Tournament History

Bluffton, SC - D. J. Trahan of Inman, and a member of the 2001 United States Walker Cup Team captured the SCGA Amateur Championship with an up and down round that brought the field back into the tournament on the front nine. Trahan began the final round over the 6963 yard, par 72 Pete Dye Course at Colleton River Plantation seven strokes in front of three players: defending champion Lucas Glover, Bill Haas of Greenville, and Jack Ferguson of Seneca.

Trahan laid up on the short par four first instead of going for the green as he had the previous two days. His wedge from 80 yards finished a little long as did his first putt. His putt for par slipped by and he went to the second with only a six stroke lead.

Meanwhile playing just in front of the final group, Lucas Glover was making birdie at the second hole to reduce the lead by another stroke. A tee shot to within inches on the par three third by Glover and another exasperating par by Trahan at the second, reduced the lead to just four strokes.

Bogeys by Trahan at three, four, and six and pars by Glover cut the deficit to just a single stroke. Both players made par at the final three holes on the front to make the turn to the final nine with Trahan holding on to a tenuous one stroke lead.

Glover, knowing he now had shot at gaining a fourth SCGA title, tried to make something happen on the back, but could only manage pars. Trahan, taking a page from some of his other tournaments, came out firing on the back nine. His second to within five feet on the tenth resulted in a birdie as did his pitch to three feet on the par five eleventh.

Trahan sandwiched a two putt par in the middle before making consecutive birdies on 13 and 14. The birdie on 13 was a putt from 45 feet and the three on the par 4, 14th came when he got up and down from behind the green after his tee shot on the 335 yard hole ended up long and a little left of the green.

Trying to cut the corner on the 480 yard par 15th, Trahan found one of Pete Dye’s diabolical pot bunkers. It took him two shots to reach the green and two putts from long distance gave him a bogey for the first time on this final nine.

Glover was still not making anything happen when he hit an 8 iron for his second on the 529 yard par five 16th. The ball finished six feet from the hole and gave him an opportunity to gain a little ground before the final two difficult holes. The putt just slid by the edge and Glover tapped in for birdie.

Trahan missed the green to the left on his second, and faced a shot from the rough. He lobbed the ball on the green, and it tracked straight for the hole before lightly hitting the flagstick and falling in for an eagle three. He moved to the seventeenth tee 10 under par and five strokes in front of Glover.

Glover managed to make birdie at the watery 210 yard 17th to cut into the lead. The lead decreased even more when Trahan played safe to the left side of the green, chipped long, and then missed from five feet to make bogey.

However, Glover could only manage bogey five at the 420 yard finishing hole. Trahan despite having a four stroke lead, pulled his second into the lateral hazard left of the green. Feeling comfortable, Trahan knowing that he needed to get down in five more strokes to avoid a playoff, chipped in for par and a four stroke victory.

Trahan’s  final round score of (40-32) 72 and four day total of nine under par 279 was four better than Glover at 283 and five in front of two time champion Bert Atkinson of Charleston at 284. Bill Haas of Greer finished at 1 under par 287 to take fourth place.

The low twenty scores and ties (295 and better) qualify for the 2002 SCGA Amateur Championship which will be held at the Long Cove Club.

Full results follow: