Sill Claims Second at SCGA Four Ball Championship
6/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate rising junior golfer Brad Sill and playing partner Will Ovenden ended their run at the South Carolina Golf Association (SCGA) Four Ball Championship Sunday afternoon, finishing second in the championship played at Carolina Country Club.
Sill, from Spartanburg, and Ovenden, also from Spartanburg and a rising junior at Clemson, were teammates at Dorman High School and the two teamed to make a strong run in the Four Ball Championship. After advancing to the finals, the pair fell, 5&4, to champions Caulder Moore and Caleb Sturgeon. Moore is a member of South Carolina's golf team, while Sturgeon has signed to play with the Gamecocks.
Sill and Ovenden finished the stroke play portion of the tournament with rounds of 65 and 69 to qualify for the match play portion of the championship. While Sill was the top Upstate golfer in the championship, he was not the only Spartan to do well in the tournament. Matthew Hopper (Gaffney, S.C.) and McKenzie Oref (Easley, S.C.) teamed together and tied Sill and Ovenden at 134 to advance to match play, while Tyler Comer (Pacolet Mills, S.C.) and former Spartan standout Jamie Lightsey teamed to shoot 135 to also advance to match play.
Sill and Ovenden defeated Josh Branyon and Matt Davis, 1 up, in the first round of match play. Comer and Lightsey claimed a 5&4 victory over Thomas Addison III and Brant Armstrong. Hopper and Oref, though, were eliminated after the first match, losing to Taylor and Trevor Banks, 1 up.
In the second round, Sill and Ovenden faced off against Comer and Lightsey. In the end, Sill and Ovenden managed to gut out a 1 up victory over Comer and Lightsey to move to the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Sill and Ovenden claimed their third-straight 1-up victory, this time taking down Matt Laydon and Chris Mitchell to move to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, it took 20 holes to decide the title, but in the end, Sill and Ovenden claimed their fourth-straight 1 up win, this time over Kevin King and Todd White, to take move into the championship match. However, Moore and Sturgeon were simply too strong and took the championship.
