If the tournament wasn’t named in honor of Hall of Famer Earl Wooten, Saluda Valley might be thinking about changing it.

A new name could be the Josh Branyon Invitational.

Branyon won his 10th Wooten Championship, adding another title to a remarkable run in the tournament played at Saluda Valley Country Club his home club.

“I love playing in this tournament. It is always fun,” said Branyon who shot rounds of 62 and 66 to tie for low score in the history of the tournament.

Branyon has been consistent in his opinion of the tournament, even in the years when he didn’t win.

While the Earl Wooten Memorial Trophy now has his name all over the base, it took Branyon more than a few tries before he was able to get his first victory.

“I think I finished second maybe four or five times. I used to wonder what I had to do to finally get a win,” he said.

Branyon finally broke through in 2010 and followed it up the next year with a second straight championship.

And while home-course advantage might seem like an obvious explanation for his success, Branyon has also proven himself away from Saluda Valley.

He won the South Carolina Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship in 2011 and added a second SCGA Mid-Am title in 2017.

Not every Wooten victory has been a breeze.

Come from behind. Hold on to a big lead. Finish strong. Produce a little last-hole magic. All could describe at least one of Branyon’s 10 victories.

This year, even after Branyon opened with a 62, there were golfers close enough to make things interesting if he faltered.

Perry Hartin opened with a 66 to stay within four shots of Branyon and early in the final round cut the lead to just two.

“It got close for a little while out there, but I hit a few good shots to get the lead a little bigger again,” Branyon said.

Hartin followed his opening 66 with a final-round 68.

“You go 10-under par and still don’t win,” Hartin said, shaking his head after the round.

Winning 10 of the last 16 Wooten tournaments is even more impressive considering Branyon didn’t play in two of them.

Winning hasn’t gotten old for Branyon, but his motivation has changed.

“I used to play against the other golfers. Now I play against the course,” he said. “I want to beat the course, and if I do that I have a pretty good chance of winning.”

There was something else that made this year’s tournament special.

Branyon learned the game from his father, Ronnie, and now is doing the same thing with his son, Sullin. Father and son played together in the tournament, with Sullin finishing first in the Fourth Flight.

“It’s always fun to win, and it was fun to play with my son,” Branyon said. “He is a pretty good golfer and is going to get better.”

Hartin finished second, while Zac Satterfield was third at 140.

Ben Cox won the Senior Championship after shooting identical rounds of 71 for a 142 total and a four-shot victory over Ric Freeze.

Ricky Capps repeated as Legends Division champion, finishing at 2-under-par 142 after a final-round 68.

Flight winners included Josh Campbell, First Flight; Ty Penley, Second Flight; Ricky Brown, Third Flight; Sullin Branyon, Fourth Flight; Tim Eaton, Fifth Flight; Carter Caldwell, Sixth Flight; Matt Oxford, Senior First Flight; and Todd Hiott, Senior Second Flight.

scgolfclub.com