Mollica takes the 9th Annual Bobby Chapman

Phillip Mollica captured the 9th Annual Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational in a play off victory over Matt King from Knoxville Tennessee. The Anderson native fired a consecutive 68 to earn a play off bid against King. The tournament is proudly hosted by The Country Club of Spartanburg and is sponsored by the Bobby Chapman Board and their many sponsors.

The partisan South Carolina crowd willed Mollica’s left approach on eighteen to finish four feet from the hole to finish with back to back birdies for the tie. The ball stopped on a slope left of the hole about 20 feet away, then picked up steam as the crowd chanted "go" and finished with a more reasonable birdie putt. King had his own tribulations as he started the day with a double bogey. Birdies on five and six got him to even. The roller coaster ride started on ten with four straight birdies followed by a couple of bogeys coming in. Mollica, playing in two groups behind, knew he had to birdie the last two to tie. He canned a thirty footer on the par five 17th, then rolled in tying putt on 18. A consecutive birdie on the 18th in overtime gave him the victory.

The tournament is held to honor the late Robert H. Chapman, Jr., a national leader of the textile industry who served the sport well as president of the South Carolina Golf Association and the Carolina Golf Association. The field of 77 is comprised of top junior players who qualified through high finishes in state, regional, and national competitions. The 2003 field boasts over 40 individual titles, five state champions, four AJGA victories, and has an average handicap of below scratch.
Phillip Mollica (Anderson, SC) 68 68 136
Matt King (Knoxville, TN) 69 67 136
Chris Smith (Alpharetta, GA) 68 71 139
Nathan Stamey (Canton, NC) 69 71 140
Chris McCartin (Arlington, VA) 68 72 140
Robert Riesen (Pinehurst, NC) 72 69 141
Barden Berry (Kinston, NC) 72 69 141
Taylor Hall (Lagrange, GA) 72 69 141
Brian Harman (Savannah, GA) 69 72 141
Vince Hatfield (Greenwood, SC) 74 68 142
Andrew Byrd (Oxford, NC) 72 70 142
Warren Thomas (Columbia, SC) 69 73 142
Chad Fultz (Staunton, VA) 73 70 143
George Bryan (Columbia, SC) 71 72 143
Ben Spickard (Roswell, GA) 70 73 143
Zach Byrd (Calabash, NC) 70 73 143
Michael Green (Augusta, GA) 68 75 143
Mark Harrell (Hazelhurst, GA) 71 73 144
Luke Hopkins (Greer, SC) 71 73 144
Bud Reynolds (Knoxville, TN) 73 72 145
Patrick Cunning (Aiken, SC) 74 72 146
John Griffin (Wilson, NC) 77 69 146
Will Shambley (Cary, NC) 73 73 146
Ryan Solan (Charlotte, NC) 73 73 146
Tal Everett (Sea Island, GA) 72 74 146
Garland Ferrell (Greenville, SC) 80 66 146
Skip Murphy (Kiawah Island, SC) 71 75 146
Greg Carlin (Kensington, MD) 74 73 147
Nicholas Smith (Ocala, FL) 74 74 148
Brent Witcher (Duluth, GA) 76 72 148
Jake Chominsky (Greensboro, NC) 76 72 148
Wallace Palmer (Augusta, GA) 72 76 148
Frank Wrenn (Greenville, SC) 74 75 149
Drew Weaver (Highpoint, NC) 74 75 149
Andrew Buergler (Cary, NC) 74 75 149
Troy Bartkowicz (Sharpsburg, GA) 74 75 149
Allen Koon (Bamberg, SC) 77 72 149
Frank Alafoginis (Potomac, MD) 73 76 149
Chris Bagley (Charlotte, NC) 73 76 149
Adam Mitchell (Chattanooga, TN) 80 69 149
Mark Anderson (Beaufort, SC) 70 79 149
Dustin Groves (Keswick, VA) 75 75 150
Chip DeSelms (Wilmington, NC) 76 74 150
Dennis McCollum (Summerville, SC) 78 72 150
Soonam Kim (Goose Creek, SC) 76 75 151
Jonathan Hodge (Jefferson City, TN) 80 71 151
Kent Copeland (Hickory, NC) 76 76 152
John Bradford (Hilton Head, SC) 74 78 152
Nathan Spoon (Graham, NC) 84 68 152
Justin Hare (Charleston, SC) 74 79 153
William Thompson (South Hill, VA) 74 80 154
Daniel Kefale (Woodbridge, VA) 76 78 154
Seth McCain (Comer, GA) 77 77 154
Sam Lyons (Little River, SC) 80 74 154
Turner Smith (Laurens, SC) 81 73 154
Joe Poole (Raeford, NC) 75 80 155
Preston Yates (Winston-Salem, NC) 76 79 155
Fielder Huntley (Columbia, SC) 77 78 155
Will Oldham (Richmond, VA) 76 80 156
Ryan Wilson (High Point, NC) 74 83 157
Chase MacFarland (Savannah, GA) 74 83 157
Drew Younts (Stokesdale, NC) 77 80 157
Timothy Tang (Charleston, SC) 79 78 157
Jeff Dennis (Parkland, FL) 80 77 157
James Kim (Harrington Park, NJ) 77 81 158
Spencer Cole (Greer, SC) 76 82 158
Baker Elmore (Cheraw, SC) 78 80 158
Jordan Johnstun (LaGrange, GA) 80 78 158
Philip Chauncey (Durham, NC) 82 76 158
Bryan Miller (Rocky Face, GA) 79 80 159
Matthew Wilson (Goose Creek, SC) 84 75 159
Christopher Couch (Summerville, SC) 84 75 159
Foster Hodge (Spartanburg, SC) 84 76 160
Daniel Bowden (Easley, SC) 82 78 160
Camden Hodge (Spartanburg, SC) 85 75 160
Brad Satterfield (Spartanburg, SC) 81 80 161
Justin Thompson (Clarks Hill, SC) 79 85 164