Gallman Falls To Fields In Carolinas Amateur Final
7/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 12, 2009
Charleston, S.C. - Jack Fields birdied three of the final five holes on the front nine of the opening 18 holes of play to take a solid lead and went on to take an 8 & 7 victory over standout USC Upstate golfer Josh Gallman in the 36-hole championship match of the Carolinas Amateur Championship Sunday at the Country Club of Charleston.
Gallman, who moved into the championship match with a 3 & 2 victory over defending champion Ben Kohles Saturday afternoon, entered Sunday's play as strong as he has been in any amateur championship. However, he ran into a player in Fields who, despite being seeded 15th in match play, claimed impressive wins over higher-seeded players in three of the four matches he played just to get to the championship match.
Fields struck first by birdying the second hole to go 1-up, but Gallman responded with a par on the next hole to get the match all square. Fields, though, recorded birdie on the fifth, eighth and ninth holes and Gallman could not counter as Fields took a 3-up lead heading into the back nine of the first 18 holes of play. Fields continued his hot play on the back nine, winning five holes to Gallman's one and opened a 7-up lead heading into the afternoon 18.
Gallman tried to get things going in the afternoon, cutting the lead to six with a win on the second hole. However, Fields won the fourth and fifth holes of the round to open an 8-up lead and went on for the 8 & 7 victory to win the championship. Gallman settled for a second-place finish after advancing to the quarterfinals last year.
Gallman advanced to the championship match with wins over Jayson Judy (2 & 1), Paul Woodbury (3 & 2), Thomas Bullock (3 & 2) and Kohles (4 & 2). Fields advanced to the championship match with wins over Billy West (1-up), Uly Grisett (1-up), Bryan Newton (2-up) and Steven brame (3 & 2).
While Gallman's run at the Carolinas Amateur Championship came to an end in the final, his summer of golf is far from being over. He leaves Monday for the prestigious Southern Amateur to be played at Colonial Country Club outside Memphis, Tenn. He finished tied for 24th last year among a field of the nation's top amateur golfers. He will also attempt to qualify for the U.S. Amateur after being an alternate last year, and will play in the South Carolina Amateur in August.
Gallman is a rising senior at Upstate and has been a mainstay at the top of the Spartans lineup throughout his career. He broke onto the collegiate scene at the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championships, firing a 5-under-par 67 in the final round to help lead Upstate to a second-place finish by just one stroke. An honorable mention All-American as a freshman, he led the Spartans into Division I competition as a sophomore in 2007-08, finishing with four individual tournament titles while earning A-Sun All-Conference honors. He again claimed All-ASun honors this year after ranking in the top 4 in stroke average in the league throughout the year.
