The South Carolina Golf Association’s state amateur championship began play on Thursday at the Carolina Country Club. The winner of the state championship includes a trip to the USGA Amateur

Early and Late Pair Post 64s
An early starter and a late finisher bookended the first round of the South Carolina Amateur Championship, being played for the first time at the Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg.

Chase Cline, the 2024 SCGA Junior Champion from Chapin and now a Western Carolina University golfer, was among the first groups out and set the pace with a scorching 8-under-par 64.

When Cline posted his number, it was easy to see it was a great round—harder to imagine anyone matching it on a course playing long with thick rough and tucked pins.

Sill Ties It Up Late
But Spartanburg’s own Brad Sill, who previously won a Spartanburg County Amateur on the same course, quietly worked his way up the leaderboard. He birdied his final two holes to pull even with Cline at 8-under by day’s end.

Sill, who owns a driving range and golf cart business in Spartanburg, teed off well after Cline finished his round.

“When I saw that score I thought, ‘Man, that was a great round.’ The tees are back and the rough is up, so matching his score is a really good score. It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” said Sill, now a co-leader.

He wasn’t about to give back his 64—but admitted he had a few more chances to go even lower. He hit the flagstick on one hole and missed the birdie putt. On the par-5 18th, he narrowly missed a 24-foot eagle putt that would have given him the outright lead.

Sill’s Strategy: Keep It Simple
The former USC Upstate golfer knows the level of competition this week is a step up from what he sees in local events.

“We have some really good golfers around Spartanburg, but there are so many great players here with great résumés—it’s nice to be up there with those guys,” he said.

Sill’s strategy isn’t complicated, but it’s proven effective.

“Just hit fairways and greens and keep rolling the putter. You’ve got to stay out of the rough and make some birdies,” he said.

Plenty in the Hunt
While Cline and Sill separated themselves slightly from the field, they didn’t exactly run away with it.

SCGA Hall of Famer and two-time Amateur champion Todd White carded a 6-under-par 66. Jack Weiler of Bluffton matched him to share third.

Will Ruth, arguably the hottest junior in South Carolina, rebounded from back-to-back bogeys on his opening holes to post an impressive 66 of his own—highlighted by two eagles and no additional bogeys.

Robert Andrews turned in a 5-under 67 to take solo sixth, followed by a tightly packed group of 31 players between 4-under and 1-under par.

Among those was Robert Lutomski, who made an ace on the par-3 third hole en route to a 1-under 71 and a share of 30th.

Past Champs in the Field
This year’s field includes four past champions: White (1990, 2023), William Harwood (2018, currently T-28), Alex Hamilton (2004, T-13), and defending champion Zach Adams (2022, 2024).

Adams, who won two of the last three state am he has played, opened with a double bogey and spent the rest of the round clawing back to even par. He’ll start the second round tied for 32nd.

See — Brad Sill play in the first round and hear from the co-leader (above)

Scores from the First Round of the SCGA Amateur https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5188671