2008 Public Links Championship

Corbitt Holds on through Playoff to Win Georgia Public Links Championship

VILLA RICA, Ga. – First-round leader Matt Corbitt of Macon fought off two competitors over five playoff holes to capture victory at the 20th annual Georgia Public Links Championship, which took place at The Frog Golf Club at The Georgian, September 13-14. Corbitt combined a final-round 72 with a Public Links-record 65 in the opening round en route to forcing a playoff with Ryan Wilson of Pooler and Mark Whisenant of Douglasville.

"I'm just glad it's over," Corbitt joked after securing the win. "I really had some opportunities out there that I just did not take advantage of and [Wilson] is just such great player and great guy. I really feel good about coming away with the win."

Corbitt claimed victory on the fifth playoff hole. After Corbitt had driven his tee shot into the fairway, Wilson pulled his shot right and into the trees. Forced to punch out and chip onto the green, Wilson failed to connect on a ten-foot par putt and settled for bogey. Corbitt made par and took the title. Whisenant, who birdied the par-5 18th hole to put himself in the playoff with Corbitt and Wilson, posted bogey on the first playoff hole to finish third.

Cason Hammock of Columbus posted a final-round 69 to place fourth overall at 141. Canton's Randy White, a 17-year old senior at Woodstock High School, carded rounds of 70 and 72 to finish alone in fifth position at even-par 142. Defending champion Brent Sizemore of Calhoun fired a final-round 69 to climb into a tie for sixth place with Mableton's Mark Lyons. Three players – Anders Albertson of Woodstock, Brock Kaufman of Powder Springs and Roswell's Billy Mitchell – all tied for eighth at 145.

Corbitt, a former professional who regained his amateur status earlier this year, entered the day with a one-stroke lead over Whisenant and held a three-stroke advantage on Wilson. He found trouble early in the day with bogeys at Nos. 2 and 4 but battled back with a birdie at the 191-yard eighth hole to make the turn at one-over 36. Wilson, meanwhile, carded two birdies along with seven pars on the front nine and was able to close the gap. Whisenant, like Corbitt, made the turn at one-over par.

While his fellow competitors made steady pars over the opening four holes of the inward nine, Corbitt pulled ahead with back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13.  Corbitt could not hold onto that lead, however, as he followed with bogeys at 14 and 16.

"After I hit my shot in the hazard on 16," Corbitt explained, "I thought that I was going to let this thing slip away. I tried to stay focused though and got a couple of pars when I had to."

Wilson, who had made birdie at 15 and pulled ahead by a stroke after Corbitt's miscues on 16, flew the green on 17 and was forced to play out of the creek, where he settled for bogey. Wilson and Corbitt both made par on 18 for a 137 total. Whisenant, a member at The Frog Golf Club, posted eight straight pars before carding birdie on the final hole to make it a three-way playoff.

In the first flight, Walker Hill of Lawrenceville took top honors at 150. Atlanta's Justin Sanders won the second flight with a two-day total of 153. Michael Richardson of Smyrna topped the third flight at 149. Tony Beard of Duluth won the fourth flight at 151; while Jacques Lamothe of Lilburn pulled away from the rest of the fifth flight to win with a 157. Byron's Keli Smith took sixth flight honors with a 162.

The par-71 layout played to 6,719 yards for the championship through fifth flights and 6,307 yards for the sixth flight. Only the players competing in the championship through fifth flights were eligible for the overall title.

The field of 144 golfers was determined by the low 72 entries plus another 72 drawn by lottery. The low 72 comprise the championship flight, and the remainder of the field is divided among six flights. Entrants must not have held privileges since January 1, 2008, at any club that does not extend playing privileges to the general public.

Founded in 1916, the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) received its official charter on June 24, 1924. Since that date, the GSGA has grown to one of the largest state amateur golf associations in the country, with over 365 member clubs and 85,000 individual members. With a mission to promote and preserve amateur golf in the state of Georgia, GSGA offers a computerized handicapping service, course rating and measuring, and annually conducts a full schedule of statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups. Other services include a summer-long junior sectional program, award-winning Golf Georgia magazine, membership recognition and rewards programs and a charitable foundation administering two college scholarship programs.

