Steve Harwall shot 71 in the final round at Bermuda Country Club's East Course to win the North Carolina Senior Amateur Championship by six strokes.
ADVANCE, N.C. (May 9, 2019) -- Steve Harwell of Mooresville went wire-to-wire to capture the 34th North Carolina Senior Amateur Championship on Thursday at Bermuda Run Country Club’s East Course.
Harwell has two other CGA Championships to his name, including the Carolinas Senior Four-Ball in April, but this marks his first individual Carolinas Golf Association title of his illustrious amateur career.
“Words can't even begin to describe it,” said Harwell, who shot 71 in the final round to win the championship by six strokes with a 3-under-par 213 total. “I've got several seconds in just about every Carolinas event, but first is what you want, and I finally got one. So it's just a great relief and accomplishment to do that.”
Harwell entered the final round with a one-shot lead but by the time his group made turn, the lead was gone and Dean Channell of Cary had played himself into a tie for first. Harwell was able to recapture a one-shot edge with a par on the par-4 11th but it was the par-4 13th where Harwell was able to really separate himself from the pack.
With a sand wedge in hand, Harwell landed his approach shot about five feet past the flagstick. It spun back into the hole for an eagle “2.”
“That was a big swing there, and I started to feel like I was in a good place,” Harwell said. “I wasn't scoreboard watching. I was just trying to stay in the moment and hit solid golf shots.”
Harwell was able to put his tee shot to about seven feet from the hole on the par-3 16th and made the putt to go up six shots over his nearest competitor with two holes remaining.
“I finally looked at (the leaderboard) after I hit it on the 18th green and saw I had a pretty big league,” Harwell said. “At that point, I knew it was going to work out.”
Bermuda Run Country Club’s East Course, especially the greens, were quite the challenge for the field. Harwell was the only golfer in the field to finish the 54-hole event under par. He was one of two golfers, the other being William Jamieson of Cary, who shot under par on Thursday’s final round.
First round co-leader Russ Perry of Winston-Salem matched his second-round score of 3-over-par 75 on Thursday to tie Channell for second place at 3-over 219.
Four players finished tied for fourth at 5 over par 221, including Jamieson, Lionell Sutton of La Grange, Doug Owens of Albemarle and Paul Simson of Raleigh.
The victory marks the third large amateur win for Harwell in the last month. Aside from his two CGA Championships, Harwell was able to win the senior division title at Seminole Golf Club’s prestigious Coleman Invitational.
Harwell now has his sights set on the U.S. Senior Amateur, scheduled later this year at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., a club Harwell is quite familiar with.
“I didn't get to try last year because of a work commitment, and it was my first year eligible,” Harwell said. “I’ve played there quite a few times, and I'd love to be in the field.”
