Columbia City Golf Championship returns to Spring Valley Country Club
If the results match the pre-tournament enthusiasm, the Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Golf Championship will be brimming with excitement at Spring Valley Country Club.
“The golf course is in terrific shape and we’re anxious for the best golfers to be here,” Spring Valley pro Matt Barton said in previewing the July 20-22 tournament. “This is our showcase.”
Equally eager is defending champion Patrick Stephenson, who moved to the area last year and introduced himself to the golf community by winning the 2022 city title at the Spur at Northwoods.
“It’s always fun to be a defending champion, to see if you can get it done again,” he said. “I have been playing a lot, and I’m excited about the city championship.”
Stephenson and his challengers will find a golf course “with some teeth,” Barton said. If tournament officials “want to stretch it out and tuck the pins, the golfers will get all they want. We have eight or 10 members with plus handicaps, and maybe three will be under par for our club championship” on the most challenging course setup.
Barton particularly likes Spring Valley’s greens: “The best they’ve been in my four years here and they’re a delight to play on,” he said. And the pro gives a tip of the cap to Thomas Goulden, the superintendent who joined the staff earlier this year.
“He’s a great turf guy, a first-class agronomist,” Barton said. “Getting a golf course in great shape is a delicate balance, and Thomas does that. He’s used verticutting and top dressing, and the results show. Overall, the golf course has great definition.”
Through the years, Spring Valley’s membership has been generous in sharing the golf course, a classic George Cobb design that dates to the 1960s. Annual fixtures on the club calendar are hosting the USGA’s U.S. Junior Girls Amateur qualifier and the SCGA’s Partners Championship.
The city tournament returns to Spring Valley for the first time since 2013 and, Barton said, “the players are going to like what they see.”
Stephenson will be getting his first look at the northeast Columbia layout, and he hopes to get in a practice round prior to the tournament.
“I’ve heard good things about the course, especially the greens,” Stephenson said. “I know some clubs have had some challenges with greens this year, so playing on good ones is always a positive.”
Stephenson, who played his college golf at East Carolina University, says his game “has been up and down and we’ll have to see which one shows up” at the city tournament.
He’s been busy. In addition to his job at Lourie Life and Health Insurance, he is getting married in October, just purchased a home and still gets his golf on the schedule.
Among bigger events, he finished 14th in the CGA’s Carolinian Amateur in Buies Creek, North Carolina in May. His scores there support his up-and-down appraisal: 76-68-74.
“Not bad,” he said.
Stephenson takes advantage of the longer summer days to get in his golf. He might tee off before 6:30 a.m. and play in nine holes at Northwoods before work. More often, he heads to the course in the evenings after a day at the office.
“I’m looking forward to the tournament,” Stephenson said. “I’m excited.”
Add the club’s enthusiasm, and the possibilities are intriguing.
Chip shots. Mia Carles fired a final 1-under-par 71 to pull away and win the WSCGA’s Junior Championship by four strokes at Arcadian Shores GC in Myrtle Beach. Olivia Roberts placed second and Mia Andrade took third. ... Jack Crousore birdied the first playoff hole to edge Bennett Scaletta for the title in the Grant Bennett Florence Junior Invitational at Florence CC. Connor Wolfe won the 12-and-under age group. ... Danny Ezelle and Walt Todd Jr, teamed to win the SCGA’s Lefty-Righty Championship at Lake Marion Golf Course at Santee. Ezelle also won the Lefthanders title. ... The Palmetto Amateur, a fixture on the summer’s schedule for highly ranked amateurs, will be played Thursday-Sunday (July 6-9) at The Reserve Club in Aiken. Normally played over the venerable Palmetto GC layout, the tournament moves to the Reserve’s Hollow Creek course while Palmetto undergoes renovations that includes re-grassing the greens. ... Playing in his first CGA tournament, Connor Doyal defeated defending champion Nick Mayfield 3 and 1 in the finals of the South Carolina Match-Play at the WildeWood Club. Doyal moved from Alabama to Charleston earlier this year and immediately won the Charleston City title.
