Fountain Inn, S.C.– A foggy morning that would eventually give way to bright blue skies greeted the 90 players who qualified for the Thomas D. Todd All Stars Championship at Carolina Springs Golf Club.
In total, eight players posted rounds of even-par or better in Saturday’s round. After round one, five of the seven total age divisions have at least two players tied atop the leaderboard.
Spence Hagood (Greenwood), Henry Hall (Greenville), and Bryce Wittmer (Tega Cay) each posted rounds of one-under par (71) to grab a share of the lead in the Boys 15-18 division. The Boys 13-14 bracket also has a tie at the top, with Chase Cline (Chapin) and Brady Bentley (Augusta, GA) posting steady rounds of 1-over par (73).
Emily Baker (Chapin) is the solo leader after 18 holes in the Girls 13-18 division after posting 4-over par (76). Baker birdied her first and ninth holes en route to a 1-under par front nine. Despite a rocky back nine, the Chapin native is looking to capture her first SCJGA Major Championship on Sunday.
The Boys 10-12 age group had no shortage of fireworks on Saturday as William Allender (Greer) and Bennett Wiggins (Evans, GA) each made birdie on their final hole of the day to post matching rounds of 1-under par (35).
An eagle on the par-5 second hole propelled Thomas DeMint (Greenville) into a tie for the lead with Coley Cassedy (Grovetown, GA) in the Boys 7-9 division at 2-under par (34).
In the Girls 10-12 Division, there is yet another tie for first place after round one. Karsyn Herron (Graniteville) and Marissa Scaletta (Belton) each overcame early struggles to post rounds of 4-over par (40) and take a share of the lead into Sunday’s final round.
After round one, the most commanding lead of the day belongs to Talulah Grace Wilson (Butler, TN) in the Girls 7-9 Division. Wilson posted eight-over par (44) on the front nine at Carolina Springs on Saturday, which is good enough for a seven-stroke lead in her bracket.
Seven chapters in the SCJGA’s Hootie & the Blowfish Junior Golf Series are represented at the Thomas D. Todd All Stars Championship: Aiken, Greenville, Piedmont, Spartanburg, Tri-County, Upstate, and York County.
Exciting finishes are sure to happen across the board in Sunday’s final round of the Thomas D. Todd All Stars Championship, which is set to begin at 7:30 a.m.
