Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!
Short intro today - it’s the end of the week and I KNOW you’ve waited long enough for your 2DP. In today’s newsletter, we’re recapping this week’s Charlotte City Am qualifier at Pine Island and the Carolinas Women’s Amateur at Grandfather Golf & Country Club. No fluff, just competitive golf stories from a local perspective. Let’s get straight to it…
PRESENTED BY
THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE
76 (+5) Qualifies for Charlotte City Am at Tough Pine Island CC
Photo Credit: Jake Kennedy, scenes from PICC on a beautiful June morning
Scoring at Wednesday’s Charlotte City Amateur qualifier was a shot or 2 higher than usual, with the cut line falling at 76 (+5). 29 players secured spots in the City Am proper, which is scheduled for August 14-16 at Pine Lake, Cedarwood, and Carmel Country Club.
Medalist honors in the first qualifier went to Pine Lake Country Club’s Charlie May, who made 5 birdies and an eagle in route to a 2-under 69. May, who narrowly missed out in last year’s qualifier after a tough finish to his round, showed resilience after a slow start. After bogeying the gettable par 5 2nd, he rattled off 5 birdies in his next 9 holes to reach -4. May differentiated himself on the greens and navigated PICC’s tricky hole locations with great aplomb - he had only 23 putts on the day.
“I tried to stay aggressive and keep making birdies,” he said of his mindset. “It’s easy to take your foot off the gas [in a qualifier] once you’ve reached a certain score relative to par.”
Finishing closely behind May was Walker Simas, a former Wofford golfer who has previously contended at the City Am. Simas fired a steady 70 (-1) to finish T2 alongside Gavin Peach.
Another fun story on the day was former MLB All-Star Wil Myers, who battled back from a tough start to shoot 3-under on his back 9 to finish at 72 (+1, T9). Myers recently won his first club championship at Carmel and featured in a YouTube match with CharLit Golfer Jerell Fields.
Tucked: Numerous players in the field commented on the challenge posed by the greens and pins on the day, with a long-time City Am competitor calling it the toughest setup he’s ever seen at Pine Island. Part of this can be credited to the earlier qualifier dates this year, as the course’s bentgrass greens have not yet transitioned to the higher height-of-cut necessary to withstand the mid-summer heat.
Get to the range: The second and final City Am qualifier is coming up on the 16th - better start cramming for the test!
Final leaderboard: View full scoring (GGID UQM3M2)
PRESENTED BY TWILIGHT GOLF CLUB
TGC is a CGA member club that supports equitable access to golf in North Carolina. With an active chapter in Charlotte, it’s a great way to meet other passionate golfers in town and play some competitive golf in a casual setting. Annual dues are $60 per year giving members access to:
A members-only Slack channel.
GHIN Handicap hosting under Twilight Golf Club, a $35 value.
Participation in Twilight Summer League, a season-long event consisting of a series 9-hole matches at courses across the city.
Access to Twilight Golf Club events hosted at great courses across the state, including the annual Club Championship for all chapters (includes Triad and Raleigh chapters).
Want to get involved? Visit the website for more details.
TOURNAMENTS
Elizabeth Rudisill Wins 100th Carolinas Women’s Amateur
Photo Credit: Carolinas Golf Association
The rising sophomore at Vanderbilt was the only player to finish even par or better after 3 days of competition at Grandfather Golf & Country Club. Rudisill, who graduated from Myers Park High School in 2025 and was the #1 college prospect in the country during her senior season, fired rounds of 73, 71, and 72 on the tricky Ellis Maples layout to finish 6 shots clear of runner-up Ella June Hannant.
This is a huge win on a challenging course for a young prospect with a ton of potential! Excited to see where Rudisill goes in the coming years, and always fun to have another Charlotte prospect to track.
As always, kudos to the CGA for taking their championships to great venues and huge thanks to Grandfather for opening its doors to the amateur game.
Commodore connection: Rudisill wasn’t the only highly touted Charlotte prospect to recently complete their freshman season at Vandy. Charlotte Catholic grad Will Hartman, who was part of the winning team at the 2025 U.S. Four-Ball, was a key contributor to the Vanderbilt men’s team this season, which reached match play at the recent NCAA Championships.
Keep it 💯: In what was a nice nod to the 100th playing of the event, the CGA set up a par 3 at 100 yards each day of the championship. Tricky pins and traditionally FAST GGCC greens posed plenty of challenge despite the modest length.
Final leaderboard: View full scoring
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