Newby wins country club title
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Chuck Newby was playing among some elite company this weekend during the Greenville Country Club Championship tournament.
Newby was playing with at least five other former club champions
and joined that group of elite players on Sunday after firing a tournament low 68 to win the championship by three strokes.
"This is a very special win for me," Newby said. "I really wasn't playing to win. I just wanted to play well. And I ended up having good shots and the putts fell this time."
Newby opened the tournament one shot off the pace of former club champion Tommy Ryan Sr.'s 69 on Saturday and then carded a 68 to finish the tournament 2-under par.
Ryan finished second in the championship with a 141, while fellow club champions Todd Norman and David Hancock finished tied for third at 2-over par.
Marshall Watts managed to shave eight shots off of his Saturday score to post a 70 on Sunday and claim the B flight title over Ronnie
Paulk and former club champion Pete Hamilton. Hamilton shot a 76 on Saturday and then finished with a 73 to finish one shot off the pace set by Watts. Meanwhile, Paulk fired a 75 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday.
Joe Watts finished third with a two-day total 152.
The most improved score from one day to the next came from the first flight champion Lionel Rainey III. Rainey opened up the tournament
with a 80, which was just one shot off the pace after the first day, and then carded a 70 on Sunday to win the flight.
Rainey managed to hold off David Sherling, who finished with a two-day total 151. Tommy Guy finished third with a 154 and Gary Smith was fourth with a 158.
Russell Sherling was the only player in the four flights to lead from wire to wire. Sherling tied Mack Russell for first after Saturday's play with an 86 in the second flight and then fired a 79 to win the flight by two strokes over Russell.
Russell finished with a two-day total 167. Lomax Owens was third with a 171 and Tommy Russell was fourth with a 176.