Sydney Roberts is not much of a scoreboard watcher, instead she has a pretty good feel for where she stands in a tournament.

In the second round of the Carolinas Golf Association’s Young Amateur championship, for some reason, Roberts started glancing at the scoreboard.

“I don’t usually do it, but when I looked I thought I was behind,” said the Clemson golfer. “There was a lot of up and down on the leader board,” noted Roberts.

The Tiger sophomore shared the first round lead with Mia Gray from Conway. The UNC Charlotte golfer and Roberts posted identical rounds of 2-under par 70 on the Magnolia course at Pinewild in Pinehurst.

“The weather wasn’t very good, but I was able to hit some good shots and made a bunch of birdies (5) in the round,” she said.

In the second round Roberts carded a bogey and a double bogey early in her round to open the door, a little, for the rest of the field.

Gray, Ava Romfo from UNC Greensboro and Adrian Anderson from the College of Charleston each were able to pressure Roberts for the lead.

While Gray went three-over par on the first nine to drop off the lead, Romfo, playing a few groups away from Roberts, caught Roberts.

“When I got near the end of my round I checked the scoreboard and it looked like it was close and I thought I needed to make some birdies to win,” she said.

Playing in the final group with Roberts, Anderson closed to within a shot of the lead, but suffered several bogeys late in her second round.

Roberts finished her round with a par and thought she might be in some trouble it turned out she had a comfortable lead and a five shot win.

“I was surprised, I was that far ahead. I didn’t play as well in the second round as I did in the first, but I’m very happy to get the win,” she said.

Roberts shot rounds of 70 and 75 to finish at 1-over par 145. Gray and Romfo tied for second place at 6-over par with Anderson finishing in fourth

Ironically, the last time Roberts won a Carolinas Golf Association championship was in 2020 when she finished in front of Anderson in the Jimmy Anderson Junior Invitational.

Last year playing in her first CGA Young Amateur Championship Roberts finished in fifth place behind Anderson who won the title.

The Clemson fall season ended in late October with a win in Wilmington. Roberts had not played with a scorecard in her pocket since carding a 70 in the final round of the Landfall Tradition.

The victory was a little surprising to the Tiger golfer from Chesnee.

“I actually took some time off after we finished the fall season to do some school workcand just rest up a little, but I didn’t play much before the tournament,” she said.

The Tigers will begin the second half of the season in California on February 4th at the Therese Hessions Regional Challenge.

Most of the Tigers, who won their first ACC Championship last year, will return with the exception of senior Savannah Grewel. Grewel who qualified earned her LPGA Tour Card in December and has turned pro.

“We are going to miss Savannah. She is such a great player and teammate, but we are stacked with players and I think we can compete for the ACC again this year,” she said,

The Tigers will begin qualifying for a spot to play in the first tournament in the nexy few weeks. Roberts is hoping her win at the Young Amateur helps her earn her a place in the starting lineup.

“Definitely a good momentum boost going into the season,” concluded Roberts.

The Men’s championship was won by Jonathan Honeywell of Whispering Pines who won a sudden death playoff over two other golfers for the Men’s Championship.

— The Carolinas Young Amateur Championship began in  2008. The championship is conducted at 36 holes of stroke play. Entry is open to any male or female amateur golfer who maintains a residence in North Carolina or South Carolina, has completed high school, and has an active WHS Handicap ID at a CGA Member Club. (From the CGA)

Scores from the CGA Young Amateur Championship https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/4368020