SOUTHERN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
2003

CASEY WITTENBERG WINS 97TH SOUTHERN AMATEUR


HOT SPRINGS, VA. - Fresh out of high school, 18-year-old rising amateur star Casey Wittenberg of Memphis rode a late eagle-birdie spurt to take a 1-shot victory in the Southern Golf Association's 97th Southern Amateur at The Homestead resort's storied Cascades course.

Into the final day, Wittenberg was tied for third, two strokes behind Georgia Tech junior Nicholas Thompson of Coral Springs, Florida. But with a sizzling, 6-under-par 64 and that closing spurt, Wittenberg overtook his elders to complete the 72-hole event at 272, one ahead of Thompson and two in front of South Carolina rising seniorAlex Hamilton.

Those three players comprised the final grouping and approached the final three holes with Thompson holding a one shot advantage over the other two. Thompson and Wittenberg both reached the pond-guarded par-5 16th with their second shots and Wittenberg pulled into a tie for the lead by sinking a 13-foot eagle putt.

The tournament was decided on the 17th, also a par-5 at the storied and demanding Cascades course. Wittenberg nailed a pressure 2-iron second shot 225 yards over a creek and two-putter from 15 feet for a birdie. Thompson's long second caught the water and he had to settle for a bogey 6.

Wittenberg, an incoming Oklahoma State freshman, needed that 2-shot cushion on the 190-yard finishing hole where Thompson birdied while Wittenberg safely parred to seal the victory.   

"This is huge," said Wittenberg, who trained the last four years at the David Leadbetter Academy in Florida. "It was very important to have a win for me to have any chance of making the Walker Cup team."

During his gracious acceptance speech following play, Wittenberg said he was especially glad to win the Southern Am because his grandfather once was the runnerup in the storied tournament.

The victory was an uphill climb for Wittenberg right from the first round, when he opened with a 2-over 72, six shots behind first-day leader and defending champ Lee Williams of Auburn. Williams' bid to become the first back-to-back Southern Amateur winner since Justin Leonard a decade earlier would be derailed by a stomach virus. Unable to keep down food during the second and third day, Williams staggered to rounds of 73 and 76 to fall hopelessly 13 strokes off the pace. healthy again for the final day, Williams showed his class with a fine 66 to squeeze into the top 10 finishers.

Just one stroke off Williams' opening pace was George Zahringer, the 2002 USGA Mid-Am champ. A 50-year-old New York City stockbroker competing in a field dominated by collegiate stars, Zahringer remained in contention through three round and finished ninth after his closing 71.

Second round leader Ramon Bescansa was another to incur physical problems. A 68-67 start left him one stroke ahead of TCU star David Schultz, and the recent North Carolina grad from Santiago, Spain was still just three behind through 54 holes. However, Bescansa seperated his shoulder in a freak swimming pool mishap at The Homestead and had to withdraw prior to the closing round.

Thompson's 54-hole total of 206 was just one ahead of Hamilton, who posted a third-day 63, just one off the Cascades course record. Lurking another stroke back was young Wittenberg following a pair of mid-tournament 68s.

Complete results:

Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.

72-68-68-64--272

Nicholas Thompson, Pompano Bch, Fla.

70-67-69-67--273

Alex Hamilton, Aiken, S.C.

73-71-63-67--274

Richard Moir, Melbourne, Australia

69-69-73-66--277

Martin Flores, Mansfield, Texas

70-70-71-67--278

Adam Meyer, Fort Worth, Texas

69-70-72-67--278

Patrick Carter, Huntington, W.Va.

67-74-69-69--279

Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga.

71-70-71-68--280

George Zahringer, New York, N.Y.

67-72-70-71--280

Lee Williams, Alexander City, Ala.

66-73-76-66--281

Parker Briley, Bryan, Texas

72-70-69-70--281

Kyle Reifers, Columbus, Ohio

73-68-70-70--281

Michael Feuerstein, La Jolla, Calif.

74-66-68-73--281

Jeremy Elliott, Chapel Hill, N.C.

74-69-71-68--282

Andrew Pratt, Bartlett, Tenn.

73-68-71-70--282

Dustin Cone, Bennington, Vt.

71-70-72-70--283

Nick Mason, Alexandria, Va.

72-71-69-71--283

David Inglis, Roslin, Scotland

74-72-68-70--284

David Schultz, Richardson, Texas

74-73-67-70--284

Thomas Jordan, Sea Island, Ga.

72-72-70-71--285

Jonathan Dismuke, Auburn, Ala.

70-72-70-73--285

John Rattan, Montgomery Village, Md.

