Welcome to the Two Down Press golf newsletter!

Two Down Press turns 1 tomorrow! Hard to believe, but 50+ newsletters and 50,000+ words later, we somehow accomplished our goal of writing about Charlotte and Carolinas golf every week(ish) for a year. Huge thanks to everyone who has supported and stay tuned for some big announcements about year 2!

We’ve got Carolinas golf news from mountains to coast this week covering a wide variety of topics. From the PGA TOUR to local amateur golf, we’ve got scheduling updates, tournament results, and course news from across the state(s). Check it all out below and enjoy this week’s 2DP!

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINE

PGA Tour to Return to Asheville After 80+ Years

The PGA TOUR is coming back to Asheville after a near-century long hiatus, announcing a 4-year partnership with Biltmore Estate and Explore Asheville. The event, which will be held at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove ~20 minutes south of downtown, is slated for September 17-20, 2026.

This will be the first PGA TOUR event in Asheville since 1942, when Hall of Famer Ben Hogan won his 3rd consecutive Land of the Sky Open at Biltmore Forest Country Club. It also adds a 3rd North Carolina PGA TOUR event to the 2026 schedule, making the state one of the leading host destinations alongside California, Florida, and Texas.

The venue: While I wish the pros could still tee it up at the 6,600 yard, Donald Ross-designed BFCC (#rollback), this seems like a solid spot to host a modern tourn event. The Jack Nicklaus design still isn’t super long by tour standards (7,100 yards), but it’s relatively close to town and appears to have plenty of space for the required tournament infrastructure. Let’s hope Keith Mitchell shows up to break down the Asheville restaurant scene…

Giving back: We’re not going to get into all our gripes with modern pro golf, but one area where credit is certainly due is in regards to the TOUR’s charitable contributions. It’s exciting to see an event headed to the North Carolina mountains, an area still recovering from Hurricane Helene and in need of both financial support and economic stimulus. While we’re at it, let’s figure out a way to use this event to help rebuild the Asheville Muni.

TOURNAMENTS

Nate Gahman Takes Palmetto Amateur with Back 9 Charge

The reigning Georgia Open champion shot 31 on his final 9 to chase down local favorite and current College of Charleston player Miles Eubanks. The 34-year-old Gahman capped off his Sunday 67 with a 50+ foot birdie putt on 17 before closing with a par and securing a 1-shot victory.

Small but mighty: Palmetto Golf Club provided a stern test to a stacked field of Mid-Am and college talent despite playing only 6,600 yards (on second thought, maybe we could have the tour event at Biltmore!). The course required precision and patience, as the fast and severe Alister MacKenzie greens gave the course teeth despite the driving distance of modern competitors.

Older heads prevail: One storyline going into the week was the wide age range represented in the field. There were a number of young guns at the top of the leaderboard, but it’s a W for the wily vets this year!

Content bonanza: The Back of the Range does amazing coverage of elite amateur golf and last week was no exception. Tons of great photos and videos on their feed if you want to catch up on the action and get a feel for the tournament.

Full scoring: Final leaderboard

STORIES TO TRACK

Harbour Town Golf Links Reopens After Davis Love III Renovation: DL3’s design team rebuilt every green, bunker, and bulkhead on the historic Pete Dye design at Sea Pines Resort. The project was completed in just 6 months to avoid any disruption to the annual RBC Heritage.

Tentative 2026 CGA Tournament Calendar Released: It’s early and subject to change, but most of the dates and venues for the biggest CGA events in 2026 have been published.

• Event of the year?: We’ve known about the Carolinas Mid-Amateur at Broomsedge, but the biggest surprise on this list is the Carolinas Women’s Amateur at Grandfather! Excited to follow that one and see the rest of the schedule come together.

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