2004 Amateur Championship

David Denham Captures Georgia Amateur Championship by a Stroke

ATHENS, Ga. - Despite missing a six-foot par putt on the 72nd hole and finishing one-over for the final round (71), David Denham of Tifton held on to win the Georgia Amateur Championship by one stroke over Griff Moody of Cumming. Both players bogeyed the final hole, as Denham claimed the trophy with an even 280 for the championship. Moody, the 1980 Amateur Champion, finished one stroke back after shooting even-par on the final 18. Jack Hall of Macon (70) and Taylor Crosby of Athens (69) also carded 281 to tie Moody for runner-up honors.

Doug Stiles of Athens, playing on his home course, recorded a final-round 70 to finish fifth at 284, while Jeff Knox of Augusta placed sixth with a 286 and Chuck Pinkard of Cumming was one stroke back in seventh. Chris Kirk of Woodstock and Brent Dorner of Albany tied for eighth at 288. Six golfers tied for 10th place at 289, including Bill Brown of Dublin, Kyle Collins of Milledgeville, Joe Deraney of Statesboro, Brian Farrer of Mt. Berry, Jonathan Fricke of Snellville and Greg Kennedy of Cumming.

The University of Georgia golf team was well-represented among the leaders, as Denham, Crosby and Kirk are current members of the Bulldog golf team, while Hall, Kennedy, Knox and Moody are former Georgia golfers.

Denham, who entered the final round with a two-stroke lead over Hall, Moody and Fricke, remained the leader through 10 holes. Moody caught up to him with a birdie on No. 11, then took the lead on the par-3 12th. Denham missed a three-foot putt for par, while Moody's six-inch par putt lipped around before falling in, giving him a one-stroke lead. Denham answered with a 10-foot birdie putt on 13 to square it up. After both recording pars on 14 and 15, Denham and Moody came up short on lengthy par putts at 16 and both settled for bogeys.

At the 148-yard 17th hole, Moody found himself on the deep side of the green. From 55 feet out, he lagged to within five feet but couldn't make the par putt coming back and was forced to take a bogey. Denham tapped in a three-footer for par and took a one stroke advantage to the 18th tee.

After watching Moody's second shot go off the back of the green at 18, Denham played it short and putted up to the green, leaving himself a six-foot par opportunity. Moody's chip shot rolled past the hole, leaving him 10 feet for par. Denham's putt traveled a foot past the hole, while Moody's attempt to even the score ended up a foot short. Both settled for bogeys, as Denham held on for the victory to become 60th different champion in the Georgia Amateur's 83-year history.

"That (par) putt was a combination of a mis-read and a mis-hit," Denham explained. "I just tried to collect my thoughts and nerves and make what I had left."
"I was in really good shape and thought 16, 17 and 18 would be my holes," Moody commented about the final stretch. "But they just weren't. Number 16 is the one that hurt, because it's the easiest hole out here. It hurt me the whole weekend (double-bogey in the third round, bogey in final round). I just didn't have any good drives on that hole. But Denham played really well and deserved to win."

"This win means a lot," Denham added. "From here on out, everywhere I go, I'll be known as the state champion."

After pulling to within one stroke of Denham with a birdie on No. 3, Hall fell behind with back-to-back bogeys on holes 5 and 6 and never got closer than two strokes to the leader until carding par on 18. Crosby, the reigning Athens Country Club champion, entered three strokes back and was one of two golfers to post the low round of the day, a 69, to move into the three-way tie for second. Scott Pitts carded the other 69 to finish tied for 21st. Fricke fell out of contention early, opening with a bogey and recording two double-bogeys en route to a final-round 78.

The defending Amateur champion, David Noll, Jr. of Dalton, finished tied for 18th at 11-over 291, carding a pair of 71s in the last two rounds.

The Championship format was 72 holes of stroke play over four days on Athens Country Club's par-70, 6,671-yard layout. Two holes - the 445-yard No. 6 and 456-yard No. 10 - were converted from par-5s to par-4s for the championship. After 36 holes, the field was cut to the low 70 players and ties. The cut line fell at 11-over 151, with 74 players advancing.

The Georgia Amateur Championship is conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association and brings together 156 of the state's best male amateur golfers for the prestigious state title first won by Bobby Jones in 1916. There were 129 qualifiers that joined 27 exempt players to make up the field. A total of 637 golfers entered the qualifying process, competing at 10 sites for the available places.

