Matt Nelson another first-time winner of T of C
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By STEVE WILLIAMS
ith three former champions in the final foursome, odds were that the Triad Golf Today Tournament of Champions would have its first two-time winner since the year 2000. It didn’t happen. Instead, Matt Nelson of Winston-Salem became the 17th consecutive first-time champion of the 21st annual event. Nelson’s consistent play at Greensboro National Golf Club in the final round March 26 enabled him to move past Tony Byerly (the 2007 champ), Bret Kinney (2006) and Jeremy Ray (2016), who shared the firstround lead with 71s. Nelson shot 72-73 and emerged with a two-shot margin over Byerly and Ray. “I tried to stay focused and not bring any big numbers into play,” said Nelson, who has won the Pine Knolls club championship the last two years, and also won the 2016 Bud Kivett Memorial. “It was just a lot of twoputting and a lot of pars -- nothing really too exciting. I just stayed solid.” Meanwhile, big numbers early on the back nine ruined the hopes of Byerly and Kinney. Byerly had a one-shot lead until a series of mistakes on the par-4 12th derailed his chances. Kinney was within one shot at the turn but started bogey-bogey-double on the back. Ray, who won by two shots a year ago, had his big number on the front nine – a triple bogey on No. 5. Byerly, who had never previously played with Nelson, was impressed with his game. “He didn’t make any mistakes. Just straight down the middle,” Byerly said. “He didn’t do anything stupid or anything spectacular.” Byerly held the lead until his breakdown on the 12th. “I doubled 2 and tripled 12. That pretty much gave it away right there.” Still, he remained in contention and after Nelson bogeyed the par-3 16th, the margin was just one. But Nelson clinched it with a birdie-par finish. “I made a good birdie there,” Nelson said of his birdie at the par-4 17th. “I had about a 7-footer straight up the hill and it was one of few that I read correctly.” Dane Robertson, club champ at Dan Valley, finished fourth after posting the best round of the tournament, a second-round 70 for a major rebound from an opening 80. A 33 on the front nine keyed Robertson’s surge.
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TRIAD GOLF TODAY • MAY 2017
Nelson, who played high school golf at South Stokes, was a club champ at Hemlock Golf Club before he turned 20 and he played some collegiate golf at Guilford. Now at the age of 33, he’s hoping to play a lot more tournament golf, having fully recovered from a nagging wrist injury. Nelson’s play also helped Pine Knolls take the Interclub title, which was played in conjunction with the T of C. He teamed with Arlis Pike and Kyle Stockton. “It’s a great group of guys and there’s a lot of good competition there,” Nelson said of the Pine Knolls men’s association. “Arlis and Kyle were great teammates to have.” It was Pine Knolls’ second title in the last three years. In 2015, with a different scoring format, Pike and Stockton teamed up with Jake Lowder, Randy Beeson and Brandon Berrier on the winning fivesome. Sedgefield Country Club won the Interclub title three times (2008, 2010 and 2013) and Pine Knolls now joins Pennrose Park, Forest Oaks and Brookwood as twotime winners. Ten three-man teams competed, each counting the best two of three nine-hole scores each day. That method was modeled from the USGA’s State Team Championship. It was tight throughout before Pine Knolls emerged with a two-shot margin over Southwick and Reynolds Park. Southwick, led by Byerly and interclub medalist Tanner Gross along with a contribution from Scott Trent, held a one-shot lead after the first round and expanded it with a 70 on the front nine Sunday. A 78 on the final nine allowed Pine Knolls, which posted a closing 71, to make up seven shots. Pike and Nelson both birdied the 17th hole and that proved to be the margin. Gross carded 75-72 and ran away to a five-shot victory in the Interclub individual race with Pine Knolls’ Stockton taking second with 78-74. Mike Roland won the senior division with a pair of 73s. Reynolds Park teammate Jim Kemerling shot 74-74 and tied for second with Pike, who posted 76-72. Dennis Cooley, who provided a firstround 75, teamed with Roland and Kemerling on the all-senior Reynolds Park team. The senior division was added to the tournament mix in 2012 and Roland won that year. He became the first two-time winner in the age 55-over competition. Meanwhile, Chris Logan still stands as the only repeat winner in the main event. He won three in a row beginning in 1998.
Matt Nelson www.triadgolf.com