Hanna standout overcomes broken driver, bad weather and deep field to win state’s premier high school event

By Stan Olenik. Editor-Publisher. The Golf Club

Bennett Scaletta wasn’t any different from the rest of the elite field at the Southern Cross.

At least not at the start.

Like many of the top players in the field, the Hanna High School standout had the résumé—state titles, major junior wins, two South Carolina Junior Player of the Year honors.

But there was one line missing.

The Southern Cross.

Now, there isn’t.

Scaletta, a future Clemson golfer, checked that final box with rounds of 73 and 6-under 65 for a 138 total, good for a two-shot victory at the Palmetto Golf Club.

Getting there, however, was anything but routine.

A problem you couldn’t see

Early in the first round, something didn’t feel right.

“I was doing the same thing I always do—same swing—but the ball was going in crazy places,” Scaletta said.

At first, there was no obvious explanation. Then came a small clue—a rattle in his driver.

That happens sometimes. Loose epoxy, nothing unusual.

But this wasn’t that.

“I looked at the back of the club and there it was—a crack,” he said. “You wouldn’t see it unless you were really looking.”

With no time for a fix, Scaletta put the driver away and improvised.

“I just left it in the bag and hit 3-wood. Luckily at Palmetto, you don’t really need driver.”

He still managed to grind out a 73—but he would start the final round six shots off the lead.

A reset—and a charge

Help arrived the next morning.

Scaletta’s father brought a backup driver from home. A few swings on the range were all it took.

“I hit five balls and knew—it was going to be a good day,” he said.

Even then, conditions didn’t make it easy.

Rain came and went throughout the round, turning the Southern Cross into the kind of test where patience mattered as much as shot-making.

Scaletta didn’t get off to the fast start his coach emphasized, but he didn’t panic.

Instead, he pieced together the round.

A birdie here. A key par there.

And sometimes, survival.

“There were holes where making par felt like making birdie,” he said.

The turning point

After a slow start, Scaletta found his rhythm on the front nine.

He hit a string of approach shots tight, rolled in birdies, and suddenly the deficit was gone.

By the turn, he had the lead.

But the Southern Cross rarely gives anything away—especially coming home.

On the back nine, the challenge shifted.

With the lead in hand and the final groups chasing, Scaletta focused on minimizing mistakes.

A scrambling par on No. 13—after wisely choosing to chip out rather than force a risky shot—kept momentum on his side.

“That was huge,” he said. “Just keeping things going.”

Closing it out

Standing on the 18th tee with a one-shot lead, Scaletta made a decision.

No driver.

Instead, he hit what he called an “amped-up” 4-iron into position.

From there, he played it smart—wedged it to 12 feet and rolled in the putt to seal the win.

Game over.

More than just another win

With everything already on his résumé, it would be easy to see this as just another victory.

It wasn’t.

“This is the one I circled,” Scaletta said. “It’s the biggest tournament we play all year.”

And while the individual title mattered, something else stood out even more.

“The individual win is great—but I’m even happier we won as a team,” he said. “This is a big momentum boost for us.”

Hanna rallies past elite field to capture Southern Cross team title

If Bennett Scaletta’s win was the headline, Hanna’s team title was the statement.

Starting the final round six shots back, Hanna wasn’t even the top story on the leaderboard.

Oceanside Collegiate Academy—the defending state champions and top-ranked Class AAAA team—set the pace at 214, followed by perennial contender Bishop England at 215 and surging Gaffney at 219.

Hanna stood at 220.

Within striking distance—but with work to do.

“We had some ground to make up, but we didn’t feel like we had to change anything,” Hanna coach Eric Bona said. “Just go out, play our game and see what happens.”

What happened was a complete team response.

The spark

The foundation had already been laid late in the opening round.

Erik Erlenkeuser, who would finish just one shot off the individual lead after day one, delivered a moment that kept Hanna within range—an eagle on the par-4 18th.

“He hit a phenomenal chip,” Bona said. “One hop, checked, and went right in.”

Instead of falling further behind, Hanna had something to build on.

Finishing the job

While Scaletta made his charge on the final day, the team effort behind him never let up.

Cal Harbin battled through a demanding round where every shot mattered, grinding to post a score that would count.

Erlenkeuser, after a difficult stretch in the second round, refused to let things slip away.

He fought through the back nine, made key pars when needed—and closed with a birdie on the final hole to help secure the margin.

“Those last holes are tough,” Bona said. “And our guys just kept competing.”

More than just a win

The Southern Cross isn’t just another tournament.

It’s widely viewed as the deepest field and toughest test in South Carolina high school golf—and one that had previously slipped just out of Hanna’s grasp.

“This one’s been a little elusive for us,” Bona said. “To finally put it together here, it means a lot.”

Against one of the strongest fields of the season—and in rain-soaked, demanding conditions—Hanna didn’t just win.

They earned it.

Scores from the Southern Cross at the Palmetto Golf Club https://league.unknowngolf.com/public/event.jsp?trKy=8rhERJF0RC

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