69-74-74-69--286

David Schultz, Fargo, N.D.

72-65-73-76--286

Colby Beckstrom, Muskegon, Mich.

72-70-72-73--287

Jonathan Fricke, Grayson, Ga.

70-73-74-70--287

John Eades, Charlotte, N.C.

74-68-71-74--287

Stuart Moore, Gainesville, Ga.

74-73-70-70--287

Scott Feaster, Columbia, S.C.

77-70-70-71--288

Barry Roof, Conway, S.C.

71-76-70-71--288

Trent Erb, Athens, Ga.

69-68-76-75--288

Ryan Cochran, Paducah, Ky.

69-75-72-72--288

Tyrone Van Aswegen, Johannesburg, S. Africa

74-74-69-72--289

Dave Hill, Albany, Ga.

71-74-72-72--289

Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn.

74-74-72-69--289

Greg Pieczynski, Kingston, Pa.

75-73-68-73--289

James Nitties, New Castle, Australia

69-73-74-74--290

Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C.

74-74-68-74--290

Charles Cornette, Greenville, Ky.

72-74-71-73--290

Rusty Mosley, Vidalia, Ga.

72-70-79-70--291

Wesley Horne, Wadesboro, N.C.

74-71-74-72--291

Jack Hall, Macon, Ga.

68-74-75-74--291

Will McDonald, Birmingham, Ala.

71-67-76-77--291

Dos Goldsmith, McAllen, Texas

72-70-75-75--292

Ross Cox, Knoxville, Tenn.

69-71-81-72--293

Brian Joyce, Wilson, N.C.

76-70-72-75--293

Drew Stoltz, Fort Collins, Colo.

73-72-75-73--293

Tyler Leon, Dallas, Texas

73-74-72-74--293

Tyler Symons, Albuquerque, N.M.

78-70-72-73--293

Ben Greve, Annandale, Minn.

73-72-74-74--293

Charles Gibson, Brentwood, Tenn.

74-72-71-77--294

Rob Beasley, Greensboro, N.C.

71-73-78-73--295

J.J. Killeen, Fort Worth, Texas

73-73-79-70--295

Sean Szerencsits, Coplay, Pa.

73-72-76-74--295

Erik Tedder, Charles Town, W.Va.

74-73-76-72--295

Dave Bomar, Memphis, Tenn.

73-75-70-77--295

Tucker Evans, Mcdonough, Ga.

75-70-76-74--295

Jordan Dempsey, Canton, Ga.

74-71-76-74--295

Bill Roach, Knoxville, Tenn.

74-74-74-74--296

Will Grace, Gulf Breeze, Fla.

73-71-74-78--296

Lance Goodson, Birmingham, Ala.

69-74-76-77--296

Sam Nicholson, Augusta, Ga.

77-71-78-71--297

Ryan Gildersleeve, Mobile, Ala.

79-69-75-74--297

Tully Coyle, Charlotte, N.C.

77-70-76-74--297

Beck Troutman, Fernwood, Miss.

71-76-75-75--297

Kevin Larsen, Santa Barbara, Calif.

72-71-76-78--297

Aaron Smith, Gulfport, Miss.

74-70-75-78--297

Michael Barbosa, Saint Petersburg, Fla.

74-74-78-72--298

Alex Wilson, Miami, Fla.

72-72-77-77--298

Derek Busby, Tallulah, La.

73-75-75-75--298

Matt Robertson, Decatur, Tenn.

69-76-79-75--299

Matt Toohey, Boerne, Texas

75-70-79-76--300

Doug McKeever, Plano, Texas

77-69-76-78--300

John Brannen, Clarksville, Tenn.

72-76-74-78--300

Ryan Baca, Richmond, Texas

74-74-74-78--300

Ross Goodson, Cincinnati, Ohio

71-72-79-78--300

Evan O'Donnell, Palestine, Texas

73-75-81-72--301

Gavin Ferlic, South Bend, Ind.

73-74-79-75--301

Rand Arbuckle, College Station, Texas

70-75-78-80--303

Brandon Skeen, Jefferson City, Tenn.

71-77-78-78--304

Failed to Make Cut:

Kevin Maples, Sevierville, Tenn.

78-71--149

Matt Dugger, Madisonville, Ky.

76-73--149

Bryan Vahlberg, Norman, Okla.

74-75--149

David Shields, Jacksonville, Fla.

75-74--149

Tyler Duncan, Austin, Texas

73-76--149

Ben McClung, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

73-76--149

Tyler Randol, Lawrence, N.Y.

