Jul. 12—ATLANTA — Harris Barth of Atlanta posted a 4-under-par 67 on Sunday and won the 100th Georgia Amateur Championship by one stroke at Cherokee Town and Country Club. The competition took place July 8-11, 2021.
Barth, a rising senior at Westminster in Atlanta, started the final round two strokes behind the leaders in the third-to-last group. He began steady with pars on the first four holes before making birdie on the fifth. With another birdie on the ninth hole, he would make the turn 2-under on the day. He would also birdie the 10th, 13th and 15th. His first and only blemish of the day came with a bogey on the 16th hole. A par on 17 and a par on 18 put him in the clubhouse at 8-under-par 276 (68-72-69-68).
Shortly after Barth finished his 72nd hole, University of Georgia golfer Will Kahlstorf of Watkinsville sank a birdie putt on 17 to tie Barth at 8-under. Kahlstorf’s second shot on 18 found the right greenside bunker and he was unable to get up and down, resulting in a bogey to finish at 7-under in the runner-up spot with a total of 7-under-par 277 (70-68-69-70).
With the win, Barth joins two other players to win the Georgia Amateur Championship as a 17-year-old, a list that includes former University of Georgia golfer and current PGA TOUR winner Harris English (2007) and Georgia Golf Hall of Famer Charlie Yates (1931). Barth is also the first high school player to win since Colin Bowles of Albany won the Centennial Georgia Amateur Championship in 2016 as a 16-year-old. The one and only Bobby Jones won the inaugural Georgia Amateur Championship as a 14-year-old in 1916.
Stephen Behr of Atlanta (70-71-68-69) and Georgia State University golfer Josh Edgar of Atlanta (71-68-69-70) tied for third at 6-under-par 278. Two players tied for fifth at 5-under-par 279, including Christian Raynor of Kennesaw (72-73-67-67) and Matt Hughes of Dalton (70-70-67-72). Dalton Melnyk of Atlanta finished seventh at 4-under-par 280 (72-70-67-71). The 2004 Georgia Amateur champion David Denham of Athens (68-73-69-71) and Deven Patel of Johns Creek (68-70-71-72) tied for eighth at 3-under-par 281. Rounding out the overall top 10 at 2-under-par 282 were Connor Asarch of Atlanta (71-71-71-69), Hogan Ingram of Rome (73-68-71-70), William Love of Atlanta (67-66-78-71), Rusty Mosely of Vidalia (71-70-70-71), Jake Peacock of Milton (71-74-66-71) and Takafumi Shimoji of Suwanee (69-70-69-74).
Barth qualified for the Georgia Amateur Championship at his home course at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek in Roswell by posting a 6-under-par 66 for medalist honors.
A pair of past Georgia Amateur champions made the 36-hole cut this year, including Denham (2004) and Justin Connelly of McDonough (2017). Denham tied for eighth at 3-under and Connelly tied for 64th at 13-over.