Andrew Bailey goes low to win Inaugural Giles Invitational
Andrew Bailey (Giles Invitational Photo)
Andrew Bailey, the 2023 and 2024 Ohio Amateur champion, carded rounds of 72-68-67 to finish 9-under and win the inaugural Giles Invitational Mid-Amateur at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin Sabot, Va.
Bailey's final round of 5-under 67 was highlighted by birdies on four of the first six holes to jump to the top of the leaderboard, including consecutive birdies on Nos. 2, 3, and 4.
Bailey is currently ranked No. 17 in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings.
Blanton Farmer, Jeronimo Esteve, and William Minton all finished T2 at 7-under and Andy Sajevic finished in solo fifth place at 5-under to round out the top five. 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Evan Beck finished T17 at 3-over. The 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur was held at Kinloch Golf Club.
SENIOR DIVISION
Matt Sughrue was the lone golfer in the senior division to finish under par, carding rounds of 73-69-73 to shoot 1-under and defeat Jeff Knox by one shot. Knox finished in solo second place at even par with rounds of 67-77-72.
Sughrue is currently ranked No. 15 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings.
Michael McCoy finished in solo third place at 3-over and Bob Royak, Robert Gerwin, and Buck Brittain finished T4 at 4-over to round out the top five.
PREVIEW
Vinny Giles graduated from the University of Georgia in 1966, where he was a three-time All-American on the golf team.
Giles played on four Walker Cup teams in 1969, 1971, 1973, and 1975, winning three times. He also captained the 1993 team to victory and played on three winning Eisenhower Trophy teams in 1968, 1970, and 1972. He captained the 1992 team to a runner-up finish.
Giles finished second in the U.S. Amateur three straight years, 1967 to 1969, before finally winning in 1972. This was in the stroke play era. His victory in the British Amateur came in 1975. He won numerous other amateur tournaments, including seven Virginia State Amateurs and three Virginia Open titles.
He was the low amateur in the 1968 Masters Tournament, after a T22 finish, and in the 1973 U.S. Open, after a solo 17th-place finish. He was also a low amateur in three U.S. Senior Opens in 1993, 1996, and 1997.
Giles was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Southern Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1984.
AmateurGolf.com founder Pete Wlodkowski visited Kinloch Golf Club before the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur to see the course.
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ABOUT THE
Giles Invitational
Played in honor of amateur legend Vinny Giles, the Giles Invitational is being hosted by the course he co-designed in Virginia, Kinloch Golf Club. Kinloch hosted the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur to rave reviews.
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