Todd White’s amazing golf achievement: same tournament, same winner, 33 years later

Todd White earned a rare — and perhaps unique — distinction in the golf world last weekend with his triumph in the South Carolina Amateur Championship.

His victory, achieved over Musgrove Mill Golf Club’s demanding layout, came 33 years after he won the State Amateur.

Think about that last statement: Thirty-three years between victories in the same championship.

“I can’t remember anybody anywhere winning a major tournament that many years apart,” said Happ Lathrop, retired executive director of the S.C. Golf Association.

Maybe the 55-year-old White, a high school instructor at Spartanburg High and a member of the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame, is not the only player to ever win the same tournament so many years apart. But calling the roll of those with the achievement would not take very long.

“I don’t really quantify or rate (tournament wins), but to do something 33 years later is satisfying and validating,” White said. “The game has been incredibly good to me.”

His secret to success at Musgrove is really no secret. The layout in Clinton requires keeping the ball in the fairway, and White did. Over 72 holes, he lost only six strokes to par — four bogeys and one double-bogey.

And he needed every stroke in his 10-under-par 278 total to fend off USC golfer Rafe Reynolds from Greenville. Reynolds, seeking to join brother Harry, the 2021 champion, as the only brothers to win the State Amateur, finished at 279.

“Steady all week,” White said in describing his performance. “I made a lot of six-, seven- and eight-foot putts for par that kept my rounds going, and I never got in trouble off the tee. If it’s your week, it’s your week.”

White’s first State Amateur title came in 1990 at Camden Country Club. He placed second a year later and has other top-10s in the state’s top event for amateurs.

“Between changes in equipment and technology with the golf ball, I’m just as long now as I was when I won the Amateur at Camden,” he said.

But the younger golfers are longer off the tee, and Musgrove, which is less than 7,000 yards, played in White’s favor. The course demanded a lot of irons or hybrids off the tees; straying into the rough meant trouble.

“Musgrove is difficult but not long,” White said. “Last year at the Dunes Club — longer and with less penal rough — the college kids continually blew (tee shots) by me. There’s a big difference in hitting a 9-iron into a par-4 as they did and a 6-iron as I did. The golf course and conditions matter. Musgrove just brought more people into the mix.”

There’s the experience fact, too. He won his first State Amateur probably 10 years before Reynolds, his closest challenger, was born.

And his Hall of Fame status speaks to his accomplishments. His resume features more than 30 USGA national tournaments and include the championship in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner Nathan Smith. He has represented the United States on the Walker Cup team and has earned the state player of the year multiple times.

“I’m 55 years old, so I really enjoy teeing it up against the college kids just to see how my game stacks up, and I’m very proud of the longevity for which I’ve been able to remain competitive,” White said. “But for me, (the Amateur win) really validates a lot of the hard work I put in to be able to continue to compete.”

Oh, and he did not rest on his lofty achievement on Sunday. A day later at the Country Club of Lexington, he led qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur.

What will he do next?

SC amateur scores

• Todd White ..... 68-69-69-72—278

• Rafe Reynolds ..... 68-68-69-74—279

• Wade Wawner ..... 69-74-71-68—282

• Chandler Mulkey ..... 63-75-74-71—283

• Connor Doyal ..... 73-70-70-72—285

• Garland Ferrell ..... 70-69-73-74—286

• David Gibson ..... 73-71-71-72—287

• Garrett Cooper ..... 71-72-72-72—287

• Walt Todd Jr. ..... 71-73-72-71—287

• Sam Jackson ..... 71-72-72-74—289

• Zach Adams ..... 80-69-68-73—290

• Max Green ..... 73-68-74-75—290

• Luke Sullivan ..... 77-73-72-70—292

• Ben Goforth ..... 75-69-73-75—292

• Rowan Sullivan ..... 77-66-77-73—293

• Oliver Rotermund ..... 73-69-81-70—293

• Tyler Gray ..... 82-65-73-74—294

• Zachary Reuland ..... 70-75-71-78—294

• Matthew Doyle ..... 71-73-74-76—294

• Brian Lee ..... 75-73-70-77—295

• Brady Hinkle ..... 74-70-74-77—295

• Walker Jennings ..... 78-74-69-74—295

• Raymond Wooten ..... 77-70-73-75—295

• Lleyton Renner ..... 76-68-76-75—295

• Andrew Hall ..... 73-74-75-73—295

• Calel Loudin ..... 73-69-77-77—296

• Jon Weiss ..... 71-72-77-76—296

• Nathan Franks ..... 74-75-73-74—296

• Parker Mills ..... 77-74-72-76—299

• Eddie Hargett ..... 75-76-70-79—300

• Zachary Herold ..... 75-74-73-78—300

• Jack Wilson ..... 80-72-71-78—300

Chip shots

Walter Todd (Laurens) and Buddy Patch (Johns Island) joined White in qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur at the CC of Lexington. ... In the U.S. Women’s Amateur in Los Angeles, four players with South Carolina connections — Isabella Rawl (Lexington/Clemson), Jensen Castle (West Columbia/Kentucky), Andie Smith (Beaufort/Duke) and Savannah Grewal (Clemson) — advanced to match play after 36 holes of stroke play. Smith won her opening match, but the others fell in the opening round. ... The Georgia team rolled to a 27.5-8.5 victory over the South Carolina squad in the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Girls’ Challenge match at the Cliffs at Mountain Park in Marietta. ... The Myrtle Beach Classic, a new event on the PGA Tour schedule, will be played May 9-12 at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach. The tournament will be played opposite the Wells Fargo Championship, a “signature” event in Charlotte.