Austin Langdale
CHARLESON, S.C. (March 24, 2013) --
Torrential
rains forced the Azalea Invitational
tournament
committee to call the final day of action at
The
Country Club of Charleston.
Austin Langdale, who held the lead after the
first
two days of play, has been declared winner of
the
65th
playing of the event.
Langdale opened play Thursday with a 5-under
66
and shot 69 on Friday to take a two-shot lead
into
the weekend.
Only a portion of the field completed 18 holes
in
Round 3 on Saturday due to rain. The
completion
of the
third round and the final round were both
planned
for Sunday. But at 8 a.m. on Sunday, the
committee
deemed the course unplayable.
For Langdale, though, the win is still
meaningful.
“It’s pretty cool,” the Clemson-bound junior
said.
“It feels weird with the last shots hit on Friday
but
it’s a
great feeling. To look at the names on the
locker
room wall and see Webb Simpson and names
like
that,
it’s pretty cool to have my name next to last
year’s U.S. Open champ.”
Langdale’s Friday 66 proved to be the
difference
maker. On a day when much of the field
struggled, the
Townville, S.C. teen managed to get up-and-
down
on all six of the greens he missed to power
through the
windy conditions and take an early lead. On
Friday, Langdale simply managed to keep
pace
with the
surging field.
“I was just trying to put together another solid
round,” he said. “I missed a few putts that
could
have
gotten me low again but I didn’t lose any
strokes.
Shooting 2-under on a good course like that
isn’t
too
bad.
“This is by far the biggest win of my amateur
career.”
Langdale won by two over Scott Harvey, a
talented mid-am from North Carolina, who
finished alone in
second at 5-under after his Friday 67. Will
Long,
another junior, finished in third place after
two-
straight
69s to open the event.
Jim Liu, who fired a competitive course record
63
on Friday, was among a group of three
players
tied for
fourth place. Cameron Champ and Carson
Young
also finished at 3-under.
Mike Miller, the highest ranked player (5th) in
the
event according to the
Goflweek/amateurgolf.com
U.S.
Player Rankings, managed a pair of 70s and
finished alone in seventh place. North Carolina
mid-am Matt
Crenshaw and Jack Maguire, who won the
2012
St. Augustine Amateur, were one shot back in
eighth
place at even par.
Former PGA Tour pro and 1997 Azalea
Invitational
champion John Engler finished tied for 12th.
He
shot
rounds of 73-70 to finish 1-over.
Four-time U.S Mid-Amateur champion Nathan
Smith was tied for 20th at 3-over, one shot
better
than
fellow Walker Cup hopeful Todd White.
ABOUT THE
Azalea Invitational
72-hole stroke play championship with a 54-hole cut
on a
1925
Seth Raynor design. Good mix of college
players, juniors
and mid amateurs. 7 spots available in a
qualifier.
Impressive list of past champions at this
traditional event. Reigning USGA champs often use
this tournament as a tune-up for the Masters.
View Complete Tournament Information