Andrew Neal and Jose Vidal finished six under par after a long Sunday at Carolina Country Club.

By Stan Olenik. Editor-Publisher. The Golf Club

Suppose you are on vacation, or you have no weekend yard work waiting. You finish 18 holes, see plenty of daylight left and decide to play another 18.

You’re having fun. But add the weight of a college scorecard in your pocket, and that second 18 becomes a test of your game and how much you have left after a full day on the course.

That was the assignment Sunday at Carolina Country Club, where the Carolina Cup changed from a team event to 36 holes of individual stroke play.

Even 36 holes were not enough to separate Wofford’s Andrew Neal and Cumberlands’ Jose Vidal.

Neal opened with a six-under-par 66, one shot better than Vidal’s 67. They began the second round at different holes in the shotgun start: Neal at No. 5 and Vidal at No. 10. The pairings stayed the same for both rounds, so the two leaders did not play alongside each other.

Neal’s first round included an eagle at the par-5 13th and a birdie at the par-3 15th. He made five birdies in all and played the back nine in 31.

His second round was less comfortable. Neal made double bogeys at Nos. 3 and 5 and turned in 39. He recovered with birdies at Nos. 10, 14, 17 and 18, playing the back nine in 33 to finish with an even-par 72.

“There were a lot of ups and downs for me,” Neal said. “We started early, and 36 holes is a lot of golf to play. It really tested me mentally and physically.”

Neal could not see Vidal and, by his own admission, spent a little too much time checking the leaderboard. When Neal reached his final hole, Vidal held a one-shot lead. Neal erased it with a par, and the two finished tied at six-under 138.

Vidal followed his opening 67 with a 71. The pair finished one shot ahead of Liberty’s Jack Ryan Donovan and went to a playoff.

They returned to the par-5 18th. Neal hit first, sending his drive down the middle of the fairway and giving himself a chance to reach the green in two. Vidal’s drive strayed into the rough along the lake. He tried a difficult recovery shot, but the ball found the water.

That did not change Neal’s plan.

“I had already committed to the shot before he hit his ball,” Neal said. “I had a 7-iron in and hit it well. It ended up about 15 feet from the pin for an eagle if I needed it.”

He didn’t. Neal won the playoff for his first tournament victory. The Wofford sophomore from Raleigh’s previous best finishes had been 12th and 14th.

“After the first round, I knew I really wanted to win, and I’m glad I got it done,” Neal said.

The Carolina Cup changed to an individual event after several teams withdrew late. Todd Lawton, USC Upstate’s golf coach and one of the tournament’s founders, said the revised format made sense under the circumstances.

“It really was too bad the teams withdrew,” Lawton said. “The course is in the best shape it has been in some time, and the weather turned out perfect.”

Lawton expects the tournament to return to its 15-team college format next year.

Scores: 2026 Carolina Cup results. https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/246895/scoring/player

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