2002 Four-Ball Championship

Rawl and Griffith Seize Georgia Four-Ball Championship with a Closing 62

GREENSBORO, GA - Stan Rawl of Suwanee and Jason Griffith of Gainesville combined for a closing round 10-under 62 to finish at 23-under 193 and take a two-stroke victory over Danny Nelson of Savannah and Jack Hall of Macon at the Georgia Four-Ball Championship, which was held at Harbor Club, April 26-28.

Rawl and Griffith played the final seven holes in eight-under par to surprise Nelson and Hall, who shared the 18 and 36-hole lead and held a two-stroke advantage after number 14. Playing in the group ahead, Rawl and Griffith were at 18 under when they proceeded to birdie 15 and 16, eagle 17 and birdie 18.  After learning their two-stroke lead had turned into a three-stroke deficit, Hall and Nelson could only come up with a birdie on the par-5 17th to close with a 66 for the day and 21 under for the championship. Ironically, the duo was inches away from the two strokes they needed to tie as Nelson's tee shot on the par-3 15th lipped out and his near eagle turned into par. This was Nelson and Hall's second runner-up finish at this event in three years.

 

Finishing third at 20-under par 196 after carding a final round 64 and no bogeys throughout the event were Mark Love of St. Simons Island and Peter Brennan of Rincon. First and second round co-leaders Allen Peake and Coleman Tidwell, Jr., of Macon finished tied for fourth at 197 with Doug Stiles and Robert Donald of Athens and Charles Beck, III, of Atlanta and Griff Moody of Cumming.

Rawl, 39, and Griffith, 35, started their day two-back and went from 13 to 16 under after Griffith birdied number four and eagled the 312-yard par-four sixth when he drove the green and sunk a 30-foot putt. After both bogeying 10, Rawl chipped in on 12 and Griffith followed with an eagle on the par-5 13th. Rawl hit his tee shot on 15 to six feet and collected birdie. Griffith contributed a birdie on 16 and dropped another long putt of some 20 feet to take his third eagle of the day on 17. Rawl blasted his drive more than 325 yards on 18 and put his 85-yard sand wedge to three feet to cap their spectacular round with a birdie.

Both Rawl and Griffith are in the insurance business, play left-handed and grew up in South Carolina, where Griffith won the Carolinas State Amateur in 1985 and played for Clemson University from 1984-1988 before turning pro. Griffith, who moved to Georgia in 1991, regained his amateur status in 2000 after playing on the Nike Tour in 1993 and working for awhile as a PGA club professional. This was his first GSGA event. Rawl moved to Georgia in 1989 and has qualified for several USGA championships, including the 1999 U.S. Amateur, 1997 Mid-Amateur and the 1996, 2000 and 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships.

This was the 31st annual playing of the Four-Ball Championship and the second time it was held at Harbor Club. The field of 82 two-man teams was determined by combined handicap index and was reduced to the low 40 and ties after 36 holes. The cut fell at six-under 138. Entries were open to male amateur golfers who are members of a GSGA Member Club and residents of Georgia. This event varies from the Four-Ball Tournament held in March, which requires a combined team handicap index of 6.0 or above.

GSGA conducts 18 statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups, three interstate matches, one Atlanta area competition and 17 USGA qualifying events each year. Other services include computerized handicapping, course rating and measuring, a summer-long junior sectional competitions program, Golf Georgia magazine and two college scholarship programs.

 

Final Results

1 Jason Griffith, Gainesville 65 66 62 193
Stan Rawl, Suwanee
2 Danny Nelson, Savannah 63 66 66 195
Jack Hall, Macon
3 Mark Love, St. Simons Island 65 67 64 196
Peter Brennan, Rincon
4 Allen Peake, Macon 63 66 68 197
Coleman Tidwell, Jr, Macon
4 Doug Stiles, Athens 65 65 67 197
Robert Donald, Athens
4 Charles Beck, III, Atlanta 67 64 66 197
Griff Moody, Cumming
7 Matthew Richs, Thomson 66 66 66 198
Wren Fowler, Thomson
8 Hicks Malonson, Marietta 66 66 67 199
Larry Clark, Kennesaw
8 Dan Barkley, Roswell 68 64 67 199
Joe Mukherjee, Marietta
10 John Calkins, Woodstock 65 67 68 200
Kris Mikkelson, Woodstock
10 Jay Childs, Kennesaw 65 69 66 200
Robbie Dew, Marietta
12 Bill Henderson, Cumming 68 64 69 201
Greg Brewer, Atlanta
12 Charlie Whittington, Hamilton 65 68 68 201
Matt Mize, Columbus
14 Brent Northrop, Albany 66 67 69 202
Dave Hill, Albany
14 Chris Hall, Marietta 67 66 69 202
Donny Phillips, Duluth
14 Danny Ives, Cumming 68 68 66 202
Lynn Barnett, Cumming
17 Lee Rogers, Gainesville 66 70 67 203
Mark Montgomery, Gainesville
17 Greg Kennedy, Cumming 67 68 68 203
Lee Dennis, Comer
19 Bubba Gwyn, Duluth 66 68 70 204
David Robinson, Sandersville
19 Bill Hodges, Atlanta 68 68 68 204
Eddie Kropp, Atlanta
19 Keith Holmes, Macon 69 67 68 204
Michael Standard, McDonough
19 Erik Martin, Alpharetta 67 66 71 204
Michael Riley, Marietta
23 Kevin Jordan, Smyrna 66 69 70 205
Randy Donahoo, Woodstock
23 Brandon Farley, Atlanta 68 67 70 205
Rocky Costa, Alpharetta
23 Frank Lightfoot, Roswell 70 67 68 205
Nathan Devictor, Atlanta
23 Brian Davidson, Baldwin 71 66 68 205
David Cheek, Buford
23 Chad Branton, Cartersville 67 71 67 205
Mark Strickland, Cartersville
23 Ladell Norton, Rome 69 69 67 205
Martin Ball, Rome
29 David Noll, Jr., Cohutta 66 70 70 206
Rob Bohannon, Rinngold
29 Bob Young, Dunwoody 68 68 70 206
Jeff Belk, Marietta
29 Jack Kearney, Peachtree City 69 68 69 206
Mike Pass , Peachtree City
29 Dave DiPonzio, Macon 72 66 68 206
Steve Welsh, Macon
33 Jonathen Shiflet, Hartwell 68 68 71 207
Landy Boles, Hartwell
33 Andy Lambert, Dacula 70 68 69 207
Bill Kendall, Lawrenceville
33 Hal Johnson, Macon 71 67 69 207
Phil Hardin, Macon
36 Keith Wood, Atlanta 68 70 70 208
Neill Hatcher, Columbus
36 Olin Thompson, Blakely 71 67 70 208
Wiley Tucker, III, Atlanta
36 Fred Rescigno, Jr, Duluth 71 67 70 208
Randall Major, Buford
39 Hector Cora, Atlanta 67 70 72 209
Jorge Cora, Atlanta
39 Brent Dorner, Albany 71 66 72 209
Joe Dorner, Albany
41 Randy Holmes, Duluth 70 68 72 210
Rick Stevens, Duluth
42 Paul Simpson, Carrollton 70 68 73 211
Shane Sullivan, Carollton