Fort Jackson doubleheader features city men’s golf championship, long-drive competition

Golf borrows a term from baseball and will stage a doubleheader July 19-22 at Fort Jackson Golf Club.

The Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia City Men’s Championship, a 54-hole battle, will be staged over FJGC’s Old Hickory Course beginning Friday and concluding Sunday.

Meanwhile, World Long Drive competition will unfold daily Friday through Monday on the No. 1 hole on the facility’s Wildcat Course.

Patrick Stephenson, who played in college at East Carolina, will be seeking his third straight title in the city championship. He moved to the Columbia area two years ago and has captured the city title in his only two attempts.

John Obrien, David Dargan and Matthew Hutto, who shared third place a year ago, are all in the field. Among other challengers will be Adam Hunt, a former star at A.C. Flora who plays at the University of Illinois, and Robert Dargan, who owns multiple state championships.

Steve Liebler, a member of the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame who won the title a record 11 times between 1994 and 2010, will be defending his championship in the senior division. He won the competition for players 55 and older in a playoff over Dan Sullivan a year ago at Spring Valley Country Club.

Bob Edens will be seeking his second straight title in the super senior division for players 65 and older. He edged Gus Sylvan by one stroke in the 2023 tournament.

Changes this year, tournament director Allen Knight said, include reducing the super senior division to 36 holes with no cut and the elimination on the professional division.

While the city amateur tackles the Old Hickory course, the more challenging of FJGC’s two layouts, the long drivers will be smashing bombs on Wildcat’s No. 1, a straight-away par-5 that measures more than 500 yards.

Long-drive competition will be held in five divisions: seniors, amateurs, open, women’s and military.

The seniors will compete Friday (July 19) morning 8 a.m.-noon, and the amateurs will take the tee Friday afternoon 1-5 p.m.

On Saturday, the open division will be reduced from 64 players to 32 in four rounds, 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Sunday will feature open division (8-11 a.m.), women’s division (2-4:30 p.m.) and military division (4:30-6:30 p.m.)

On Monday, the Golf Channel will televise the women’s semifinals and finals, and the military finals, from noon-1 p.m., as well as the open division’s quarterfinals, semifinals and finals from 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Chip shots. The South Carolina Golf Association is adding another tournament to its schedule, the Par 3 Championship that will be played Nov. 1-2 at 3’s Greenville Golf and Grubhouse in Greenville. The field will be limited to 96 players and registration, on a first-come, first-serve basis, opens on Sept. 6. ... Yancey Johnson (Simpsonville), Rick Cloninger (Fort Mill) and Tim Dunlavey (Spartanburg) earned berths in the U.S. Senior Amateur in qualifying at Green Valley CC in Greenville. ... Former Clemson All-American Alice Hewson won her second Ladies European Golf Tour title in the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open in Zurich, Switzerland. She moved to No. 5 on the season’s point standings. ... USC All-American Louise Rydqvist reached the semifinals before being eliminated in the British Women’s Amateur in Portmarnock, Ireland. ... The Johns Island team of Chandley Mulkey and Mike Durden won the SCGA’s Lefty-Righty title at Lake Marion GC in Santee. Mason Tucker (Lancaster) earned the Lefthanders championship. ... Jeff and Weston Bell (Piedmont) claimed the SCGA’s Father-Son title at Dataw Island Club’s Cotton Dike Course on Saint Helena Island.

Junior results. Chase Cline (Chapin) edged Bennett Scaletta (Belton) and Coleman Ferguson (Columbia) by one shot to win the State Junior Championship at Woodcreek Club in Elgin. Cline, who will play college golf at Western Carolina, saved par from the trees on the final hole to prevail and also earn an exemption into the U.S. Junior Amateur. ... In the Grant Bennett Florence Junior Invitational at Florence CC, Dallas Johnson (Mount Pleasant) earned the title in a playoff over Dawson Szabo (Greer) and John Wylie Richardson (Florence). ... Cade Jordan (Conway) won the boys’ title, and Karsyn Herron (Graniteville) took the girls’ championship in the SCJGA’s Players Series at Cheraw State Park in Cheraw.