The boys from Inman put on a show in Raleigh and this week get a chance to play on their home turf.

Trent Phillips and Jacob Bridgeman jumped on the leader board in the first round of the UNC Healthcare Championship and stayed in contention for a Korn-Ferry Tournament title through the weekend.

Phillips rolled in four straight birdie putts on his back nine holes to take the clubhouse lead at 13-under par after shooting a final round 4-under par 66.

He was matched by Jorge Fernandez-Valdes at 13-under forcing a playoff.

On the extra hole Fernandez-Valdes rolled in a putt that seemed to take forever to get to the hole, but it did.

“It was kind of a 1 in a 100 kind of putt,” said Phillips. “He made it, hes been out here a long time. He got a break off the tee and then made a great putt,” he said.

While disappointed to get close to a win, Phillips is upbeat about the way his game has improved in the last few weeks.

“I’ve been hitting good shots, but it just had not come together, I could tell I was close and I was really confident going into this week,” he said.

In the first round the boys from Inman, Phillips and Bridgeman flirted with the lead,

The two upstate golfers tied for third place after the first round and stayed tied after the second round, both within striking distance of the tournament leader.

In the third round, the two were paired together. Phillips finished at 2-under par while Bridgeman carded an even par 70.

Phillips entered the final round in fifth, trailing the leader Grayson Murray by 2-shots.

He finished the font nine even, but when he got to the 13th hole his putter got hot and he carded four straight birdies to move to the lead.

Phillips parred his two final holes and had the club house lead while the rest of the field finished.,

The only golfer to match Phillips was Fernandez-Valdes who parred his final hole to tie Phillips and then birdied the playoff hole for the win.

“This was a great week, a big week for me because points don’t come easy out here. I’m within one or two spots of getting my card and I’m in a great spot with the rest of the season ahead of me,” he said.

With the points he tallied for his runner up finish, Phillips is now in 32nd place on the season long points list. The top-30 automatically receive PGA Tour cards at the end of the season.

Taking the momentum from a runner-up finish to playing on home-town courses, Phillips doesn’t see any reason why his strong play can’t continue this week at the BMW.

“I believed a week like I had was going to come and I had to trust it was going to happen, and it did,” he said.

Last year Phillips was snubbed by the BMW.

He was a top-8 finisher on the PGA Tour University rankings. As a three-time All-American and a three-time Jay Haas South Carolina Junior Player of the Year, not receiving an invitation to play on a sponsor’s exemption was unexplainable and inexcusable.

“Not getting to play in the BMW last year kind of sucked. This will be the fifth week in a row I’ve played, but I’m excited to be able to play at home,” said the Boiling Springs High School grad.

Phillips might have gotten a glimpse of the fan following he will have at the BMW this week, last week in Raleigh.

“I saw a lot of them up in there. A lot more than I expected and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them this week,” he concluded.

BMW field includes 13 golfers with area connections

While some names on the Korn–Ferry Tour may be familiar to golf fans a “Bakers Dozen” of golfers in the field should be familiar to area golf fans.

Jacob Bridgeman challenged for the win last year in just his second Korn-Ferry tournament. The 2022 ACC Champion from Clemson is currently in 22nd place on the Korn-Ferry points list.

Wofford grad William McGirt, who lived in Spartanburg for many years, along with former Clemson golfer Kyle Stanley bring PGA Tour wins to the field.

Three other former Tigers are also in the field. Bryson Nimmer, Billy Kennerly and William Nottingham will tee it up this week.

South Carolina grad Mark Anderson, who won the BMW in 2013 will be joined by Scott Stevens who had an outstanding season on the PGA Canada Tour last year.

Winthrop grad Taylor Dickson finished tied for 18th in Raleigh and Scott Brown from USC-Aiken did a little better with his tie for 15th.

Easley native and Auburn grad Trace Crowe and Hartsville’s Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey round out the local golfers.

The Korn-Ferry Tour’s points leaders will be in the field as well with #1 Ben Kohls leading a group of six of the top10 points leaders.

Tee times are usually assigned a day in advance. The field is split in two and will play one round at Thornblade Club and Carolina Country Club on Thursday and Friday with the final two rounds set for Thornblade on the weekend,