2007 Four-Ball Championship

Davidson, Pitts Win Georgia Four-Ball Championship in a Playoff
Duo edges four-time champs Mize and Waddell with birdie on second playoff hole

 

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Brian Davidson of Baldwin and Scott Pitts of Cornelia scored a birdie on the second playoff hole to defeat four-time champions Carter Mize and Wright Waddell of Columbus in the 36th annual Georgia Four-Ball Championship at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club. Pitts connected on a 40-foot birdie putt from the edge of the green on hole No. 10 to secure the victory after both teams finished the 54-hole tournament at 13-under-par 203.

One stroke back, second-round leaders Austin Haynes of Dalton and Jay Moseley of Bainbridge tied for third along with Doug Green of Cumming and David Noll Jr. of Dalton, who shared the first-round lead with Davidson and Pitts. Both teams had a chance to tie the leaders on the final hole. Moseley narrowly missed his 10-foot birdie putt on 18, while Green also came up short on a 19-foot attempt after getting to 12-under-par with a one-footer for birdie on the par-3 17th.

Three teams tied for fifth at 11-under 205, including John Belicka of Atlanta and Nick Brown of St. Simons Island, Eric Blaylock of Rome and Adam Thomas of Baxley and defending champions Doug Hanzel of Savannah and Bob Royak of Alpharetta. Tied for eighth at 207 were Jorge Cora of Atlanta and Pete Malcolm of Duluth and Michael Standard and Dave Womack of McDonough. Rounding out the top 10 in the standings were Mike Griffin of Atlanta and Scott Griffin of Dunwoody, Chris Hall of Kennesaw and Donny Phillips of Duluth and Cason Hammock and Bobby Thomas of Columbus, all at 8-under 208.

Mize and Waddell, who were four strokes back of the leaders entering the final round, carded the low round of the day, 65, to move up the leaderboard. They carded seven birdies and no bogeys, and moved to 13-under with a three-foot birdie putt by Mize on 17.

Davidson and Pitts, playing four groups back, also went to 13-under on 17, thanks to Davidson's 35-foot chip from the fringe for birdie. They finished the round with a 68.

Both teams recorded par on the first playoff hole, No. 18, then moved to No. 10 for the second. Pitts was the only one to find the green in regulation – but barely, as he landed on the edge of the green about 40 feet from the hole. Mize and Waddell both dropped their second shots into greenside bunkers and Davidson's approach fell short. Pitts then sank the putt for the Championship.

This is Pitts' fourth victory in a GSGA statewide event. He captured the 2003 Atlanta Amateur Match Play title, 2004 Public Links Championship and was a member of the 2004 Georgia Team Championship squad from Lanier Golf Club. Davidson and Pitts teamed up to finish tied for third in the 2003 and 2004 Four-Ball Championships.

Mize and Waddell, who won Four-Ball Championships in 1991, 1995, 2003 and 2004, were seeking a record fifth title. They remain tied with Allen Doyle and David Dougherty of LaGrange, who won titles in 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990. This year's result marks the second in a row they have gone to a playoff in this event – last year it took Hanzel and Royak nine holes to win the title over Mize and Waddell at Savannah's Wilmington Island Club.

Kinderlou Forest played to 7,441 yards at a par-72 for the Championship, making it the longest track ever used in a GSGA competition.
The field of 64 teams was cut to the low 40 and ties after the second round, with the cut line falling at 2-over-par 146 and 41 teams advancing.
Entries were open to two-man teams of male amateur golfers who are members of a GSGA member club and residents of Georgia who have a maximum handicap differential of no more than six strokes.

