Winner Ben Schlottman fired a final round 66
AIKEN, S.C. (June 13, 2015) —
Ben
Schlottman just finished his freshman year
at
Auburn University. He capped off the conference
regular season with a runner-up finish at the
SEC
Championship, leading to the program's first All-
America honor for a freshman in school history.
Now, thanks to a final-round 66 at Palmetto
Golf
Club, Schlottman attached a big win to his
resume
heading into this sophomore campaign at
Auburn.
After posting a bogey-free 64 on Thursday
to
take the second round lead, Schlottman fell to
three
back Friday when he recorded his only over-par
round of the tournament, a 73 that included
more
bogeys than he made in the other three rounds
combined.
In today's final round, the Advance, N.C.
native
went out in 33, and he
knew things were looking good.
"I played really solid on front nine, making
a 30-footer for birdie on 3 and a 10-footer for
birdie
on 5," Schlottman told AuburnTigers.com.
"When you get through the front nine even par
or better, you have a chance to have a really
good
round, and I knew I had a chance to do some
damage."
Sure enough, Schlottman finished strong
with a
back-nine 33 to win by two shots over Billy
Kennerly.
Kennerly, who just graduated from Clemson
University, fired 65 in the fourth round to stay
close
on Schlottman's tail, but even his strong finish --
including three birdies in his final five holes --
couldn't keep up with the winner.
In third place was Dane Burkhart of Aiken.
He
displayed one of two impressive mid-amateur
performances in a field stacked with collegiate
and
junior talent. Burkhart's three straight under-par
rounds, highlighted by a second-round 65,
pushed
the former professional golfer to a tie for third
place
with University of South Carolina junior Sean
Kelly.
Burkhart, 30, shot a 59 in the final round of
the
2005 Palmetto Amateur (he won) then turned
pro.
Now, he has his site on making the Walker Cup
team.
Burkhart told the Augusta Chronicle:
“In the years to come, I’d like to play more.
The
Walker Cup is something that remains on my
radar.
…We’ll see what happens. Who knows?”
Todd White of
Spartanburg, S.C., tied for fifth place to further
his
Walker Cup credentials. In March, White won the
Azalea Invitational, and in May he teamed with
fellow 2013 Walker Cup team member Nathan
Smith
to win the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball
Championship.
Third-round leader Austin Langdale of
Clemson
University triple-bogeyed the fifth hole on
Saturday
and set the tone for his final round. He struggled
to a
76 and tied for fifth place alongside White and
Florida Gator golfer JD Tomlinson.
Defending champion Emmanuel Kountakis, a
Mercer University freshman, tied for 16th place
in
his attempt at a repeat.
ABOUT THE PALMETTO
AMATEUR
The Palmetto Amateur was founded in 1976
by
Dr. Berry Crain, Jr. and Skipper Perry. Gene
McClure, a USGA rules official, longtime
Palmetto
member and past Executive Committee member,
spoke to players on the eve of the 2015
tournament,
the first one to be played without Crain (who
passed
away in early 2015) at the helm. The 2015
champion
will be the first to lift a new piece of hardware
at
Palmetto – the Berry Crain, Jr. Memorial Trophy,
a
sterling silver cup in memory of Dr. Crain.
Said McClure: “It came from England as a
memorial, and now it is a memorial to the great
Berry Crain and to the strength of this golf
championship that he and my good friend
Skipper
Perry created 40 years ago,” said McClure.
“Berry
Crain did so much for Palmetto Golf Club.”
Next year, Dr. Crain's son Brad, who grew
up
working at Palmetto Golf Club and now manages
a
bank in Aiken, will take the helm of the
tournament.
ABOUT THE
72-hole stroke play event held on a classic
Alister
MacKenzie design. The field of 84 is
selected
from
applicants based on handicap, participation
in
amateur golf events and competitive
record, in
previous Palmetto Amateurs and other
amateur
tournaments.
View Complete Tournament Information