Jessica Spicer and Caleb Proveaux (CGA photo)
PINEHURST, N.C. (January 3, 2019) – With record rain pouring in, the 10th Carolinas Young Amateur was decided after 18-holes of play. Still, wet conditions and a steady drizzle throughout Thursday's round couldn't hold back the Carolinas' best young golfers.
Jessica Spicer of Bahama, N.C., shot a smooth 2-under 70 at Pinewild Country Club's Magnolia Course to win the women's title by one shot. Caleb Proveaux of Lexington, S.C., shot a solid 4-under 68 to win the men's title by two.
Knowing the torrential rains forecasted for Friday, Spicer had spoken with her sister and Virginia Tech Women's Golf teammate, Sarah Spicer, the night before about the possibility of a rainout and what that could mean for the tournament.
"We knew that tomorrow might be bad and we might not get a chance to finish," Spicer said. "So, we knew that today was going to be important. I just tried to do what I always do which is focus on my own game, shoot the best score I could shoot and see how it ends up."
Spicer was able to get off to a hot start making three birdies in her first four holes. With two more birdies and only three bogeys in the round, Spicer was able win the championship by one shot over College of Charleston sophomore, Jodee Tindal of Rock Hill, S.C.
"The course played relatively scorable today," Spicer said. "It was set up pretty short for us with the soft greens from the rain. I just did a good job of taking advantage of the wedges I had in and leaving myself good distances...Anytime you win a tournament it gives you so much confidence and we're so fortunate to have so many good players from the Carolinas. It's a huge confidence boost going into the spring season.”
On the men’s side, Proveaux's round was all about consistency; “Fairways, greens and good putts," he said.
"It helped that I was hitting it really well," Proveaux said. "I wasn't really hitting it well on the range but I was able to hit it really well out here. I think I probably hit 16 greens and if I missed the green, I was only a foot or so off. So, that's probably what separated me."
Proveaux will use this momentum from the win as he goes back to play for the University of South Carolina Men’s Golf Team where he is currently a junior.
"It's definitely a great way to start off 2019 and since it's my last winter tournament it feels good to finish strong," Proveux said.
Proveaux brought in a mostly-clean scorecard making five birdies and only one bogey to finish two shots ahead of Coastal Carolina University freshman, Tyler Gray of Lugoff, S.C.
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ABOUT THE Carolinas Young Amateur
Entry is open to any male or female
amateur
golfer between the ages of 18 and 25
who
have finished high school who is a legal
resident of
North or South Carolina, is a member in
good
standing of a club which is a member of
the
Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) and has a
current
USGA handicap index at a CGA member
club.
The championship format is 36 holes of
stroke
play.
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