THOMASVILLE – Chris Waters of Evans erased a multi-shot deficit over his final nine holes to force a playoff on his way to capturing the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship! The 43rd playing took place May 17-19 at Glen Arven Country Club.
Waters, a past Tommy Barnes Award winner and GSGA Player of the Year, entered the final round one shot back of the lead. Following a double-bogey on the par-4 8th hole, Waters sat four shots behind Blair Scurlock of Roswell.
A par on the next two holes put Waters back on track, but he remained three shots back with eight holes to go. Then the five-time Georgia Public Links champion began making his move. He knocked in back-to-back birdies on No. 11-12, but heading into the par-4 15th Waters remained three shots back.
Waters caught fire making birdie on the next three holes, which included a chip-in on the par-4 17th from behind the green to tie the lead heading into the par-5 18th. He was unable to make the necessary birdie to win on the 54th hole, but pars from Scurlock over his final four holes kept him at 8-under and the two headed to a playoff.
The par-5 18th was the spot for the playoff and neither player could knock in their birdie attempts to take home the trophy, and they headed back to the tee. Two more pars followed and the duo made their way to the par-4 10th for the third playoff hole.
Both players found the fairway, but each of their second shots rolled off the green with Scurlock being long and Waters short and right. Scurlock's attempt left him with a longer par putt and Waters knocked his within a few feet. Scurlock was unable to roll in his par setting the stage for Waters.
Waters stepped up and found the bottom of the hole to secure his first Georgia Mid-Amateur title. For Waters, the victory made up for a let down he had a couple years earlier in the 2021 Georgia Mid-Amateur where a double bogey on the final hole left him one shot back.
"It doesn't sound real yet," Waters said. "I guess it'll hit me on the way home. It's the biggest win of my career, absolutely. After coming so close a couple times before, to come back here and redeem myself is awesome.
"I was Houdini around the greens on the back nine ... I was nervous the whole time [during the playoff]. I'd be lying if I told you otherwise. Blair is a great player. I knew I had to hit my shots and not beat myself and eventually one of them would go in."
Two-time defending Georgia Mid-Amateur champion Nate Gahman of Albany finished in third at 4-under-par (69-70-73), while Matthew Hayes of Marietta (67-73-73) and Rusty Mosley of Vidalia (73-73-67) rounded out the top five. Andy Blanton of Thomasville (67-73-75) was the only other player under par at 1-under. Justin Connelly of McDonough (72-70-74), R.B. Clyburn of Cartersville (71-72-73), Taylor Smith of Atlanta (74-71-71) and Jack Morris of Atlanta (72-74-70) tied for seventh at even par.
The Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship featured multiple delays on the second day of action (May 18) due to rain and dangerous weather, which forced the completion of the second round to move to Sunday morning. The final round began at 1:30 p.m. with a shotgun start to ensure a finish before darkness.
For full results from the championship and to hear more from Waters, click the links below!
We also want to extend a special thank you to our friends at Turtleson for supporting the Georgia Mid-Amateur!
