Palmetto Amateur celebrates 50th tournament with new look, lofty expectations
Come to Palmetto Golf Club next weekend, and the biggest challenge will be running into a player without a bunch of championships on his list of achievements.
There will be state amateur champions, ranging from current kingpin Sam Jackson to 1997 winner Charles Warren, who also happened to win the NCAA individual title. Two-time winner Zach Adams, now playing for the Gamecocks, will tee up. Alex Hamilton and Jeffrey Goff, too.
A who’s who in the state Mid-Amateur circles, starting with 2025 champion Connor Doyal, will compete. So will the state junior champion, Dawson Szabo, and college players Chase Cline and Sage Bradshaw.
The course record-holder, Dane Burkhart, will be there, and some out-of-state standouts also will make the trek to Aiken.
That quality field will tackle the treasured Palmetto Golf Club layout in the 50th Palmetto Amateur. No wonder, then, that tournament chairman Brad Crain looked over the entry list and said, “We’re really excited.”
The golden anniversary tournament comes with differences — an invitation-only field, a fall date rather than one in mid-summer, 54 holes instead of 72, more mid-amateurs (25 and older) than college players. And all that increases the anticipation.
“We believed we would have a stronger field in the fall, and this is one of our best in years,” Crain said. “Cutting back to 54 holes allowed more mid-amateurs with jobs and families to complete.
“There’s the weather, too. Brian Quackenbush talked the other day about trying to recruit players to play 72 holes in July in Aiken. That can be challenging to sell. Playing in the fall is far more attractive.”
Playing at Palmetto adds to the appeal. The course dates to 1892 and drips with history and tradition. At 6,695 yards and a par of 71, the course is short by today’s standards, but devilish green complexes offer a stout defense.
The tournament began in 1976 with the late Berry Crain, Brad’s father, in the lead. Berry Crain oversaw the event until his health declined, and Brad took the reins 12 years ago.
“We expanded our committees, and we had players like Sam (Jackson), Brian Quackenbush and Dane Burkhart help with recruiting,” Crain said. “They were instrumental in getting the players, and we’re really pleased with how everything has come together. We expect a great tournament.”
The schedule calls for a practice round on Thursday (Nov. 6), then 54 holes over the next three days.
If players need advice on how to handle the Palmetto layout, Burkhart, an All-American and national player of the year in his college days at USC Aiken, is the man to see. He set the standard by running away with the title in 2005, shooting 20-under-par 264 punctuated by his final-round 59.
Chip shots. Junior Maylis Lamoure and freshman Molly McLean led USC’s women to a fifth-place finish in the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina. ... Jake Corn (Rock Hill) and Stephen Holmes (York) captured the SCGA’s Players Four-Ball title in a playoff over Zachary Herold (Lexington) and Sam Jackson (West Columbia) at Solina GC. ... Clemson’s women routed the field, rolling to an 18-stroke win in the rain-shortened French Broad Collegiate Invitational at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden, North Carolina. ... Rick Cloninger (Rock Hill) romped to a six-shot victory in the SCGA’s Super-Senior Championship at Florence CC. ... Clemson’s men finished their fall season with a 13th-place finish in the GC of Georgia Collegiate in Alpharetta, Georgia. ... The Greenville team of Karsen Wilkins and Reid Allison captured the SCJGA’s Rick Vieth Junior Four Ball title at The Fort Club in Ninety Six. ... At the CC of Spartanburg, Jackson Ormond (Webster, New York) earned the title in the SCJGA’s Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational that features some of the nation’s top junior players. ... In the Clippd national rankings released Wednesday, USC is No. 17 and Clemson No. 46 among women’s teams. In the men’s survey, Clemson is 34th and USC 48th.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 8:45 AM with the headline "Palmetto Amateur celebrates 50th tournament with new look, lofty expectations."