North and South Men's Amateur
Championship Comes to Pinehurst

By Shane Sharp, GolfCarolina.com Staff Writer

June 5, 2000 PINEHURST, NC - Could there be a better place to celebrate amateur golf than at Pinehurst - a venue that many golf historians consider to be the birthplace of public golf in the U.S.? The site of the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Open, Pinehurst will host the North and South Men's Amateur Championship from July 23-28 at its famed No. 2 and No. 8 courses. The tournament was first held in Pinehurst in 1901 to determine the best amateur player on the Eastern Seaboard.

The North and South Men's Amateur Championship has traditionally drawn the best players in the land, and pitted them against each other in a match play event. The prize? None other than the Putter Boy trophy, which once was among the most coveted prizes in amateur golf.

Qualifying for the tournament will begin on Sunday, July 23 for North and South Carolina residents, with roughly a third of the 90+ starters advancing to the championship. The format consists of a unique blend of both stroke and match play.

Monday and Tuesday will see the starting field of 99 men enter 36 holes of stroke play competition during the first round of championship play. The defending champion and lowest 31 will continue in two days of match play. The finalists will play a 36-hole match on Pinehurst No. 2 for the championship, testing their games against the same Donald Ross gem as the big boys.

The winner will join an elite circle of champions whose names represent a veritable "who's who" of amateur golf: 1920 champion Francis Ouimet, three time-winners Walter Travis, Frank Stranahan, William Campbell and Billy Jo Patton, 1959 winner Jack Nicklaus, and current PGA Tour members Curtis Strange, Hall Sutton, Corey Pavin, Davis Love III and Billy Andrade.

"The North and South had and continues to have some stature in golf," said 1948 winner Harvie Ward, who won at the age of 22. "It was one of the major amateur tournaments in the country at a time when the professional tour was not that big.

The North and South tournament was once reserved for amateur men's players, but since its inception, the tournament has seen fit to broaden its horizons. The venerable tournament now includes women's, senior men's, senior women's, junior boys and junior girls divisions, which are contested throughout the summer months at Pinehurst.

"The Centenary of the North and South Amateur validates the historic commitment of Pinehurst to amateur golf," said Patrick Corso, President and Chief Operating Officer of Pinehurst, Inc. "Richard Tufts, long-time president of Pinehurst and grandson to our founder, wrote the Creed to the Amateur to show that commitment. Today the true spirit lives on through not only this championship, but through our other amateur tournaments as well, incorporating the values espoused in the creed."

A few new spins on the tournament are also in the works. One plan includes gathering past champions of the event for the centennial celebration. A complete schedule of the event and list of past champions can be obtained from Margaret Swindell, Tournament Director at Pinehurst. For more information, contact Pinehurst at 910.235-8499.

Shane Sharp is a senior writer for TravelGolf.com. Contact him at sharp@myrtlebeachgolf.com