Bryson Nimmer (65) has takent he first round lead at Druid Hills
By Yianni Gogonas for AmateurGolf.com
ATLANTA, GA (June 28, 2017) - Play at the Dogwood Invitational began on Wednesday and low scoring seems to be the theme for this week. Over eight inches of rain fell in the Atlanta area over the last few weeks, inciting worry over the condition of the host track,
Druid Hills. Thankfully for our players, a subsequent streak of good weather early this week has given the course some time to drain and dry out, creating a perfect balance of playability and generosity, with very receptive greens and fairways. The effect of these scoring conditions is shown on the leaderboard, with over half the field shooting even-par or better in Wednesday’s round.
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Lipcomb’s
Dawson Armstrong seemed to navigate a marshy Druid Hills track with ease, carding six birdies before his only bogey would come on the par-4 15th. Dawson cleaned up his mistake by following with a birdie on the 16th, then proceeding to finish up with two pars to post 6-under-par for the day.
“From the beginning of the round, it was a little surreal being able to play with my two brothers, and I really had to learn how to get into my own zone, instead of worrying about other players,” offered Dawson to AmateurGolf.com reporter Kevin Cassidy of his unique pairing this morning, in which he was able to tee it up with his brothers, Dowling and Davis, who are also in the field this week in Atlanta.
ROUND 1 HIGHLIGHTS
Tied for second with Armstrong is Georgia native
Ben Shipp and Argentinian
Gaston Bertinotti, who got off to hot starts on Wednesday, firing 6-under-par rounds of their own.
Shipp, the NC State freshman also managed to make a total of seven birdies, with his lone bogey coming on the par-3 8th hole.
“Same as today,” replied Bertinotti of his plans going into Thursday. “Think the golf course is going to play tough and make as many birdies as I can, and less mistakes.” Bertinotti didn’t make too many mistakes to begin with in his afternoon round, only bogeying the 6th and the 10th holes. His highlight came with an eagle on the 9th, that propelled him to 5-under-par after his first nine holes.
Our current leader, Clemson sophomore
Bryson Nimmer played one shot better than Shipp and Dawson on Wednesday, posting a bogey free 65. Nimmer started his round with back-to-back birdies on the 1st and 2nd. Pars came on 3, 4, and 5, followed by another birdie on the 6th. The All-ACC selection began his back-nine at 3-under-par and by the 18th, he had carded four more birdies to post the round of the tournament thus far.
Seventeen players are within three shots of our leader, and with rain as a possibility for Thursday’s round, anything should be expected from a talented field here in Atlanta.
ABOUT THE
Dogwood Invitational
Tournament week is June 2-7 at Druid Hills
Golf
Club
in
Atlanta, Georgia. The entry fee includes
breakfast
and lunch
tournament days as
well
as special events.
The history of this prestigious event extends
back to
1941, when legendary amateur Tommy Barnes
captured his first of five Dogwood titles.
Evolving
with
the times, the modern Dogwood has produced
fine
champions like Webb Simpson (’07), Brian
Harman
(’09), Dawson Armstrong (’15), and in 2019
Brandon
Mancheno. This
evolution can
be
seen also in our course renovations and set-up,
our
relaxed tournament atmosphere, and our spirit
of
social
responsibility.
Players are required to walk during tournament
play
and may carry their golf bag themselves (push
carts are
allowed) or take a caddie. Caddies may be
requested
in advance during registration, or players may
select
one on their own.
Player housing is provided on an as available
basis to
players only, caddies and traveling
companions are not
provided housing.
View Complete Tournament Information