Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

The fall golf weather has kept rolling, but looks like we might be staring down the barrel of our first cold snap. Too early to really get worried though - I’m sure we’ll hit the 80s again before the year is out.

Short one this week as we recap a couple big fall events that took place last weekend! We also have results from our new subscriber giveaway, which helped push us over our mini-milestone. Welcome to the new folks and thanks as always for reading!

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

Cody Sundberg and Jon Weiss Jr. Win Carolinas Invitational

Course knowledge prevailed at the Carolinas Invitational, as Broomsedge Co-founder Cody Sundberg and partner John Weiss Jr. shot back-to-back 65s (-6) to separate from the field.

The pair played near flawless golf all weekend in firm, fast, and windy conditions. While a 63 in round 1 from defending champions Matt Kilgo and Scott Hamel prevented them from leading wire to wire, Sundberg’s 2 eagles on Saturday, which included a hole in 1 at the 155 yard par 3 11th, kept them within striking distance.

Sunday’s final round, however, is where the eventual champions separated, shooting the low round of the day in 20+ miles per hour winds. Sundberg, who has played the course far more than anyone else in the field, called it one of his best rounds at Broomsedge.

3 teams finished 4 shots behind Sundberg and Weiss Jr. to finish T2. This group included Charlotte City Am runner-up Jake McGlone and partner Jeremy Grab, 2024 Carolina Invitational runner-up Sam Jenkins and partner Ryan Kerns, and the team of Logan Harrell and Joe Poole.

The Carolinas Invitational was the first major tournament in the club’s young history, and the team at Broomsedge took the opportunity to pilot a true championship course setup ahead of next spring’s Carolinas Mid-Amateur. The combination of perfect fall temperatures, wind, and new greens meant firm conditions through the course, and the putting surfaces played as fast as their severe undulations would allow. The club also presented setup variety within the 2-day event, using all of the property’s 20 green sites and moving tees around significantly on several holes.

One tidbit from the weekend for previous Broomsedge visitors or social media oglers - the traditional broom “pin flags” were notably absent! The superintendent opted for flags instead of brooms for tournament weekend in an effort to help players sus out wind speed and direction.

Looking back on the 2025 championship, the move from Carolina Golf Club to Broomsedge can be viewed as a huge success regardless of the tournament’s future plans. This year's event featured the largest number of applicants in tournament history and an extremely strong field, many of whom are already exempt in to next year’s Carolinas Mid-Am and got a sneak-peak at the venue. With a great slot on the calendar and a setup that had participants raving, the only remaining question is whether or not the event has a new permanent home.

Huge shoutout to Ross Alberghini, Keith Kepley, and the whole team at Broomsedge for hosting a great event!

Full scoring: View final leaderboard

TOURNAMENTS

Team Carolinas Takes Back Captain’s Putter at Quixote Club

Team Carolinas edged Team Virginias in Saturday singles to secure a narrow victory in the annual Ryder Cup-style team event. The event, which features 24 players per team across all age ranges and pits North/South Carolina against Virginia/West Virginia, was held at Kris Spence’s Quixote Club in Sumter, SC.

The Carolinas team was stacked with names commonly appearing in 2DP, including 2025 Carolinas Amateur champion Chandler Mulkey, 2025 North Carolina Amateur champion Jackson Spires, multiple Charlotte City Am champion Chad Wilfong, senior golf legend Paul Simson, and many more extremely talented players.

Original: Kris Spence has become one of the most prominent renovation architects in the Carolinas, having done work at clubs like Roaring Gap, Carolina Golf Club, Country Club of North Carolina, and many more. Despite the ubiquity of his work, Quixote is one of the few (if only?) examples of an original design for an architect most known for his Ross restorations.

Results: View full scoring

HOUSEKEEPING

New Subscriber Giveaway Results

Congrats to David Sargent on winning our new subscriber giveaway last week! He took home a customer headcover from Palmetto & Pine and a copy of the latest Carolinas Golf magazine.

Thanks to David and the others who have recently entered the fray, we’ve crossed our mini-goal of 300 newsletter subscribers! Huge thanks to everyone who has supported 2DP this year, and if you’re enjoying the weekly content, share it with a friend.

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