From staff reports
The South Carolina Golf Association and the Carolinas Golf Association held a 2023 U.S. Amateur Qualifer last week on Dataw Island’s Cotton Dike course.
A field of 117 golfers from around the country competed to earn one of five qualifying spots and two alternate spots. Six golfers represented Beaufort, including Country Club member Matt O’Quinn and Beaufort High School golfer Jerry Bruns.
Bluffton’s Andrew Swanson and Jackson Buchanan of Dacula, Ga., shared medalist honors after finishing at 10-under-par 134. Both players shot rounds of 68 and 66 to punch their tickets.
Max Dupree of Eatonton, Ga., and Ethan Paschal of Fayetteville, N.C., both finished at 7-under-par 137.
Two players finished at 6-under-par 138 and went to a playoff to determine the final qualifying position and first alternate. Jackson Byrd of St. Simons Island, Ga., the son of PGA Tour golfer and former Clemson star Jonathan Byrd, won the playoff, and Charleston’s Rowan Sullivan will be the first alternate. The second alternate is College of Charleston’s Zach Reuland of Rock Hill, who is familiar with the Dataw Island courses through his competition in the annual Colonial Athletic Association Championship.
The qualifiers will advance to play in the U.S. Amateur Championship, held August 14 through 20 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills, Colo.
