Doug Hanzel and his son, Drew, of Savannah, Ga., won their sixth title – in the senior division — at The Country Club of North Carolina’s National Father-Son Invitational with a score of 278.
Previously, the Hanzels won the championship division in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011. They also won the senior division in 2019 and now have tied Tim and Chris Miller of New Philadelphia, Ohio with six divisional wins – most in the event’s 51-year history.
Mark and Dylan Fox of Midlothian, Va. won the championship division by 17 strokes at 284 and James and Wes Martin of Dallas, Texas won the super senior division by 24 strokes at 285.
A fixture on CCNC’s golf competition schedule, which began in 1970, the National Father-Son Invitational has included these notable other winners: Tom and Tom Kite, Jr; Arthur and Scott Hoch; Rod and Steve Spittle; and Kelly and Blair Miller.
The Hanzels shot 65-65 in the better-ball format on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Doug shot 73 and Drew shot 75 in Round 3 to win the title by two strokes over Andy and Bo Andrews of Raleigh. Paul and Phillip Simson of Raleigh placed third. The elder Simson is one of North Carolina’s most decorated amateurs and is the 2010 and 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur champion.
The elder Hanzel is the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur champion and was the low amateur at the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Senior Open. Both Hanzels played college golf at Kent State University. Doug, a physician, endowed a golf scholarship at their alma mater. He will play in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes in Oregon in next month.
The field consisted of players from 11 states, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The format for the 51st Invitational included was better ball of each team for the first two rounds from division-designated tees (Dogwood Course on July 24 and Cardinal Course on July 25) and then combined score on the event’s final round.
The tournament was conceived by Dale Morey, a CCNC member and a noted amateur player who was also a basketball All-America at LSU. He won the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in 1974 and 1977.
Photo credit Kevin Murray.
Contributed.