 

Final Results

1 David Denham, Tifton 69 67 73 71 280
2 Taylor Crosby, Athens 73 67 72 69 281
2 Jack Hall, Macon 72 68 71 70 281
2 Griff Moody, Cumming 71 69 71 70 281
5 Doug Stiles, Athens 68 70 76 70 284
6 Jeff Knox, Augusta 73 71 68 74 286
7 Chuck Pinkard, Cumming 69 73 73 72 287
8 Chris Kirk, Woodstock 77 66 74 71 288
8 Brent Dorner, Albany 73 71 70 74 288
10 Joe Deraney, Statesboro 74 71 73 71 289
10 Kyle Collins, Milledgeville 75 68 73 73 289
10 Bill Brown, Dublin 74 71 71 73 289
10 Greg Kennedy, Cumming 71 71 73 74 289
10 Brian Farrer, Mt Berry 71 74 69 75 289
10 Jonathan Fricke, Snellville 69 70 72 78 289
16 Kevin Jordan, Smyrna 70 75 73 72 290
16 Wright Waddell, Columbus 72 70 71 77 290
18 David Noll Jr, Dalton 72 77 71 71 291
18 Stuart Moore, Gainesville 73 75 71 72 291
18 Josh Tompkins, Acworth 71 76 71 73 291
21 Dave Womack, McDonough 73 74 74 71 292
21 Scott Pitts, Cornelia 76 72 75 69 292
21 Derek Oakey, Lagrange 73 74 72 73 292
21 Robert Sheats, Atlanta 74 69 71 78 292
25 Fred Rescigno Jr, Lawrenceville 74 72 73 74 293
25 Zachary Tilton, Kennesaw 71 74 73 75 293
27 Bill Bergin, Atlanta 70 75 76 73 294
27 Rob Wiggins, Kennesaw 71 72 78 73 294
27 DeWitt Weaver III, Suwanee 72 72 75 75 294
27 Doug Green, Cumming 68 80 71 75 294
27 Bill Kendall, Lawrenceville 73 73 71 77 294
32 Bill Ploeger, Columbus 75 75 71 74 295
32 Jay Mundy, Augusta 80 67 74 74 295
32 Rhett Bonner, Marietta 73 75 73 74 295
32 Matt Robbins, Cumming 73 76 73 73 295
32 John Powell, Dalton 70 74 78 73 295
32 Keith Guest, Athens 72 68 79 76 295
32 Chris Kuhlke, Augusta 77 74 74 70 295
32 Carter Collins, Claxton 76 75 74 70 295
40 John Tillery, Madison 73 75 73 75 296
40 Rusty Strawn, McDonough 73 71 78 74 296
40 Brandon Nelson, Roswell 72 71 77 76 296
40 Keith Wood, Atlanta 74 73 76 73 296
40 Jeff Belk, Marietta 76 72 76 72 296
40 Roberto Castro, Alpharetta 72 76 71 77 296
40 Todd Eaker, Lilburn 76 74 75 71 296
47 Wes Latimer, Canton 74 71 74 78 297
47 Jayce Stepp, Cartersville 72 77 75 73 297
47 J. Christian Newton, Statesboro 74 77 73 73 297
47 Michael Standard, McDonough 79 72 73 73 297
51 Matt Russell, Atlanta 75 76 73 74 298
51 Brent Witcher, Duluth 74 76 75 73 298
53 Greg Johnson, Cartersville 72 78 74 75 299
53 Timo Treilobs, Columbus 68 80 78 73 299
53 Mickey Jones, Duluth 74 76 77 72 299
56 Scott Davenport, Marietta 80 71 71 78 300
56 Matt Dorchinecz, Canton 75 75 73 77 300
56 Bobby Thomas, Columbus 75 74 78 73 300
59 Scott Moss, Eatonton 77 73 74 78 302
59 Allen Peake, Macon 73 75 77 77 302
59 Mike Masingill, Eatonton 76 75 74 77 302
59 Blanton Tessin, Lake Park 75 76 77 74 302
63 Rob Campbell, Valdosta 72 74 76 81 303
63 Paul Sorel, Alpharetta 74 75 78 76 303
65 Matthew Ricks, Thomson 76 72 76 80 304
65 Scott Randolph, Eatonton 75 73 77 79 304
65 Bill Roberts, Pine Mountain 70 79 78 77 304
65 Nate Balanis, Valdosta 76 75 78 75 304
69 Johnny Banks, Marietta 74 74 78 79 305
69 Bill Faith, Dalton 74 76 76 79 305
71 Ryan Dent, St. Simons Island 74 77 79 76 306
72 Jason Scherr, Atlanta 76 72 78 81 307
Eric Reeves, Macon 74 74 72 WD
Jonathan Jenkins, Jonesboro 75 71 76 WD