2000: Pat Carter had more trouble than usual but rallied to beat young Tim Fisher on the final nine holes and stretch his Amateur championship streak to six straight and seven overall. Carter, 32, posted a 284 score to finish two strokes ahead of Fisher, 19, of Statts Mills. Carter took a three-shot lead into the final round on the Greenbrier course but watched it disappear on the first four holes, and Fisher led him by a stroke as they teed off on the 510-yard 12th hole. Carter drove into a trap and barely got out but hit a long iron shot onto the green and saved par. “The 2-iron I hit from 238 yards was probably the most crucial shot of the tournament for me,” Carter said. “And fortunately, I kept the momentum on the next couple of holes and grabbed a three-shot lead.” Carter birdied 13 and 14 with short putts while Fisher bogeyed 12 and 14. Fisher cut Carter’s lead to two strokes on 15 but could get no closer. “I knew he was going to be tough at the end and he was,” Fisher said. Eric Snodgrass of Glen Dale shot a 67 on the Old White for the first round lead while Jeff Bostic of Maxwelton had a 67 in the third round. Kirk Satterfield of Bluefield was disqualified after the second round for continuing to play a provisional second ball after finding his first ball in bounds on the first hole. He said he was confused by the rule, thinking he had a choice. Leader by rounds: First, Snodgrass-67, by one; Second, Carter-140, by one; Third, Carter-211, by three.
Pat Carter, Huntington 68-72-71-73—284
Tim Fisher, Statts Mills 68-73-73-72—286
Brad Tweel, Huntington 74-77-68-72—291
C. Anthony Redden, Lewisburg 77-73-70-72—292
Jeff Bostic, Maxwelton 74-74-67-77—292
Bill Sharpe, Cross Lanes 73-73-68-78—292
Jeff Whitman, St. Albans 71-77-73-73—294
Steve Fox, Huntington 71-80-72-72—295
Marty Creed, Hurricane 73-75-72-75—295
Michael Veres, Chapmanville 77-69-73-76—295
2001: A late night all-terrain vehicle accident that injured three players cast a pall over the final round of the Amateur and took some of the attention away from Pat Carter’s seventh straight victory. Sam O’Dell of Hurricane, Jeff Whitman of Dunbar and Michael Veres of Chapmanville were injured when their ATV slammed into a tree at a camp on the Greenbrier River. O’Dell, who suffered a serious head injury, and Whitman were hospitalized. O’Dell was tied for second place in the Amateur after the third round. Veres, who suffered scrapes and bruises, was able to play the final round but was still shaken, shooting an 80. The other players teed off with heavy hearts when they heard the news. Carter shot 67s in the last two rounds for a 274 total and won by six strokes for his eighth overall title. His 274 score tied his own record in the two-course format. Burke Spensky, 20, of Huntington also had a final 67 on the Greenbrier course and pushed Carter in the last round. When Spensky birdied the 12th hole, he cut Carter’s lead to one stroke. Carter responded with birdies on 12, 13, 17, and 18 while Spensky’s bid ended with bogeys on 16 and 17. Kirk Satterfield, who was DQ’d in the 2000 Amateur, got a fresh start this year by shooting a 67 on the Old White for the first round lead. Leaders by rounds: First, Satterfield-67, by one; Second, Carter and Satterfield-140s; Third, Carter-207, by five.
Pat Carter, Huntington 72-68-67-67—274
Burke Spensky, Huntington 72-69-72-67—280
Bill Sharpe, Cross Lanes 74-73-68-69—284
Kirk Satterfield, Bluefield 67-73-72-73—285
Jack Forbes, Morgantown 71-76-69-73—289
Jared Jones, Kenova 72-74-67-76—289
Adam Cyrus, Huntington 70-78-69-74—291
Joe Zimmerman, Morgantown 72-77-71-71—291
Steve Fox, Huntington 71-72-71-78—292
Jamie Whitt, Barboursville 76-75-70-72—293
2002: Pat Carter wasn’t on top of his game but he still managed to win his eighth straight West Virginia Amateur title and ninth overall. He was forced to rally from two strokes down on the final nine holes to hold off Ryan Whalen, 22, of Bluefield. Whalen took a two-shot lead when he tapped in for a birdie from two feet on the 176-yard 11th hole of the Greenbrier course while Carter flew the green and bogeyed. Carter used a three-shot swing on the 14th hole to take command. He sank a 15-foot putt for a birdie three while Whalen took a double-bogey six when he hit his approach shot into a trap and left himself with an near-impossible shot unto a
down-sloping green. “”You don’t want to see anybody make double-bogey but that’s part of golf,” Cartersaid. “”Mistakes are what costs people tournaments, and playing well wins tournaments. I was very fortunate to win.” Carter upped his lead to three strokes when Whalen’s tee shot on No.15 landed next to a tree root and led to a bogey. “”What happened on 14 and 15 took the wind out of my sail,” Whalen said. “He outplayed me. The one (at No. 11) was the only mistake he made all day. He definitely was not going to give it to me.” Carter wound up winning by two strokes with a 72-hole total of 279, five under par, which included a 66 in the third round on the Old White course. Whalen shot three straight 70s before a 71 in the final round for 281. Coming in third at 284 was Sam O’Dell, who suffered a serious head injury in an all-terrain vehicle accident the night before the final round of the 2001 Amateur. Leaders by rounds: first, Jeff Whitman 69, by one; second, Whalen 140, by one; third, Carter 209, by one.
