The defending Greenville County Amateur champion now owns the same title in Spartanburg after winning a playoff for the 50th Spartanburg County Amateur championship.

Nelson Dickson began the tournament as an alternate, not sure if he could get into the field and finished as one of only three golfers who have won both the Greenville and Spartanburg amateur titles in the over 50 years each championship has been contested.

Dickson started the final round three shots behind Dustin Adair and caught the leader on the back nine to force a playoff.

Highlights and winners interview from the 50th Spartanburg County Amateur

Dickson shot rounds of 65-72-68 for an 11-under par 205 total.

Adair finished second with the same score .

Defending champion Trevor Phillips shot the best round of the day posting 5-under par 67 to tie for third with three-time county champion Kevin Roberts.

Dickson is now a member of a small, but elite group of golfers!

Dickson joins just two other golfers who have won both Greenville and Spartanburg County titles.

Keep in mind, County Championships usually have a residency requirement. The one exception being a member of a club in a county the golfer does not reside.

Each year there are a handful of golfers who take advantage of the rule and compete in both championships.

A Simpsonville resident, Dickson is a member of club in Spartanburg making him eligible to play in the championship.

So who are the other two, two county champions?

The Greenville tournament has been played since 1968. In some of the early years, in addition to the club membership exemption, Greenville also offered an exemption if you worked in Greenville County.

Biershenk, Sr. played and won in Greenville, under that exemption in 1982. He won three Spartanburg County championships starting with the second championship in 1974 and added County titles in 1981 and 1987.

Mike Gravley owns four Greenville County Amateur championships. The longtime Greer resident was eligible to play in the Spartanburg championships for many years.

Gravley won his first Greenville championship in 1988. He went back to back in 1992 and 1993 and added his fourth championship in 1995.

In Spartanburg, Gravley won the 2006 and 2007 Spartanburg championships played at Woodfin Ridge.

Now Dickson adds his name to this very short list, but with a new twist.

In a post round interview Dickson asked had anyone ever won the championships in the same year?

Dickson is the first golfer to hold both county titles at the same time, kind of the “Tiger Slam of the Upstate.”

A schedule conflict will prevent Dickson from defending his Greenville title at Fox Run starting on July 29th, but for the next couple of weeks Dickson can rightfully claim, he is the best golfer in Greenville and Spartanburg, and he has the receipts to prove it.

Scores from the 2022 Spartanburg County Amateur: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/8302868605138160375