2001 Junior Championship

Hall Birdies Last Three Holes to Capture Georgia Junior Championship

ROME, GA- Taylor Hall of LaGrange birdied the last three holes at Coosa Country Club to capture the 2001 Georgia Junior Championship by one stroke over Brent Witcher of Duluth. Witcher had a three-stroke lead before bogeying 15. Hall then caught fire, rolling in consecutive birdie putts from 16, 14 and 40 feet. Hall finished six-under par for the tournament with a three-day score of 71-70-69-210.

After Hall took the lead with his putt on 18, a stunned Witcher still had a chance to tie, but his 30-foot chip shot from the fringe stopped one foot short of the cup. He finished with a par and the three day score of 75-68-68-211.

Hall started the day with a two-stroke lead over Witcher, David Hoyt of Rome and Joe Shirley of Marietta. Witcher quickly erased Hall's lead Wednesday morning with birdies on one and two. Tied going into the back nine, Witcher birdied 10, 12 and 13 to go up by three on Hall. Witcher's strong performance, however, was no match for Hall's amazing finish.

"I was just trying to two-putt," a surprised but pleased Hall said of his winning 40-footer at 18. Hall's hot streak extends beyond today's finishing holes. Hall just came off two other first-place finishes in the past three weeks and three in the past two months. Hall ran away with last week's Georgia PGA Junior Championship, shooting 72-68-140 for a 6-stroke victory. Although Hall has been playing since he was two, the 15-year old La Grange High School rising sophomore has just started dominating the junior scene.

Witcher, who finished as the Runner-Up in the 2000 as well, came close to duplicating his father's junior accomplishments. Chris Witcher is a two-time Georgia Junior Champion, winning in 1973 and 1974.

Playing at his home course, Hoyt shot 71-72-70-213 to take third. Brian Harmon of Savannah made a third-round run at the championship and was 4-under for the tournament at one point, but finished 5 strokes back of with scores of 74-72-69-215. Shirley finished with a 74, dropping back to fourth. Defending Champion Joe Morton of Waycross finished nine strokes back and tied for eighth.

This Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) championship brought together 144 young male golfers to compete for the Georgia Junior Champion title. The championship was open to male amateur golfers between the ages of 14-17, who are Georgia residents and a member or dependent of a member of a GSGA member club. The top eight finishers earned spots on the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Challenge Match team.

After a playoff among three juniors tied for eighth, the team was determined and includes Witcher, Hoyt, Harman, Shirley, Matt Hooper of Marietta, Drew Bowen of Monroe, Morton and Parker Beck of Duluth. Matt Hughes of Dalton will be the first alternate. Due to a previous commitment, Hall will have to forgo the GA-SC Match.

 

Final Results

 

1 Hall, Taylor, LaGrange 71 70 69 210
2 Witcher, Brent, Duluth 75 68 68 211
3 Hoyt, David, Rome 71 72 70 213
4 Harman, Brian, Savannah 74 72 69 215
5 Shirley, Joe, Marietta 71 72 74 217
6 Hooper, Matt, Marietta 75 69 74 218
6 Bowen, Drew, Monroe 72 73 73 218
8 Hughes, Matt, Dalton 74 74 71 219
8 Morton, Joe, Waycross 74 74 71 219
8 Beck, Parker, Duluth 72 75 72 219
11 Waller, Reid, Athens 72 74 74 220
12 Lewis, Rhett, Douglas 73 75 73 221
12 Hodges, Michael, St. Simons 76 72 73 221
14 Haynes, Austin, Dalton 75 73 74 222
15 Barnett, Bryan, Washington 76 74 73 223
16 Moseley, Jay, Bainbridge 77 76 71 224
16 Hilton, Todd, Dawson 78 73 73 224
16 Smith, Matthew, Valdosta 76 76 72 224
16 Cowart, Justin, Ellabell 74 76 74 224
20 Miller, Dallas, Valdosta 76 75 74 225
20 Flowers, Jason, Moultrie 76 75 74 225
22 Bowen, Jamie, Dawsonville 74 77 75 226
22 Beck, Charles, Atlanta 74 76 76 226
22 Chambless, Nick, Roswell 71 77 78 226
25 Howell, Jamie, Savannah 75 78 74 227
25 Napier, Justin, Thomson 73 78 76 227
25 Grimes, Joseph, Columbus 78 76 73 227
25 Howard, Dustin, Douglas 77 74 76 227
29 Tyndall, Ryan, Warrenton 77 78 73 228
29 Kaney, Hogan, Newnan 79 73 76 228
29 Monahan, Michael, Albany 79 74 75 228
29 McShane, Patrick, Rome 82 76 70 228
29 Palmer, Wallace, Augusta 76 74 78 228
34 Shearer, Ballard, Marietta 77 76 76 229
34 Williams, Zadoc, Augusta 78 78 73 229
34 Hayes, J.P., Newnan 77 76 76 229
34 Nix, Morgan, Gainesville 75 78 76 229
34 Smith, Matthew, Dunwoody 77 78 74 229
34 Blackburn, Ryan, Augusta 77 71 81 229
40 Baldwin, Richard, Armuchee 77 76 77 230
40 Fober, Jason, Columbus 75 77 78 230
40 Scanlan, Evan, Peachtree City 74 78 78 230
40 Bray, Beau, Dalton 72 79 79 230
40 Shaw, Johnathan, Cartersville 78 80 72 230
45 Trotter, Paul, Augusta 75 80 76 231
45 Fountain, John, Newnan 81 77 73 231
47 Mathis, Benjamin, Cedartown 78 78 76 232
47 Cameron, Josey, Swainsboro 79 74 79 232
47 Blount, Brandon, Statesboro 77 80 75 232
50 Dodd, Eric, Greensboro 79 76 78 233
50 McCroan, Michael, Marietta 76 76 81 233
52 Nagy, Joey, Buena Vista 77 77 80 234
52 Norman, Brian, Elberton 78 81 75 234
54 Powell, Tripp, Rome 73 79 83 235
54 Balanis, Nathaniel, Valdosta 79 78 78 235
54 Gordy, Michael, Clarkesville 80 78 77 235
54 Christman, Mark, Duluth 83 76 76 235
58 Youngquist, Jordan, Bogart 76 79 81 236
58 Chong, Joshua, Alpharetta 82 76 78 236
58 Rauschenberg, Sam, Dalton 79 80 77 236
58 Bryan, Kane, Columbus 81 79 76 236
62 Hammock, Cason, Columbus 71 83 84 238
62 Hodges, Wesley, St. Simons 84 76 78 238
62 Webb, David, Doraville 79 81 78 238
65 Werner, David, Peachtree City 75 80 84 239
66 Thoreson, Andrew, Marietta 85 75 80 240
67 Tompkins, Chris, Acworth 79 79 83 241
68 Bartkowicz, Troy, Sharpsburg 77 76 89 242
68 Deariso, Michael, Sylvester 79 81 82 242
68 Robinson, James, Marietta 75 85 82 242
71 Tompkins, Josh, Acworth 79 81 83 243
72 Birdsong, Jon, Atlanta 80 80 84 244
72 Cosgrove, Cary, Arnoldsville 74 86 84 244
74 Bates, Jay, Gainesville 78 80 88 246