Pat Carter, Huntington 71-72-66-70_279
Ryan Whalen, Bluefield 70-70-70-71_281
Sam O’Dell, Hurricane 71-73-70-70_284
David Bradshaw, Harpers Ferry 74-70-69-72_285
Jared Jones, Kenova 74-74-69-70_287
Jeff Whitman, St. Albans 69-73-72-75_289
Joe Zimmerman, Morgantown 74-75-71-69_289
Burke Spensky, Huntington 72-71-70-76_289
Tim Fisher, Statts Mills 70-71-76-73_290
Patrick Klesel, Parkersburg 71-78-70-73_292
2003: Starting off with a record first round score of 63 on the par 70 Old White course, Pat Carter rolled to his ninth straight Amateur championship and his 10th title overall. He set tournament records in every round with his opening 63, a 36-hole mark of 129, a 54-hole mark of 199 and a 72-hole total of 270. He finished 14 under par and won by a whopping 13 strokes. The 35-year-old Carter said he probably played his best golf ever during the week. “”I’ve played farther under par on some local courses, but not on quality courses like the Greenbrier and Old White,” he said. The first round saw some of the lowest scores ever in the tournament. Carter had seven birdies, including five on the back nine, and no bogeys but his lead was just one stroke. Young Jared Jones, 18, of Kenova shot a 64 with eight birdies, two bogeys and eight pars. Another stroke back at 65 was Burke Spensky, 23, of Huntington on a bogey-free round with five birdies. “”The course played defensless today,” Carter said. “”There was no wind, the pin placements were assessible and the speed on the greens was where you could attack the hole.” Carter’s 66 in the second round on the par 72 Greenbrier course boosted his lead to seven strokes and the only question after that was who would finish second. Jones fired a 69 in the third round and held on to become the runnerup with a 283 total. Steve VanHorn of Morgantown finished strong with 69 and 70 rounds to come in third at 284. Leaders by rounds: first, Carter 63, by one; second, Carter 129, by seven; third, Carter 199, by nine.
Pat Carter, Huntington 63-66-70-71_270
Jared Jones, Huntington 64-75-69-75_283
Steve VanHorn, Morgantown 72-73-69-70_284
Burke Spensky, Huntington 65-71-74-75_285
Nathan Kinker, Barboursville 70-71-73-76_290
Phillip DiLorenzo, Wellsburg 70-75-70-77_292
Chris Daniels, Beckley 69-74-74-75_292
Brad Tweel. Huntington 71-76-69-78_294
David Jude, Huntington 70-74-69-81_294
Brian Hass, Hurricane 71-70-79-75_295
Ryan Stewart, Barboursville 70-74-70-81_295
Hop White, Scott Depot 72-72-72-79_295
2004: Pat Carter extended his national golf record for consecutive victories to 10 straight West Virginia Amateur titles. It was his 11th title overall and tied him with Ed Tutwiler for second place on the Amateur win total behind Bill Campbell’s 15 championships. Carter commented on his decade-long dominance, “”A decade is a long time. Those are a lot of days of golf. And that makes it special.” The Huntington insurance salesman posted a 72-hole total of 276, eight under par, and won by eight strokes over runner-up Tad Tomblin of Charleston. Carter took the first round lead with a 66 on the Old White course but fell behind with a 74 to Tomblin’s five-under 67 on the Greenbrier course in the second round. Carter blitzed Old White for a 64 in the third round, making five birdies in the first seven holes, to regain the lead by five strokes over Tamblin. The final round was played in a daylong rain on the Greenbrier course and Carter widened his lead by shooting an even-par 72. He estimated that he went through 20 gloves, changing for every tee shot in an effort to keep his hands dry, and said it was a grind all day. “”You know you’re going to hit some really bad shots and hopefully, your good shots will offset them,” Carter said. Tomblin began the last round with a double-bogey and triple-bogey in the rain but settled down and birdied four holes on the back nine to shoot 75. Tomblin was satisfied with his finish. “”If you’d told me I’d shoot even-par for the tournament and finish second, I would have taken it,” he said, “”(because) we’ve got one of the premier amateurs in the country right here in our state.” Among those giving Carter congratulatory handshakes was basketball legend Jerry West. Leaders by rounds: first, Carter 66, by two; second, Tomblin 138, by two; third, Carter 204, by five.
