2012 Four-Ball Championship

Steed, Sweeney Win 2012 Georgia
Four-Ball Championship
Tandem's 63 on day two ties
tournament-low, sets up for strong finish

GREENSBORO, Ga. – Playing together for the first time at this event, Travis Steed (R) of Macon and Mark Sweeney of Monroe battled in the final round to win the 41st annual Georgia Four-Ball Championship with a 20-under-par 196 (67-63-66) overall score. The winning duo finished with just one stroke to spare over two teams at 19-under-par 197: David Noll, Jr., of Dalton and Mark Strickland of Woodstock (66-63-68) and Russ Cothern of Woodstock and Randall White of Canton (63-66-68). The Championship took place April 27-29, at Harbor Club.

Over the 54-hole competition, Steed and Sweeney recorded one eagle, 20 birdies, 31 pars and two bogeys. This week marked the first time Steed and Sweeney played with each other at the Georgia Four-Ball Championship. "It feels great; it really is just awesome," the two collectively said after accepting the champion's trophy at Harbor Club.

Cothern and White were the leaders after the opening round, but their fight to win for the first time came up just short as they settle for a share of runner-up honors. Noll and Strickland, playing in the final group of the day, had the chance to tie the leaders and force a playoff with a birdie on the final hole, but that chance came up just short as well.

Two teams tied for fourth at 17-under-par 199, including Adam Thomas of Baxley and Dave Womack of McDonough (67-64-68) and Jack Hall of Sea Island and Danny Nelson of Savannah (65-62-72). Hall and Nelson entered the final round with a two stroke advantage, but a ten-stroke difference between the tandem's round two score and final round score proved to be too much. Tied for sixth at 16-under-par 200 were Bob McDonnell of Suwanee and Billy Mitchell of Roswell (70-64-66) and a team from Savannah in Walter Hagan III and Scott Weeks. Doug Hanzel of Savannah and Bob Royak of Alpharetta finished alone in eighth at 15-under-par 201 (68-64-69). Rounding out the top-10 were two teams tied for ninth, including Jeff Knox of Augusta and Peter Persons of Macon (69-68-65) and Jeff Belk of Marietta and Erik Martin of Alpharetta (66-67-69).

Aces were wild on day two of the Georgia Four-Ball Championship as Hanzel recorded a hole-in-one on the sixth hole using an 8-iron from 158 yards out. Not to be outdone, Tom Battle of Evans recorded an ace of his own on the 180-yard 17th hole with a 6-iron.

Harbor Club played to 7,048 yards and a par of 72.

Entries were open to two-man teams of male amateur golfers who belong to a GSGA member club and are residents of Georgia. The field of 80 teams was cut to the low 40 and ties after 36 holes, with the cutline falling at 3-under-par 141 and 40 teams advancing to the final round.