EATON & HYMA CAPTURE WIN IN THE 2019 E-Z-GO/AHEAD CPGA PRO-PRO CHAMPIONSHIP
Pinehurst, NC (December 5, 2019) – Pinehurst presented some beautiful weather for the 2019 E-Z-GO / AHEAD Carolinas PGA Pro-Pro Championship, full of great play and fun events! This year’s Championship was host to 296 players (133 teams) and took place at Forest Creek GC, Mid South Club & Pinehurst No. 4. The players competed in some great team formats on each course: Forest Creek GC – Captain’s Choice, Mid South Club – Modified Alternate Shot, Pinehurst No. 4 – Four-Ball.
left to right: Pro-Pro Champions, Nate Eaton, PGA and Evan Hyma, PGA
After three days of close competition and enjoyable team golf, Nate Eaton & Evan Hyma have been crowned the 2019 E-Z-GO / AHEAD Pro-Pro Champions! The team finished 19-under par for the 54-hole event. Eaton, of Carolina CC, and Hyma of Diamond Creek GC, shot an impressive 11-under par at Forest Creek in the Captain’s Choice format in the final round to propel themselves 20 spots up the leaderboard. Shooting a solid 9-under par in today’s round at Mid South (Modified Alternate Shot) was the team of Kelly Mitchum of Pinehurst Resort & Gus Ulrich of Pinewild CC who also finished the 54-hole event at 19-under par. In a one-hole playoff at Mid South’s 18th hole, Eaton and Hyma came out on top with a par. The winning team posted scores of 66-69-61 on Mid South, No. 4, and Forest Creek, respectively to finish at the winning 196 total.
Two teams narrowly missed this top spot on the leaderboard after finishing 18-under par and tied for second. John Faidley of Forsyth Country Club and Steve Isley of Oak Island held the lead after the first and second rounds but fell just short after their three scores of 58 (Forest), 67 (Mid South), and 72 (Pinehurst). Also finishing at 18-under was the Charlotte Country Club tram of Jack Fields and Nick Cannon. They played steady in all three rounds shooting 65 (Forest), 64 (Mid South), and 68 (Pinehurst).
left to right: Senior Division Champions, Kevin Williams, PGA & Brady Pinner, PGA
Earning the victory in our Senior Division was Kevin Williams from the USC Athletic Department & Brady Pinner from Wedgewood Golf Course, who finished at 14-under par for the event, posting rounds of 65 (Pinehurst), 66 (Forest), and 70 (Mid South) for a 54-hole total of 201.
VIEW FULL RESULTS HERE
Closest to the Hole Contests:
Round 1
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #4 – Tifosi – Larry Whisenant – 3’8” – Tifosi Sunglasses for team
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #11 – Global Golf Sales – 1st Place – J.T. Bryan – 8’6” – $150 for team
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #11 – Global Golf Sales – T-2nd Place – Steve Kerr & Carl Beaman – 4’10” – $100 for team
Forest Creek GC – Hole #16 – Dog Leg Belts – Chris White – 7’8” – Dog Leg Belt for team
Mid South Club – Hole #11 – Custom Golf Products – Adam Szoke – 3’3” – CGP gift for team
Round 2
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #4 – Tifosi – Joseph Finemore – 1’8” – Tifosi Sunglasses for team
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #11 – Global Golf Sales – 1st Place – Travis DeJohn – 2’10” – $150 for team
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #11 – Global Golf Sales – 2nd Place – Cole Stiles – 4’10” – $100 for team
Forest Creek GC – Hole #16 – Dog Leg Belts – Tom Ducey – 2” – Dog Leg Belt for team
Mid South Club – Hole #11 – Custom Golf Products – Daniel Davis – 6’2” – CGP gift for team
Round 3
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #4 – Tifosi – Bryan Sullivan – 3’7” – Tifosi Sunglasses for team
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #11 – Global Golf Sales – 1st Place – Andrew Burnette – 3’4” – $150 for team
Pinehurst No. 4 – Hole #11 – Global Golf Sales – 2nd Place – Jeff Holden – 4’10” – $100 for team
Forest Creek GC – Hole #16 – Dog Leg Belts – Charles Frost – 5’ – Dog Leg Belt for team
Mid South Club – Hole #11 – Custom Golf Products – Matt Zvanut – 2’10” – CGP gift for team
Skins Contest
Round 1
Mick Brown / Carl Beaman Jr. – $425
Round 2
Jeff Cowell / Jim Hardy – $97.50
Greg Krasinski / Josh Webb – $97.50
Adam McLaughlin / Ryan Vance – $97.50
Seth Wilson / Seth Merz – $97.50
Round 3
Jack Fields / Nick Cannon – $126
Jonathan Hines / Dane Barrick – $126
Brian Altman / Jonathan Watkins – $126
Sharpshooter
There was one hole-in-one out in the field this week who hit the perfect shot to make a hole-in-one. Brad Luebchow of Maple Chase Golf & CC took his first swing of the day in the second round at Pinehurst No. 4 and the ball rolled right in the hole! With a 7 iron from 185 yards on hole #6, Luebchow won himself $750 and the excitement of a hole-in-one. Great shot, Brad!
