‘All-Am’ honors emphasize strength of amateur golf in South Carolina
To get an idea of how strong the amateur game is in South Carolina, check out the latest edition of the Global Golf Post, an online publication that specialized in world-wide coverage.
The editors selected their “All-Am” teams — the best amateurs in the world for the year — and three South Carolinians earned first-team honors. Another took a place on the second team.
The selections “just go to show the high quality of golf in our state,” said Biff Lathrop, executive director of the South Carolina Golf Association. “To win a tournament in this state, you better bring your ‘A’ game, and sometimes that’s not good enough.”
Todd White (men’s senior amateur, age 55 and older), Dawn Woodard (women’s mid-amateur, age 25 and older) and Stephen Behr Jr. (men’s mid-amateur) earned spots on the 10-player first teams. Rick Cloninger (men’s senior amateur) made the second squad.
The first-team honorees not only emphasize that the game can be played at a high level for a lifetime but also the strength of the state’s junior program. All three first-teamers cut their teeth in golf in South Carolina’s youth programs.
White, a high-school instructor in Spartanburg, took medalist honors and then won the U.S. Senior Amateur to highlight his season. But his making the round of 32 in the U.S. Mid-Amateur and winning the South Carolina Amateur against much younger players added a “wow factor.”
Behr, who grew in Florence, won the 2010 South Carolina Junior Championship and now lives in Atlanta, posted three runner-up finishes against quality fields and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur. The former Clemson star’s loss in the national tourney came at the hands of another South Carolinian, Sam Jackson, the 2023 state player of the year.
Woodard, who lives in Greenville and plays at the Thornblade Club, finished second in a pair of strong fields. The Global Golf Post recognition adds to her collection of honors that include multiple player-of-the-year awards from the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association and the Carolinas Golf Association.
Cloninger, who lives in Rock Hill, added the Chanticleer National Senior championship to his trophy collection. He also had a pair runner-up finished, including on in the North and South Senior.
Myrtle Beach Classic. Tickets for the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic, which will be played May 9-12 at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, are on sale at www.myrtlebeachclassic.com.
Ticket options include daily and weekly general admission, plus hospitality opportunities. Children ages 15 and younger will be admitted free with an adult ticket holder.
The Clubhouse ticket allows access into the club’s ballroom lounge featuring various amenities. The Club 18 Shared Hospitality option includes food and beverage and offers covered, open-air viewing behind the 18th green. Private hospitality and pro-am opportunities are also available.
Chip shots. USC junior Louise Rydqvist finished tied for 46th in the LPGA’s Annika tourney in Belleair, Florida. Rydqvist earned the honor to compete against the pros by sharing first place in a September collegiate tournament also called the Annika. A third-round 65 highlighted Rydqvist performance, but she slipped down the leaderboard with a final-round 73. ... Robbie Biershenk (Boiling Springs) won the SCGA’s 40-Plus series event at Holly Tree CC in Simpsonville with a 3-under-par 69. ... Speaking of tournaments, tickets to the U.S. Open, set for June 13-16 in Pinehurst, North Carolina are available online at www.usga.org. ... Clemson’s men’s golf signees include Jacob Immelman, son of 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman who is now lead golf analyst for CBS’s PGA Tour coverage. ... Mike Gravley, whose championships included SCGA and CGA tournaments along with numerous Upstate events, passed away Sunday after a battle with cancer.
