Gallman Set To Open Play At Prestigious Southern Amateur
7/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 14, 2009
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate standout golfer and Gaffney, S.C., native Josh Gallman is set to tee off at the prestigious Southern Amateur Wednesday afternoon and will be one of 168 individuals battling it out for the championship at Colonial Country Club just outside of Memphis, Tenn.
The Southern Amateur is one of the oldest amateur tournaments in the nation and will crown its 103rd champion this week. Previous winners include some of golf's all-time greats, including Bobby Jones, who went on to build Augusta National and start The Master's, Ben Crenshaw, Justin Leonard, Lanny Wadkins, Hubert Green, Bob Tway, Tim Simpson, Mark Brooks, Steve Lowery, Len Mattiace and defending champion Kyle Stanley. In all, 84 players, including Gallman, were granted exemptions into the tournament. Of the 84 players, 22 are ranked among the top 100 amateur players in the world.
Gallman had a strong showing in his first appearance in the Southern Amateur last year. He finished in a tie for 24th at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla. He enters this year's tournament after already posting a solid summer in amateur golf. He won the Palmetto Amateur Championship, teamed with former Spartan Baxter Culler to advance to the semifinals of the Carolinas Four-Ball, and advanced to the championship match at last weekend's Carolinas Amateur Championship. While he is on a bit of a hot-streak, heading into this year's Southern Amateur trying to equal or improve on last year's showing will be difficult.
"It's a totally different golf course than what we played last year," said Gallman. "You just have to go out there and play the best you can and post a good number. You have to hit good shots and not make any really big mistakes. Its always good to play in a field like this. You have to step your game up and play better as you play better competition. I am looking forward to teeing it up. I've been playing well all summer and look forward to each event. I have just tried to practice hard, play well and see what happens."
Gallman had a tremendous season as a sophomore in 2007-08, leading Upstate into the ranks of NCAA Division I competition. As a junior this past season, he was not able to match his sophomore year in terms of individual titles, though he remained the top golfer on the team and one of the top golfers in the A-Sun throughout the year. As the year progressed, putting seemed to be the major hurdle. This summer, though, Gallman's putting has been tremendous.
"If a player can't putt, you can't shoot good scores," said Gallman. "I've been working on it a lot. I watched a few videos and put in a lot of work on the greens. If you make a few putts, it makes things easier. Putting is all mental. When you make some putts it makes it easier to make more."
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.
