FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
June30,2017–Atlanta,GA
ThreetiedforDogwoodleadenteringfinalround
Thereare15playerswithinfiveshotsoftheleadatthe51stDogwoodInvitational,meaningSaturday
couldbeoneofthemostfreneticfinishesintheevent’slongandstoriedhistory.
“Itwillcomedowntowhoplaysthebestinoneroundtowinthetournament,”said2015champion
DawsonArmstrong,oneofthethreeplayerswhosharethethird-roundleadat15-under201.
Armstrong,asenioratLipscombUniversity,shota70onFridayandistiedfortheleadwithSetonHall
graduateLloydGoandCampbellUniversityseniorGastonBertinotti,whoeachshot67.
Tiedforfourthat14-under202isGeorgiaTech’sLukeSchniederjans,Georgia’sSpencerRalstonand
Duke’sChandlerEaton.Tiedat13-under203isfirst-roundleaderBrysonNimmerofClemsonand
GuilfordgolfcoachJustinTereshko,whowontheNorthCarolinaAmateurtwoweeksago.
Aloneat12-underisGeorgiaTech’sAndyOgletree.Thegrouptiedat11-underincludesMississippiState
signeeAustinFulton,Auburn’sJacobSolomon,GeorgiaSouthern’sStevenFisk,Purdue’sTimothy
HildebrandanddefendingchampionCharlesHuntzingerofPennState.
ThetournamentwillconcludeonSaturday.Playwillbeginat8:30a.m.,withplayerscompetingin
twosomesandstartingonthefirstandtenthtees.
Armstrongplayedmostofhisroundintherain.Hebogeyedtheopeningholefortheseconddayina
rowandgrindedhiswaythrougha70.
“Anygolfcoursecanturnhardwhenitstartsraining,”Armstrongsaid.“Itwasabattle.Ifoughthardat
theend.Itwasprobablytheworstball-strikingroundI’vehadallsummer.I’vegottotightenupafew
thingsandhopefullytomorrowwillbeavictoriousday.”
Bertinottibogeyedthethirdholeanddidn’tmakehisfirstbirdieuntilNo.9.That’swhenhetoldhis
caddiethatitwasgo-time.Heranoffthreestraightbirdiesat11,12and13andmadeaneagleonthe
14thhole.Fromtheretherainintensifiedandhischanceswerereduced.
“Ididn’tthinkIwasgoingtoshoot5-under,”Bertinottisaid.“Thatbirdie(atNo.9)helpedmementally.I
thoughtI’dbeevenpar,justhanginthere.ButIknewthepeoplebehindme,itwouldbetoughforthem
togolowtoday.”
Gohadsevenbirdiesandtwobogeysonhiscard.Itwashisthirdstraightdaytoshoot67.
Ralston’s66wasthesecond-bestscorepostedonFriday.Hedidnothaveabogeyandranofffour
consecutivebirdiesfromNo.13-16.
“Theputtergothot,”Ralstonsaid.“IswitchedbacktoaputterIhadinhighschool(ScottyCameron
GOLO)anddecidedtogowithit.Itfeelsgood.IknewIhadtomakeupacoupleshotsandthishelpsout
alot.”
Huntzingerwentthroughahalf-dozentowelsduringhis67andgotanassistfromhismomforkeeping
himwell-supplied.Hestartedonthebackandopenedwitha32,thankstoahole-outforbirdieonthe
14thhole.Onlyabogeyatthepar-3sixthholesulliedhisround.
“Thefrontnineeverythingwasgood,mostlyputting,”hesaid.“Ileftfiverightinthejar.Thentherain
cameanditwasagrind.Youhavetokeepyourgripsdry,keepsandoffyourclubs,grass..Youjusthave
todealwithit.”
Theday’slowscorebelongedtoCharlesKimofArkansas,whoopenedwitha30andshot65.Kimhad
sevenbirdiesandabogeyonhisfirstnineandbirdiedtwoofthreeholestoopenthesecondnine.Heis
tiedfor15that206.
“Everythingwasgoingmyway,”Kimsaid.“Theputtswereprettysimple.Itwasjustreallygood.I’ve
beenplayingwell,Ijusthaven’tscoredonanyoftheholesyouhavetomakebirdieon.Otherthanthat,
I’vebeenputtingwellallweek.”
AboutTheDogwoodInvitational
TheDogwoodInvitationalisaneliteamateurgolfchampionshipestablishedtopromotethegameof
amateurgolfandsupportjuniorgolforganizations.HeldatDruidHillsGolfClubinAtlanta,Georgia,the
tournamentisaninternationallyrankedtopamateurgolfeventthatbeganin1941.Thetournamentis
runbyTheDogwoodFoundation,a501(c)3non-profit,andproceedsfromsponsorshipsaredirectedto
theGeorgiaJuniorGolfAssociationandDruidHillsGolfClubFoundation.Findoutmoreat
www.thedogwood.com.
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