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

T1 Brian Davidson, Baldwin 66 69 68 203* -13
Scott Pitts, Cornelia
T1 Carter Mize, Columbus 69 69 65 203 -13
Wright Waddell, Columbus
T3 Austin Haynes, Dalton 68 66 70 204 -12
Jay Moseley, Bainbridge
T3 Doug Green, Cumming 66 71 67 204 -12
David Noll Jr., Dalton
T5 John Belicka, Atlanta 71 64 70 205 -11
Nick Brown, St. Simons Island
T5 Doug Hanzel, Savannah 70 69 66 205 -11
Bob Royak, Alpharetta
T5 Eric Blaylock, Rome 67 69 69 205 -11
Adam Thomas, Baxley
T8 Jorge Cora, Atlanta 69 68 70 207 -9
Pete Malcolm, Duluth
T8 Michael Standard, McDonough 70 68 69 207 -9
Dave Womack, McDonough
T10 Mike Griffin, Atlanta 69 68 71 208 -8
Scott Griffin, Dunwoody
T10 Chris Hall, Kennesaw 67 68 73 208 -8
Donny Phillips, Duluth
T10 Cason Hammock, Columbus 70 68 70 208 -8
Bobby Thomas, Columbus
13 Peter Brennan, Rincon 68 70 71 209 -7
Mark Love, St. Simons Island
T14 Jonathan Finck, Commerce 67 69 74 210 -6
William Mitchell, Roswell
T14 Jefferson Murray, Augusta 70 71 69 210 -6
Michael Ogrady, Martinez
T16 Mel Mendenhall, Marietta 70 71 70 211 -5
Mike Schilling III, Marietta
T16 Hubert Darsey, Warner Robins 72 70 69 211 -5
Edwin Wolfe, Warner Robins
18 Clay Chester, Albany 75 69 68 212 -4
Michael Monahan, Albany
19 Randy Donahoo, Kennesaw 73 70 71 214 -2
Robert Sheats, Atlanta
T20 Chad Griffith, LaGrange 74 70 71 215 -1
William Hamilton, Calhoun
T20 Jeff Belk, Marietta 74 70 71 215 -1
Erik Martin, Alpharetta
T20 Mac Barnhardt, St Simons 71 72 72 215 -1
Bob Young, Dunwoody
T23 John Martina, Alpharetta 73 72 71 216 Even
Brandon Nelson, Roswell
T23 Spencer Davis, Albany 71 73 72 216 Even
Jarrod Prickett, Athens
T23 Charles Wilson, Cartersville 73 70 73 216 Even
Rick Wilson, Cartersville
T26 Stacy Anderson, Blackshear 72 73 72 217 1
David Bennett, Waycross
T26 Bobby Brent, Columbus 71 73 73 217 1
Boo Miller, Columbus
T26 Ralph Ireland III, Augusta 71 74 72 217 1
Zadoc Williams, Augusta
T26 Michael Dilonardo, Atlanta 74 72 71 217 1
Jared Meabon, Decatur
T30 Jeffery Cammon, St. Simons Island 71 75 72 218 2
Shane Sasser, Statesboro
T30 Danny Daniels, Kingsland 71 71 76 218 2
Corey Murrell, Kingsland
T30 Scott Davenport, Marietta 75 71 72 218 2
Jayce Stepp, Cartersville
T30 Ronnie Cargle, Summerville 74 71 73 218 2
Brent Sizemore, Calhoun
T30 Tim Crawford, Waycross 72 72 74 218 2
Robbie Williams, Blackshear
T35 Rhett Bonner, Marietta 72 72 75 219 3
Taylor Schwartz, Marietta
T35 Robert Fink III, Chamblee 71 74 74 219 3
Joe Green, Acworth
T35 Paul Kocsis, Fayetteville 71 75 73 219 3
Jody Travis, Newnan
T35 Martin Ball, Rome 73 72 74 219 3
Ladell Norton, Rome
T35 Ryan Powers, Smyrna 76 69 74 219 3
Tom Powers, Smyrna
T40 Nic Daugharty, Valdosta 69 76 75 220 4
Sam Hogan, Valdosta
T40 David Maddox, McDonough 73 73 74 220 4
Dale Wheeler, Wheeler

* - won in playoff