Shown with their trophies are Craig Stroup, left, runner up and winner of the 2018 John Fischer Low Amateur Award; and 2018 USHO Champion Taylor Jones. The bourbon bottles were a gift from USHO sponsor Kentucky Par Bourbon. Each one is etched with the division title to commemorate the championship.
Nov. 5, 2018
By Jim Davis
The 11th annual U.S. Hickory Open was decided by a four-foot putt.
It seems a small measurement for a tournament upset by the monumental and devastating hurricane Hurricane Florence, which forced a near six-week postponement. It appeared likely the storm would also wreak havoc on Greensboro, N.C., home of the Sedgefield Country Club, site of the 2018 USHO. As the storm loomed in mid-September, organizers Hamp Munsey and Chris Deinlein decided to take the only, the safer, option – postponement until late October.
Of the 96 original participants, only 83 were able to reschedule and attend. But they were treated to a wonderful and historic layout, a course albeit already under the superintendent’s scheduled winter maintenance program. Thus, the rough was a bit long and the fairways a bit thick, but the greens compensated with 10.5 to 11 speeds and all the guile that Donald Ross bequeathed them.
In the end, Taylor Jones, director of golf at Point Mallard Golf Club, Decatur, Ala., nipped fellow competitor Craig Stroup of Thomasville, N.C. by one stroke on the fourth playoff hole. Both tied in regulation, two rounds, with 158. (A short video of Jones’ winning putt can be viewed on the SoHG’s Facebook page.)
Organizer Deinlein said that he and Munsey were breathing again after the stress of rescheduling the event and working with players to accommodate travel plans and late registrations. All in all, he said, the event came off smoothly.
“We had beautiful weather and, although the fairways and rough were up a bit, the greens were as pure as ever” he said. “One fellow told me that he could not find a single blade out of position. You had to putt well to score.”
The course was set up as a par 73 for men and par 74 for women. Scores were relatively high because of the conditions, otherwise Sedgefield did the job of identifying the best players in each division.
In the championship division that meant Jones, who, in the final round, finally bested his opponent over a four-hole playoff. Here is how Jones described the action:
“Craig and I were tied at 7 over for the day going into hole No. 14. I went back-to-back eagles on 14 and 15 to go up by four shots with three holes to play. Craig bogeyed 16, a par 3, while I made a par to increase the lead to five shots. Then Craig birdie 17 and 18 while I double-bogied 17 and had a three-putt bogey on 18 to get into the playoff.
“In the playoff I had the honor and hit a driving iron off the 10th tee, a par 5, and Craig hit a driver to the left and almost didn’t find the ball in the allotted time. He did, though, and we both made pars. We both parred the par 5 18th hole. Back to 10 where I hit a driver nearly 290 yards and Craig laid one out there about 265. He hit a beauty up to 12 feet and I hit my ball to 7 feet. He made a glorious putt for eagle and I buried my eagle putt, with extreme nerves, on top of him to keep the playoff alive. We then moved to hole No. 18 again. I ripped a driving iron down the pipe and he hit a booming driver down the middle. I laid up over the creek and he mis-hit his wood to the right. My third landed to about 5 feet. Craig put his about 10 feet away and missed the birdie try. I listened to my wonderful caddie, Andrew von Lossow, to keep my head down and just ‘listen for it’ and buried the little beast for victory and a huge relief.”
Quite the dramatic finish for the event. Stroup’s runner-up not finish was not his only honor. The young man also took the John Fischer Low Amateur Award.
Deinlein said the raffle, thanks to generous donors, brought in more than $5,000. USHO sponsor Kentucky Par Bourbon provided a handsome package of tumblers, flask and bottles. The company also awarded each division winner a bottle of its best with the division title and year etched on the bottle.
One story from the raffle begs to be told. A well-known young player in the field (a national hickory champion, by the way) purchased several tickets in hopes of acquiring one of the playing sets offered by Tad Moore and Louisville Golf’s Jeremy Wright. He ticket was not called, but the fellow who did win declared that, well, he really had enough in the way of play sets and did not need another. Would the young man care to accept the set as a gift? He would and the gift was made. Now that’s golf in the true spirit of the game. Well done, gents.
Award-winning golf writer James Dodson spoke at the banquet about his many experiences in golf, the champions he has met, the stories he has covered, and the books he has written. One of the country’s best golf writers, Dodson also edits and publishes several lifestyle magazines for the Carolina region.
“Other than the dance we had to do to reschedule after the hurricane, I think everyone who came had a good time,” Deinlein said. “We hope they enjoyed the club, the competition and the time spent in each other’s company.”
I am not a betting person, but when you get to play in the USHO at historic Sedgefield, meet up with the best community of golfers in the world, then have a great banquet of delicious food at the clubhouse and on top of it, hear an excellent writer and speaker like Dodson? Well, it’s a good bet that everyone did have a good time.
Next year’s U.S. Hickory Open is scheduled for June 20-22 at the Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix, Mich. Organizer Dennis “Marty” Joy knows he has a high bar to meet, but is ready for the challenge.
The 2020 venue for the USHO has been announced as the Dodge Riverside Golf Course in Omaha, Neb.
Click here to see a gallery of photos from Sedgefield member and photographer Mike Micciche.
Here are the first-third place winners in each division. A full spreadsheet of the tournament will be placed here when available.
Championship Division
Open
1 Taylor Jones
2 Jeff Olsen
3 Seth Lomison
Reserve
1 Craig Stroup
2 Mark Hollingsworth
3 William Peterson
Senior Division
Open
1 Kim Mansfield
2 Hugh Cameron
3 Joe Hollerbach
Reserve
1 Bill Geisler
2 Bill Wardwell
3 Tyler Guthrie
Super Senior Division
Open
1 Larry Woods
2 Bill Conant
3 Michael Shiff
Reserve
1 Charles Mitchell
2 Chris Deinlein
3 George Kelly
Ladies Division
Open
1 Andrea Hodel
2 Marcie Likens
3 Sally Shiff
Reserve
1 Kaye Pierson
2 Natalie Wells