Spartanburg’s Todd White has found the way to survive and advance at the US Senior Amateur Championship,

He did it again on Wednesday when he won, by a razor thin margin ,to play for the USGA Senior Amateur Championship in the18 hole final on Thursday morning,.

In his first match of the day White came within 7-feet of being eliminated.

His opponent, Mike Henry from Bloomington, Indiana, had a seven foot birdie putt on the final hole to close out White, but his putt drifted away above the hole,

Given new life, White birdied the 19th hole to advance to the semi-final with a 1 up in `19 holes victory.

The birdie finish might have been an omen of the birdie fest that was to come in White’s second match of the day,

Facing Roger Newsome , the fifth seed from Virginia Beach, Virginia, the match featured 13 combined birdies with White knocking in seven of them.

“The birdies were flying everywhere,” said White, the 2023 South Carolina Amateur champion. “I’m sure it was fun to watch, but it was fun to play in. You knew that ebb and flow of the match, topping birdies here and there, it was a great match,” he said.

It turned out that White’s seventh birdie would win the match and give the high school teacher a 2 &`1 victory and an opportunity to play for the championship Thursday,

“Luckily for me, I’m tickled pink to be in the finals. I really am.” saud White.

White will face Jody Fanagan the 19th seed from Ireland.

Fanagan, who like White is a former Walker Cup golfer, joined with teammate Padrig Harrington, to defeat Tiger Woods and John Harris in the 1995 matches for what certainly is a career highlight,

The Irish golfer is making his first appearance in the USGA Senior championship.

Fanagan’s path to the final included several sizeable wins with a couple of 5 & 3 scores along the way. However, in the semi final Fanagan was pressed by Bob Royak from Alphabetical, Georgia

The Irish golfer got the win in 19 holes to play for the championship,

“You get no easy matches. The guys are really strong. It was a great match but just got over the line, said Fanagan,

White will he playing for his second USGA championship. He and partner Nathan Smith won the first USGA Four-Ball Championship,

Scores from the USGA Senior Championship https://championships.usga.org/ussenioramateur/2023/scoring.html