September 9 — Brian Quackenbush had an early idea that he was going to be in the thick of the Aiken Amateur Championship race.
He’s been in contention more often than not in the tournament’s 15-year history, winning twice and finishing second on multiple occasions, so even four shots behind entering Sunday’s final round, he had a feeling he’d be back again.
He started the day with a birdie-birdie to reach 2 under par in the penultimate group, then made six more birdies from there before finally finishing at 5 under par for the tournament. He kept his clubs on the cart in case he had to go to a playoff again, but they weren’t needed.
Quackenbush’s final-round 65 gave him the title by one shot over Spencer Skiff (70), who parred his final three holes to leave Quackenbush alone in front.
“It’s cool,” Quackenbush said of his third city amateur title, adding to the ones he won in 2021 and 2012. In total, he made six 3-pointers on the scorecard en route to third place. “I think the field gets stronger as time goes on. It’s kind of like, for me, winning it now versus the last two times, I think it was harder and maybe a little more special.”
Skiff (70), who had five birdies and an eagle on his opening 66, reached 5 under par when he birdied the par-3 No. 4. He then bogeyed the par-3 No. 5, then bogeyed the par-4 No. 9, then birdied the par-4 No. 10 and then birdied the par-4 No. 11. His birdie on the par-4 No. 15 brought him to 4 under par, but he couldn’t find another one on the final three holes. He said it was tough to make a par and not walk away with the trophy – it would have been easier not to play well and not have had a chance to get it.
Quackenbush overcame a double bogey 5-of-4, birdieing Nos. 5 and 7 to get to 2-under par. He launched his attack at the turn, birdieing Nos. 10-14 to take the lead for good. A bogey on No. 18 kept the door ajar, but ultimately didn’t cost him much when Skiff missed the green and couldn’t chip in for the tie.
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“It was tough, you know, because the wind picked up today. The course really showed its teeth,” he said. “I didn’t really have a plan, like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go out there and play a lot less than par.’ I was just like, ‘I’m going to keep hitting the ball and see what happens, try to make some putts,’ and it happened early. Then I made a double bogey on No. 4, but then I made six more birdies, I think, throughout the round. So I was feeling pretty hot, so that was good.”
Six-time champion Patrick Cunning (71) finished alone in a tie for third. He started the day three shots behind and then bogeyed three of his first six holes to fall further behind. Kyle Bearden (71) was one shot behind at 1 over par. Scott Robbins (75) briefly held the lead after a birdie-birdie start but played the remaining 16 holes at 7 over par to finish fifth at 2 over par for the weekend.
Quackenbush didn’t want to know where he was throughout the course, so at the end he wasn’t sure if his score was good enough for the win, if he should stay for a playoff or if he was still out of the running. His fiancée Kate showed up on the course, so he chatted with her to stay relaxed until the last group came through.
“I mean, when I got the first two holes and it was tough, Jim (McNair) had it down and the wind was blowing, I thought maybe I was in,” he said. “But I don’t look at scoreboards or anything, so I didn’t think about where I was. I try not to think about all that. Actually, the guys I was playing with were great. A couple of them asked me at the end of the back nine, ‘Do you want to know where you’re at?’ No. It’s not going to change the way I play the next five holes.”
Quackenbush’s victory eliminated the possibility of a Skiff double over the weekend – Spencer’s father Dan won the senior division by two shots over Jim Boughner after a final-round 72.
Glen Hurt (76) won the Super Senior title by seven shots over Scott Petit. Dick Korzen (78) won the Legends Championship by five shots over James Morrow (80), and Allie Thomas (83) won the Ladies Division by six shots over Zoey Meldrum (85). The Inglis Cup remained on home soil this year, with Dan Skiff and Tom Kennaday of Aiken Golf Club posting a two-day total of 11-under 129 to win by five shots.