HOLE IN ONE – BRAD LUEBCHOW – PINEHURST NO. 4 – HOLE #6 – $750 FROM HOLE-IN-ONE-USA
While this was the only hole-in-one for the event, some other excitement occurred during the third round today at Mid South when Kelly Mitchum holed a 4-iron for double eagle on hole 15! Great shot!
Monday was host to the annual Global Golf Sales Par-3 Challenge, held at the Cradle Short Course at Pinehurst Resort for the second year! We thank Global Golf Sales, Sterling Cut Glass, and the phenomenal support of the Pinehurst Resort staff for help making this event such a fun and successful competition! The Par-3 Challenge had a $9,000 purse with $1,000 per hole with no carryover. Therefore, many skins were won on each hole. There was also a $1,000 putting contest in conjunction with the event where Matt Biddington & Chris Haarlow won the front nine competition and Tom Mason & Ryan Tyndall won the back nine competition, each winning $225. View the results here >>
Tuesday night, the Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO Scoring Clubs Challenge, formally the Pro-Pro Putting Contest, took place on the Thistle Dhu putting course at Pinehurst Resort under the lights. There was some intense competition, but the team of Steve Kerr & John Thompson took home the title of Champions and had the chance to putt for the $5,000 Hole-in-One USA 50-foot putt. Although neither teammate made this putt, it was awfully close and the putting contest title was enough. Everyone had a great time that played on the infamous course!
This year, in conjunction with the putting contest, the section honored it’s 2019 Players of the Year with a reception at Pinehurst Resort. Thank you to all who stayed to support these great players and congratulations to our winners!
Bob Boyd Player of the Year – Cory Schneider
Peggy Kirk Bell Women’s Player of the Year – Samantha Smith
True Temper Johnny Palmer Trophy – Steve Scott
Tommy Card Senior Professional Player of the Year – Gus Ulrich
Golf Max Assistants’ Association Player of the Year – Derek Watson
Wednesday night was host to the second Evolve Golf Professional Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Mid South Club. The Carolinas PGA team was joined by the Evolve Golf team to host about 100 of the tournament professionals for this fun event. It began in the last hour of daylight and the lights came on for the second half, leading to a lot of close scores between participants. With two drives, two chips, and two putts each, the pros competed for winnings in each contest as well as the overall score. Taking the whole event with a score of 87 was Scott Shepherd from Southern Pines. Congrats, Scott! It was a fun evening and we really appreciate Evolve Golf’s tremendous support for this event! View full results here>>
Evolve Golf DCP Winner, Scott Shepherd
The annual E-Z-GO Ping Pong Challenge was a heated competition amongst many, as golfers showcased their other hidden talents on the ping-pong table. Savio Nazareth & Chris White battled it out in a very intense final match where Nazareth came out victorious and will hold that cherished title going into 2020.
Thank you to everyone who brought items to donate to Toys 4 Tots and the canned food drive. All items will be donated to local Sandhills charities and will be greatly appreciated going into the holiday season.
None of this week’s events would have been possible without the generous support and hospitality from many. First, we extend a huge thank you to our Title Partners on the event, E-Z-GO and AHEAD. Our Presenting Partners, Evolve Golf, Global Golf Sales, Stitich Golf,and Tifosi Optics were tremendous, as well. Supporting Partners include Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO, Hole-In-One USA, Custom Golf Products, and Dog Leg Belts. Lastly, the support from Mid South Club, Forest Creek GC, Pinehurst No. 4, and Pinehurst Resort was immeasurable and beyond appreciated by all the Section staff.
The CPGA sincerely thanks its title partners E-Z-GO and AHEAD for their continued support of the Pro-Pro Championship.
– E-Z-GO – www.ezgo.com
– AHEAD – www.aheadweb.com
Presenting partners.
– Evolve Golf – www.evolvegolf.com
– Global Golf Sales – www.globalgolfsales.com
– Stitch Golf – www.stitchgolf.com
– Tifosi Optics – www.tifosioptics.com
Supporting partners
– Srixon / Cleveland Golf / XXIO – www.srixon.com
– Hole-in-One U.S.A. – www.hiousa.com
– Custom Golf Products – www.customgolfproducts.com
– Dog Leg Belts – www.doglegreaper.com
About the Carolinas PGA
Since its inception in 1923, the Carolinas PGA Section has been committed to nurturing and improving the quality of the game for the thousands of golfers using its member facilities. The largest of the PGA’s forty-one sections, the Carolinas PGA Section of the Professional Golfers’ Association boasts over 2,000 professional members and represents more than 700 golf facilities within North and South Carolina as well as portions of southern Virginia. With any questions, please contact CPGA Director of Marketing, Sally Morgan, PGA – smorgan@pgahq.com – 336-398-2675