Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

What a weekend at the Charlotte City Amateur! In this week’s newsletter, we have a full breakdown of the final round action at Carmel Country Club, which concluded with a playoff after a brilliant day of golf. We’re also slowly transitioning back to our regularly scheduled programming with a couple stories to track from the local golf scene. Read it all below and thanks as always for subscribing!

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

Final Leaderboard (GGID TBYGGM) | Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

54 holes was not enough to separate Scott Hamel and Brinson Paolini at the 2026 Charlotte City Amateur, which concluded last Sunday at Carmel County Club. After a dramatic final round highlighted by a chaotic last hour, Paolini ultimately secured his first City Am title in style with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

While Paolini was certainly mentioned in each of our daily recaps (linked above), the former Duke golfer and 4-time Virginia State Amateur champion came into the final day as a bit of a dark horse. After firing 2 steady rounds of 70 (-1) at Pine Lake Country Club and Cedarwood Country Club, Paolini found himself in the penultimate pairing and began the day 2-shots back of 36-hole leader Luke Thalman.

Paolini wanted to avoid watching the leaderboard during the final round, but after a double bogey at the 6th hole, he felt compelled to see where he stood. “At that point I looked because I was curious to see if guys were running away, and they weren’t,” he said. “From there, I was probably refreshing a bit more than I should.”

A few groups ahead, Scott Hamel was putting together the round of the tournament. Beginning the day at +2, Hamel started with 3 consecutive birdies before holing a putt from off the green at the long par 3 5th. After starting -4 through 5, his lone blemish came at the 6th, a short par 4 with a fairway that pinches between bunkers before coming to an abrupt end. Hamel hit his drive through the fairway onto a downslope, causing him to go just long with his approach. A poor chip and a 3-putt led to a sloppy 6, but he didn’t let that get him down. “I think that’s just a strength of the way I play golf. It’s just on to the next - swing hard, let it fly, make a few putts, and you’ll be alright,” he said of his attitude throughout the round.

He kept the gas pedal down all the way to the house, playing the next 12 holes at -4 and capping off his day with a birdie at uphill 18th, which featured a tucked back-left pin and only yielded 3 birdies all day. He took the clubhouse lead almost an hour before the leaders completed their final rounds.

Hamel was not the only player to recover from a mess at the 6th. Paolini did the same, playing his next 5 holes in -3 to get back to -4 overall. Despite missing good birdie chances at the drivable 13th and the short par 3 15th, he did well to get it into the house with a share of the lead, making strong pars on 17 and 18 to ensure at least a 2-way tie at the top.

With Paolini and Hamel in at -4, all eyes turned to the final threesome. First Round leader David Yowell saw his chances slip away on the back 9 after a closing 39 (+4), but as the final group came to the 17th hole, Luke Thalman and Sam Jenkins were amongst the group tied at -4.

Playing 200+ yards uphill and into the wind, the 17th hole was the second-most difficult on the day with a scoring average of 3.62. The pin was set on a severely tilted back shelf, and players all day had trouble getting their tee shots pin high. Both Jenkins and Thalman made bogey at 17, leaving them both needing birdie at 18 to grab a spot in the looming playoff.

After good tee shots, Thalman missed short-sided left for the second consecutive hole. A brave flop shot in front of a significant crowd gave him a chance to save par, but it was too little too late. Jenkins left his approach shot at the uphill finisher just short and right of the green. After hitting his chip to ~5 feet, he buried a downhill slider that he thought could be to win the tournament. He hadn’t been checking the leaderboard all day, but the muted reaction from onlookers told him that it wasn’t his day despite a valiant effort and a final round 70 (-1).

Paolini and Hamel regrouped and headed back to #1 at Carmel North for the playoff (watch every shot here). After both players hit good tee shots, Paolini, playing first from the fairway, put the pressure on by hitting a wedge in close from 110 yards. Hamel, who’s ball trickled just into the short rough, pushed his approach slightly, leaving himself 25 feet for birdie.

After Hamel lagged his putt up close, Paolini buried a downhill 7-footer for birdie to claim the City Am title. “It was the putt I’ve been struggling with all week,” he said of the final putt. “It was 7-8 feet and broke about a cup, but I just told myself to keep my head down and listen for it. I looked up and it was going in the center.”

Huge congratulations to Brinson Paolini on his victory and to all the competitors on a well-played tournament. More thank-you’s to come, but it was a pleasure covering all the City Am action last weekend. Catch up all the latest at twodownpressgolf.com and on Instagram on the Two Down Press and Charlotte City Amateur accounts. We’re already looking forward to next year!

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 past weekend, 90+ of Charlotte’s top players competed in the unique 54-hole format, with a daily cut and only the top 24 players advancing to Sunday’s final round.

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.

STORIES TO TRACK

Greensboro Tour Stop Will Remain on Top Track: The tournament long known as the Wyndham Championship will now be called GO by Raymond James and will be part of the PGA TOUR’s new Championship Series beginning in 2028. A recent episode of the No Laying Up podcast also cited that tournament host venue Sedgefield Country Club will undergo a renovation in the coming years, the first major overhaul of the Ross design since Kris Spence’s 2007 project.

69 (-3) Gets Through at U.S. Mid-Am Qualifying: Greensboro Country Club member William Buchanan made 9 (!) birdies on his home club’s Farm Course on Tuesday to secure a spot in the field this September at Sand Valley. Matt Schall and David Shambley also punched their tickets with rounds of 69 (-3). In other notables, City Am contender Jake McGlone earned a Second Alternate spot with a 2-under 70, while Raintree’s Paul Fitzgerald led early after a 4-under front 9 before slipping back to even par.

HOUSEKEEPING

There are several people we need to thank for last weekend:

First, thank you to the host clubs (Pine Lake, Cedarwood, and Carmel Country Club) for your willingness to host the City Am. Thank you as well to all the other courses that have hosted in the past. Without your support, having a tournament of this caliber would not be possible.

Second, I’d like to give a huge thank-you to Tournament Director Braxton McLennan and the rest of the tournament committee. Thank you for your years of service to this event and for the opportunity to provide coverage for the 2026 tournament. It was an absolute pleasure to spend 3 days at the course with you guys!

Third, I have to give a massive shoutout to Chase Morales. If you were at the tournament last weekend, you saw Chase running around in the 100-degree heat taking photos and videos from sunup to sundown. This guy is hard-working, talented, and was absolutely critical to delivering all the content we created last weekend. If you are ever looking for photo/video production support from an absolute professional that knows golf, he’s your guy. Sidebar - how good were those early morning drone shots???

Lastly, thanks to everyone who followed along all weekend. Your comments, engagement, and feedback made it all worthwhile. We’re thankful for the community that makes the City Am special!

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