tournament at the King and Prince Golf Club in St. Simons Island.
Players competed in a four-ball net format in the first round and a scramble in the second. Bartlett and Brown shot 66-64 for a 14-under 130, three shots better than the teams of Ashley Barnes of Mershon and Sarah Gilliard of Alma, and Sue Fancher of Atlanta and Nichole Roche of Alpharetta. In fourth place was the Rentz team of Lisa Baggett and Cynthia Floyd at 135.
In a role reversal, Barnes and Gilliard won the gross division at 10 under on the first playoff hole over Bartlett and Brown after both carded 134 gross scores.
Credit: USGA Museum
Credit: USGA Museum
Duo eliminated in U.S. Women’s Mid-Am
Lexie Toth of Atlanta and Ket P. Vanderpool of Marietta advanced to the match-play round of the 35th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla.
Toth shot 77-71 to finish tied for 22nd at 4-over 145, and Vanderpool shot 77-73 and tied for 29th, putting both safely inside the match-play portion of the championship.
Toth, who played four years at Rollins College, defeated Courtney Stiles of North Carolina 3 and 2 in the first round. She was eliminated by Gretchen Johnson of Oregon, 3 and 1, in the round of 32.
Vanderpool, the assistant golf coach at Georgia State, lost 5 and 4 in the first round to Lila Thomas of Texas.
Birdies Fore Love back for fifth year
The fifth annual RSM Birdies Fore Love will begin its fifth season as part of the fall portion of the 2022-23 PGA Tour. The top three players who make the most total birdies from the fall events earn $300,000, $150,000 and $50,000 for the charities of their choice. The player who makes the most birdies each week will earn $50,000 for his charity. The program ends with the RSM Classic in Sea Island on Nov. 20.
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