Cricket and rugby were the serious games, though. Few in the country made a living from golf.
But afer moving to the United States in high school, Carrihill dedicated himself to the game. And Sunday he claimed his first professional victory, finishing with a 2-under-par 142 total to win the Hilton Head Open at Wexford Plantation.
The assistant professional at Dataw Island Club earned $1,000 for his two days of work. Former USC Beaufort golfer Mark Phillips won the championship flight and tied for second overall at 146, 2-over-par. Berkeley Hall professional Nicholas Coursey also finished at 146.
Carrihill, who played four years of golf at Charleston Southern, said he enjoys the precision game required by a layout like Wexford and others in the Lowcountry.
"You have to know where to hit it, not so much off the tee but where to hit it on the green," Carrihill said. "And if you're going to miss the green, you have to miss it in the right spot, otherwise you don't have a chance to get up and down."
After opening with a 69, Carrihill knew pars would work Sunday, especially after seeing some difficult early pin locations. His closest professional competitors, playing partners P.J. Politan and Michael Bleakley, each shot 79. Politan started the day three shots back and thought he would need a 69 on Sunday to match Carrihill.
"He deserves it," Politan said. "He's got a nice golf swing."
Phillips, who works on the golf maintenance staff at Chechessee Creek Club, shot even-par 72 Sunday to claim the amateur title. He said the freedom to use Chechessee Creek's practice facilities has helped keep his game sharp. And after an early look at Wexford, he tried to pick the safest spots to work his way around.
"From there, it was going out there and hitting those spots," Phillips said. "If you can't, you've just got to get up and down."
Carrihill's only misstep on the final nine came on the 10th tee, when he pulled his drive into a lateral hazard. But he punched out and salvaged a bogey, riding his conservative approach the rest of the way. Each time he made a nice par save, as with a lengthy putt on No. 16, his large contingent of supports from Dataw Island cheered.
Carrihill has worked at Dataw Island the past year. He played a couple eGolf Professional Tour events early this year and said he would continue to try and play mini tour events and Carolinas PGA Section tournaments when possible.
"I like the feeling that competive golf has," he said. "Every shot counts."
With Dataw's Cotton Dike course closed for aerification this past week, Carrihill spent three days on the driving range, where he didn't feel confident with how he was hitting the ball.
" I dont know if that helped because it made me a little more conservative," he said. "But it was refreshing (Saturday) to see some shots go on line and actually hit them the way I want to."
Hilton Head Open
Final round at Wexford Plantation
Professionals
Stuart Carrihill 69-73--142
Nicholas Coursey 76-70--146
Mark Tomedolskey 75-73--148
Ross Prachar 74-75--149
Matt Lucchesi 74-75--149
PJ Politan 72-77--149
Franklin Newell 76-77--153
Scott Hunter 76-77--153
Michael Bleakley 74-79--153
David Rogers 77-77--154
Tom Logue 79-77--156
Brett Heisler 77-79--156
Jason Cherry 76-80--156
Jon Hundley 79-78--157
Koll Farman 79-79--158
Casey Jones 78-81--159
Ed Brill 82-78--160
Lance Buntin 78-82--160
Matt Bova 77-84--161
Derrick Garrou 75-88--163
Matt Stewart 83-81--164
Jess Watkins 81-84--165
Mark Teed 79-86--165
Keith Bach 88-79--167
Jim Uremovich 82-85--167
David Wilding Jr. 83-85--168
Barry Fleming 83-85--168
Sean Patterson 79-89--168
Heidi Wright-Tennyson 92-84--176
James Scales 91-85--176
David Lapour 93-92--185
Championship
Mark Phillips 74-72--146
Jeff Wong 73-75--148
Trey Testino 79-72--151
Cole Adams 73-79--152
Tate Hoisington 80-73--153
Jason Rossetti 73-80--153
John Patterson 79-75--154
Jim Ferguson 79-76--155
Benji Gecy 76-79--155
Wesley Long 78-78--156
Troy Hoisington 75-81--156
Gordan Gourley 80-77--157
Jamie Manning 79-79--158
Steven Botts 74-85--159
Terry Lanning 80-80--160
Matthew Chang 77-83--160
Kyle Eichelsbacher 82-80--162
Gerry Pascale 83-80--163
Bob Engler 80-83--163
Bob Collar 82-83--165
Scott Berkner 81-84--165
Trent Hoisington 79-87--166
Glen Miller 77-89--166
Chris Lewis 84-83--167
Joseph Prevuznak 79-89--168
Jack Gillespie 86-84--170
Chandler Vilcheck 82-88--170
Jon Piccione 90-81--171
Tim Howard 90-85--175
Tony Woods 101-99--200
Dondi Wall 86-WD
Senior Flight
Kevin Arnold 76-80--156
Chris Morris 78-79--157
Charlie Hall 84-74--158
Eric Dollenberg 79-79--158
Jim Stock 78-81--159
Ed Atkins 84-80--164
Jim Martin 78-86--164
Sandy Knapp 81-85--166
Jon Hauck 88-83--171
Doug Ballenger 84-87--171
J.R. Evans 84-90--174
Dave Cunningham 87-88--175
Danny Lawrence 91-85--176
John Vignale 88-89--177
Hal Cherry 87-97--184
Simon Fraser 102-91--193
Alvin Bischoff 99-100--199
Flight One
Ted Morris 85-81--166
Brian Fox 85-81--166
Lenin Lezcano 81-85--166
Zachary Ruhlin 82-85--167
Steve Baldwin 84-86--170
Jay Wilson 86-90--176
Flight Two
David DeDecker 87-88--175
Edward Claytor 95-85--180
Rick McDevitt 89-93--182
Thomas Hines 95-99--194
Russell Anderson 93-102--195
Eric Ruhlin 102-99--201
Source: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/08/06/2162311/dataw-island-assistant-golf-pro.html
colcannon dystonia tourettes gonzaga rosie o donnell soda bread recipe vanderbilt
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.