Christmas 9—Ford Goldasich wasn’t paying attention to anyone else’s score Sunday during the final round of the 48th Palmetto Amateur.
Goldasich started the day with a one-shot lead, and he could tell he had gained some ground over the first few holes so he wasn’t necessarily worried about anyone else’s game — just his own.
Until he reached a point where he needed something to light a fire under him.
That moment came after a disappointing bogey on the par-4 14th hole, at which point he asked his brother Jack — also his caddy for the day — where his lead stood.
That number was just two strokes, half of what it was a few minutes before. Reece Coleman had birdied the same hole from the group playing in front of Goldasich’s, meaning it was time for the leader to buckle down as he approached the toughest stretch of holes on the course.
He resumed playing the kind of golf that put him in the lead in the first place, and for the fourth day in a row he parred holes 16-18 while Coleman made bogeys. Just like that the lead was back to four, and a few minutes later Goldasich was tapping in for the title.
“It feels good to get the job done for the first time this summer,” said Goldasich, who recently wrapped up his senior season at Lipscomb University. “I got my first big win earlier in the fall at UAB’s tournament, kind of got things rolling in the right direction. Glad to get back on top.”
Goldasich finished with a round of 3-under 68 for a 72-hole total of 16-under 268, four clear of Sihan Sandhu (71) and five ahead of Coleman (69). JonErik Alford (72) was fourth at 10 under, Collin Adams (67) and Randall Hudson (69) tied for fifth at 9 under, and Aiken’s Brian Quackenbush (70) was seventh at 8 under.
Goldasich was one ahead of Sandhu to start the day at the Hollow Creek course at The Reserve Club at Woodside, but Sandhu started bogey-bogey and then Goldasich made an eagle 3 on the par-5 fourth hole to quickly expand his lead.
“It felt nice,” said Goldasich, who also eagled the par-5 ninth hole twice during the week. “I mean, I just kind of played steady golf the first three holes and everybody around me was making bogeys. I hit a great drive down there and had a 6-iron in, just hit two great shots and then the last roll over the front edge felt great. It felt really good.”
By the time he finished the ninth hole Goldasich was four ahead of Coleman, with Sandhu another shot back, and the lead seemed even bigger considering Goldasich had made only one back-nine bogey through three rounds.
Someone was going to have to come up and catch him, and Coleman emerged as the best challenger when he made birdies on 12 and 14 to momentarily get within three.
Goldasich hit his drive right of the green on the short par-4 14th, then his pitch to the back-left pin position came up short and started coming back to the front of the green. He ran his birdie putt a few feet past the hole, and then his par try slid by to leave him just two ahead.
That’s when he asked his brother Jack, who was in the field this week but didn’t make the 54-hole cut, where he stood.
As Goldasich said following Saturday’s third round, he didn’t want to get into a position where he had to chase birdies over the final three holes at Hollow Creek — and ultimately he didn’t have to, because Coleman made three consecutive bogeys while Goldasich was hitting solid shots and making pars.
“That’s all you need to do out there on those three holes,” Goldasich explained. “It’s tough. Those are three very tough holes.”
He had a good look at birdie on the par-3 16th but missed, and he said he would have felt a lot better about his lead had that one found the jar. On the walk up to the 18th green, he told Jack he’d rather be tied or within a shot because having a lead is more nerve-wracking than going shot-for-shot with an opponent.
That’s the one downside of playing as well as he did all week, as he held at least a share of the lead from the second round until the finish. He did all of that despite not eating much during his rounds, refueling instead after he was done playing.
He said that he didn’t quite order as much as Chick-fil-A as he had in mind Saturday night, just because he was so dehydrated, but come Sunday he stuck to the same routine that helped him take the lead.
“Same thing that I always do. Just wake up, chill, and then have to rush because I chilled for too long,” he said with a laugh. “Get out here, hit balls for 20 minutes, putt for 2, go onto the course.”
Goldasich hoisting the Berry Crain, Jr. Memorial Trophy wrapped up a week full of new experiences for aa tradition-rich golf tournament. Re-grassing at Palmetto Golf Club meant the course would be closed and a new host would need to be found in order for the tournament to still be played in the summer, and tournament organizers found what they felt was a perfect match at The Reserve Club .
Most everyone in the field of 79 was approaching it blind, as even the locals in the field didn’t have much prior knowledge of Hollow Creek. A slightly longer course that covers a lot more ground than Palmetto, Hollow Creek also offered different challenges in terms of a few blind tee shots, elevation changes and green sizes and shapes different than what Palmetto Amateur regulars have grown used to playing over the years.
Quackenbush was one of many players who praised the tournament hosts for the playing conditions and hospitality, plus the fan support that was one of the highlights of the week.
“What really surprised me was, like, over on 17 green there were like 100 people around the green, just having a party and watching the golf and getting really into it. And that was the whole week,” he said. “There were people that would come out on their back porch or backyard and set up tents and watch golf, and it was really appreciated. It’s great to see that level of support for the tournament.”