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The 2026 Charlotte City Amateur is here! At 2DP, this is our Super Bowl. We’ve waited all year for this event, and we can’t wait to help bring you all the latest as the action unfolds.

Today’s newsletter is all about the City Am. We have a full course preview on Pine Lake Country Club, which is hosting today’s opening round, plus player storylines to watch and featured groups. If you’re new to 2DP, subscribe for free here to get daily City Am recaps all weekend long. Spectators are welcome, so come out and enjoy the tournament!

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

Tee Times | Live Scoring

Round 1 of the Charlotte City Amateur tees off today at Pine Lake Country Club, where the field will find a course that is equal parts new and familiar after a major renovation by architect Jeff Lawrence.

We visited the course last weekend to check out some of the changes and were instantly impressed by the new bermuda greens, which have transformed the experience of playing the course. These firm, elevated, and undulating putting surfaces demand precision in a way the old bentgrass greens couldn’t. Leaving your approach in the right spot is now paramount to carding a good score. Pair that with thoughtful tree removal, more short grass around the greens, and a handful of new back tees, and the new-look PLCC is both more fun for the average member and more challenging for high-level players. Superintendent Will Laine and his team have also done a fantastic job with the course conditioning and have the place ready to host both the City Am and the upcoming Club Championship.

Pine Lake reopened last fall after a 9-month closure, as work began in January 2025 and touched nearly every acre of the property. Lawrence’s plan, which was executed alongside Aspen Golf (construction) and Mazzella Partnership (project management), included rebuilding the green complexes, a full bunker renovation (including moving some bunkers downrange), adding new and expanded tees, tree removal, and new drainage and irrigation. The par 3 12th hole was also completely redesigned, with the green changing shape and moving away from the property line.

Charlie May, a Pine Lake member and one of the club's strongest players, has had a front-row seat to the transformation and confirmed the widespread member opinion that the course is playing 3-4 shots harder post-renovation. He cited the changes to the opening hole, where a confluence of factors has led to slightly higher scoring, as a prime example of the project’s impact. "Before, you're just hitting driver, and you've got a flip 60-degree into the green. Now the prudent play is to lay up short of the new fairway bunker, then hit a full wedge into a green with a false front and a runoff area," May explained. A similar dynamic plays out on the tweaked 13th, where a new back tee and a fairway bunker roughly 255-260 yards out force players to make a decision off the tee.

May agreed that the firmer, more contoured greens have changed his approach to attacking Pine Lake. On the par 5 4th hole, he's had to rethink his approach strategy in order to avoid costly mistakes on a traditional scoring hole. "Previously, I'd just hit it as close to the hole as possible and not really worry about the miss. Now I'm a little more conservative - accepting a spot where I'll make par instead of being overly aggressive."

Despite the increased difficulty, May says the membership's reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, especially given the project's on-time, on-budget delivery. With a year of grow-in now complete and a set of new greens that have settled from their initial level of firmness, the course is now primed for a busy tournament season.

All of this context sets up an extremely interesting opening round at this year’s City Am. The last time the tournament visited Pine Lake (2023), scores were low, with 33 rounds under par and a scoring average of 73 (+1). Scores to par will naturally be higher this year, as the old par 5 10th has been converted to a long par 4, but we’d be surprised if the Round 1 cut (top 50 and ties) this year matches the 2023 cutline of 73. The soft, forgiving version of Pine Lake is gone, and the course is ready to welcome Charlotte’s best. We can’t wait to see how things unfold!

PRESENTED BY THE CHARLOTTE CITY AMATEUR

The Charlotte City Amateur is one of the most competitive city tournaments in the country and is contested annually at the best courses in town. This year, 90+ of Charlotte’s top players will compete in the unique 54-hole format, with a daily cut and only the top 24 players advancing to Sunday’s round at Carmel County Club.

Qualifiers are held annually in June/July for players looking to earn a spot in the field. Registration is open to any resident of Mecklenburg County with a handicap index of 6.4 or below. Visit the tournament website to learn more.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Arguably the hottest player in the field entering tournament week, Paul Huber will begin his 2026 City Am campaign fresh off a medalist performance at U.S. Mid-Am qualifying earlier this week. The former University of Cincinnati golfer has demonstrated his ability to go low this summer, shooting 66 (-6) at Benvenue Country Club on Monday and 65 (-6) at Pine Island back in June at the City Am qualifier.

If you’re a fan of the Charlotte City Am, you know the name Jake McGlone. While he doesn’t have his name on the trophy yet, he finished runner-up in both 2023 and 2025, where he raced out to a 36-hole lead before fading on Sunday and finishing 4 shots back of Pearse Lucas. McGlone comes into the 2026 tournament in great form, having won last weekend’s club championship at Cedarwood Country Club by an 8-shot margin.

In a field surprisingly short on past champions, no player shortlist would be complete without 2017 champion Will Stewart. Stewart, who played his college golf at William & Mary, won the Charlotte City Am between his sophomore and junior seasons with the Tribe. He’ll be playing his home course at Carmel Country Club on Sunday should he advance to the final round, which could give him a slight edge if he finds himself in contention.

FEATURED GROUPS

I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself! I’m putting my name on some featured pairings ahead of Friday’s action despite the comments I know I’ll get on the driving range later this morning. If you’re trying to decipher my criteria, I’m biased toward past contenders, club champions, and big-time tournament winners, but rules are meant to be broken. Without further ado…

8:10: Payne Thrift, Walker Simas, Sean Snell

Former Wofford golfer Simas played great in the first qualifier back in June and has contended in the past (2017 and 2019). He works for golf brand Tremont Sporting Co. and co-hosts The Tie podcast with Henry Shimp. Snell is a former club champion at Carolina Golf Club and a frequent City Am participant, while Thrift is a bit of an unknown quantity to this publication and is the beneficiary of being dropped into a stacked 3-ball.

9:00: Matt Kilgo, Brandon Shaver, Paul Huber

Kilgo is a long-time City Am contender and won the 2018 North Carolina Mid-Am at Ballantyne Country Club. Shaver is a former club champion at Cedarwood, while Huber needs no introduction given the profile above.

10:10: Jake McGlone, Paul Fitzgerald

The only twosome on the tee sheet! You have to have some talent to get picked for a featured group while down a man, but this duo passes that test. We’ve said our piece about McGlone, but Fitzgerald was in the mix last year as well and qualified for the 2026 U.S. Four-Ball with partner Scott Hamel (also in the field this weekend).

11:00: Benjamin Buben, Tim Dillon, Daniel Welborn

Buben’s name sticks in my memory as he was the medalist at City Am qualifying a few years back. Dillon has won multiple club championships at Charlotte Country Club, while Welborn made it to Sunday at the 2025 City Am and made the cut at the Carolinas Mid-Am earlier this year.

HOUSEKEEPING

As mentioned, we’ll be writing daily to recap all the City Am action, so expect a couple 2DP’s to hit your inbox this weekend.

If you’re not already following along, subscribe for free on our website and follow both Two Down Press and the Charlotte City Am on Instagram. We’ve got some great content planned for the next couple days.

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