76-73--149

Tyler McKeever, Auburn, Ala.

72-77--149

Kane Webber, Englewood, Colo.

72-77--149

Jeff Bell, Plano, Texas

80-70--150

Garrett Osborn, Birmingham, Ala.

75-75--150

Jessie Mudd, Louisville, Ky.

74-76--150

Lynn Kilduff, Dallas, Pa.

74-76--150

Drew Pigg, Plano, Texas

73-77--150

Jerod Baldwin, Cleveland, Tenn.

74-76--150

Ty Cline, Wichita, Kan.

74-76--150

Neil Goodson, Knoxville, Tenn.

80-71--151

Mark Sullivan, Plano, Texas

77-74--151

Shawn Stefani, Baytown, Texas

75-76--151

Danny Allen, Palm Harbor, Fla.

79-72--151

Rory Smith, Big Sandy, Texas

75-76--151

Bowen Osborn, Wayzata, Minn.

74-77--151

Scott Haile, Mc Minnville, Tenn.

73-78--151

West Streib, Columbia, S.C.

75-76--151

Barr Blanton, Louisville, Ky.

74-77--151

Adam Gary, Bowling Green, Ky.

77-74--151

Andrew Black, Chattanooga, Tenn.

74-77--151

Brad Tilley, Chappaqua, N.Y.

78-74--152

Lew Mitchell, Eufaula, Ala.

78-74--152

Mike Shamp, Charlotte, N.C.

79-73--152

Jake Shaw, Cordova, Tenn.

79-73--152

John Humphries, Baton Rouge, La.

74-78--152

Zach Moran, Taylors, S.C.

73-79--152

Derek Oakey, LaGrange, Ga.

74-78--152

Winn Smith, Lockhart, Texas

74-78--152

Kaj Vazales, Petoskey, Mich.

76-76--152

Danny Wysoczynski, Carrollton, Ga.

71-81--152

Travis Ausherman, Middletown, Md.

76-77--153

A. J. Walker, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

81-72--153

John Wright, Gulf Shores, Ala.

75-78--153

Stephen Polanski, Livonia, Mich.

77-76--153

Nathan Turner, Birmingham, Ala.

79-74--153

Josh Nelms, Hixson, Tenn.

81-72--153

Sam Sikes, University Of Rich, Va.

74-79--153

Robbie Petty, Forest City, N.C.

74-79--153

Eamonn McLoughlin, Amityville, N.Y.

77-77--154

Clarke Rheney, Houston, Texas

77-77--154

Will Claxton, Swainsboro, Ga.

79-75--154

Chad Selzler, Osceola, Wis.

73-81--154

Randy Lance, Lufkin, Texas

81-74--155

Lance Walker, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

79-77--156

Matt Wofford, Hattiesburg, Miss.

77-79--156

Jason Gandy, Knoxville, Tenn.

81-76--157

Paul Avis, Arlington, Va.

84-73--157

Chip Drury, Atlanta, Ga.

85-72--157

Heath Ziglar, Orlando, Fla.

84-74--158

Tim Wilhite, Bossier City, La.

86-72--158

John Hewlin, Bradenton, Fla.

81-77--158

Drew Laning, Little Rock, Ark.

78-80--158

Keith Tyburski, Hamilton, N.Y.

81-77--158

Tommy Murray, Orange Park, Fla.

80-78--158

Austin Jones, Lakeland, Fla.

76-82--158

Mark Jauernek, El Paso, Texas

83-76--159

Jason Lindgren, Ponder, Texas

77-82--159

Matt Cooper, Germantown, Tenn.

81-79--160

Joshua Smith, Mississippi State, Miss.

77-83--160

Taylor Palmer, Edmond, Okla.

80-81--161

Barry Erenrich, Presto, Pa.

79-83--162

Kyle McCotter, Shreveport, La.

86-78--164

Jason Sigler, Lawrence, Kan.

85-82--167

Luke Doebele, Humble, Texas

87-82--169

David Mascari, Houston, Texas

84-85--169

B. K. Kennedy, Charlotte, N.C.

86-86--172

Jake Lambert, Jackson, Miss.

78-NC--NC

A traditional part of the Southern Amateur, and of great import to the players, is the Team Championship, in which the four best 36 hole scores from each state represent that state as a team. The team with the lowest cumulative score earns the Bob Jones Team Trophy for each player. In the 2003 championship, Alabama was the State Team Champion, represented by the following players:

Will McDonald, Birmingham

138

Lee Williams, Alexander City

139

Jonathan Dismuke, Auburn

142

Lance Goodson, Birmingham

143