Final Results

Championship Flight
T1 Matt Corbitt, Macon 65 72 137 -5
T1 Ryan Wilson, Pooler 68 69 137 -5
T1 Mark Whisenant, Douglasville 66 71 137 -5
4 Cason Hammock, Columbus 72 69 141 -1
5 Randy White, Canton 70 72 142 Even
T6 Brent Sizemore, Calhoun 74 69 143 1
T6 Mark Lyons, Mableton 71 72 143 1
T8 Anders Albertson, Woodstock 74 71 145 3
T8 Brock Kaufman, Powder Springs 74 71 145 3
T8 William Mitchell, Roswell 74 71 145 3
T11 Bradley Crowe, Kennesaw 73 73 146 4
T11 Larry Clark, Kingston 72 74 146 4
T11 Zach Lassetter, Carrollton 73 73 146 4
T14 Andrew Saft, Atlanta 72 76 148 6
T14 Corey Murrell, Kingsland 72 76 148 6
T16 David Webb, Eatonton 74 75 149 7
T16 Dustin Shelton, Rockmart 73 76 149 7
T16 Jason Baldia, Valdosta 73 76 149 7
T16 Max Kern, Marietta 72 77 149 7
T16 Robert Dell Jr., Atlanta 71 78 149 7
T21 Eric Sharp, Dalton 78 72 150 8
T21 Michael Trapani, Dunwoody 72 78 150 8
T21 Ricky Casko, Cartersville 72 78 150 8
T21 Rusk Jones, Cumming 76 74 150 8
T21 Scott Randolph, Eatonton 72 78 150 8
26 Frank Remmes, Lilburn 77 74 151 9
T27 Brian Keller, Hiram 74 78 152 10
T27 Keith Hadelman, Atlanta 74 78 152 10
T27 Mike Montarbo, Augusta 75 77 152 10
T27 Seth Parmer, Bowdon 75 77 152 10
T27 Todd Eaker, Lawrenceville 77 75 152 10
T32 Jim Planche, Lawrenceville 75 78 153 11
T32 Martin Ball, Rome 74 79 153 11
T32 Michael Burns, Cornelia 77 76 153 11
T32 Tim Stolz, Atlanta 77 76 153 11
T32 Tony Barnett, Conley 72 81 153 11
T37 Ken Fahey, Atlanta 78 77 155 13
T37 Tony Fisher, Atlanta 80 75 155 13
39 Andy Patterson, Jackson 78 78 156 14
T40 Carson Pilcher, Atlanta 75 82 157 15
T40 Clint Harris, Atlanta 77 80 157 15
T40 Michael Heffner, Dallas 78 79 157 15
T40 Randy Hayes, Flowery Branch 78 79 157 15
T40 Travis Temple, Metter 76 81 157 15
T45 Jeff Lane, Rockmart 76 82 158 16
T45 Rob Northcutt, Atlanta 78 80 158 16
T45 Taylor Dorner, Woodstock 76 82 158 16
48 Jim Corrigan, Smyrna 76 83 159 17
T49 Gordon Gourley, Acworth 79 81 160 18
T49 Jason Carter, Atlanta 77 83 160 18
T49 Kyle Collins, Milledgeville 78 82 160 18
T49 Ladell Norton, Rome 77 83 160 18
T49 Tom Capallo, Atlanta 81 79 160 18
54 James Stewart, Decatur 79 83 162 20
T55 Jamie Kishida, Duluth 76 88 164 22
T55 Jonathan Pritchett, Woodstock 85 79 164 22
57 Butch Maxey, Pendergrass 85 80 165 23
T58 Michael Colburn, Hiram 83 83 166 24
T58 Sumpter Daniel, Duluth 80 86 166 24
60 Corey Hall, Woodstock 84 83 167 25
61 Jeff Ledford, Clarkesville 80 88 168 26
62 Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana, Atlanta 81 91 172 30
63 Robbie Davis, St. Mary's 83 91 174 32
64 Charles Lutz, Smyrna 89 86 175 33
65 Greg Newberry, Lawrenceville 90 94 184 42
66 Erasmus Moyo, Douglasville 94 94 188 46
T67 Jerad Davis, Athens 94 WD WD WD
T67 Jonathan Finck, Commerce 76 WD WD WD
T67 Lamar Gresham, Loganville 84 NS NS NS
T67 Rob Bohannon, Villa Rica 75 WD WD WD
T67 Ronnie Cargle, Summerville 79 WD WD WD