Pat Carter, Huntington 66-74-64-72_276
Tad Tomblin, Charleston 71-67-71-75_284
Don Jones, Beckley 70-72-73-76_291
Trent Schambach, Glen Dale 73-76-69-74_292
Jamison Conrad, Fayetteville 71-78-68-75_292
Nathan Kinker, Barboursville 70-75-71-77_293
Chris Tipper, Vienna 68-75-74-77_294
Drew Whitten, Hurricane 68-80-75-72_295
Philip Reale, Glenville 71-74-72-78_295
Brian Hass, Hurricane 69-73-72-82_296
John Duty Jr., Morgantown 73-74-69-80_296
2005: Tim Fisher birdied all three holes in a dramatic playoff to beat Pat Carter, ending his national-record streak of consecutive West Virginia Amateur tiitles at 10. Carter parred all three playoff holes in losing for the first time since 1994. But Carter said he didn’t feel like he lost it. “”That’s the way I wanted it to end, with somebody coming out and beating me, That’s exactly what Tim did,” Carter said. Fisher was twice runner-up to Carter in past Amateurs but Tim had the hot putter this time, making birdies on five of his last seven holes. They began the final round tied before Fisher took the lead with an eagle on the par-five third hole and held it for most of the day with some superb shots, including driving the green on the 292-yard 10th hole. Fisher was a stroke ahead going into No. 13 but that hole proved unlucky as he took a triple-bogey seven. That dropped him two shots behind Carter but Fisher hit great approach shots to eight feet on No. 15 and to four feet on No. 16 to pull even. A key sand save on the par-three 17th hole and a 75-yard wedge shot over trees on the 18th hole kept Fisher tied and set up the Amateur’s first playoff since 1985. Fisher dominated the playoff by sinking birdie putts of 18 and six feet on the first two holes and then reaching the green in two on the 554-yard 18th hole for another birdie. Fisher, 24, said he dreamed about winning the Amateur “”but I never really thought it’d happen.” He served notice that it might be his year by firing a 64 on the Greenbrier course in the second round. Leaders by rounds: first, Drew Whitten and Pat Boggs tied, 68s; second, Fisher 139, by two; third, Fisher and Carter tied, 211s.
x-Tim Fisher, Statts Mills, 75-64-72-70_281
Pat Carter, Huntington 73-68-70-70_281
Matt Hicks, Sissonville 76-69-67-71_283
Drew Whitten, Hurricane 68-74-71-72_285
Chris Tipper, Vienna 70-74-70-72_286
Steve VanHorn, Morgantown 72-75-69-73_289
Phil DiLorenzo, Wellsburg 71-75-68-75_289
Michael Mays, Lester 72-72-72-75_291
Anthony Reale, Glenville 72-76-72-72_292
Sam O’Dell, Hurricane 73-72-72-75_292
(x-won three-hole playoff)
2006: Pat Carter held off Anthony Reale in the final round to capture his 12th West Virginia Amateur title. Carter moved past Ed Tutwiler (11 titles) and is second only to Bill Campbell, who won the Amateur 15 times. Campbell was among the first to shake Carter’s hand after the final hole. “”I sure am glad to be back in the winner’s circle,” said Carter, who had his streak of 10 straight ended in 2005. Reale, a Glenville native who plays college golf for East Carolina, shot a 66 on the remodeled Old White course the first day and held the lead for the first two rounds before sharing it with Carter after the third round. Carter shot a 71 in the final round while Reale had a 73. Carter built up a five-shot lead for enough cushion that he could afford to bogey the last three holes on the Greenbrier course. “”The wheels came off there,” Carter said. “”I was playing not to lose. But my putter did not let me down today.” Reale said he was
disappointed but “”My hat’s off to him. He went out and won the tournament today.” Carter’s winning score of 285 was the highest on The Greenbrier’s two courses since 1994 and this was the first time Carter has won there without a round in the 60s. The main reason for the higher scores was the renovation of the Old White course, which made it much tougher. Jared Jones made the best comeback, going from an 82 to a 68 on the Old White and finishing fourth. Leaders by rounds: first, Reale, 66, by two; second, Reale, 139, by five; third, Carter and Reale tied, 214s.
Pat Carter, Huntington 72-72-70-71–285
Anthony Reale, Glenville 66-73-75-73–287
Nathan Kinker, Barboursville 71-74-74-71–290
Jared Jones, Kenova 82-70-68-74–294
Matt Hicks, Sissonville 73-72-80-72–297
Ryan Whalen, Morgantown 77-70-75-75–297
Sam O’Dell, Hurricane 81-75-71-71–298
Tad Tomblin, Man 75-73-79-72–299
Christian Brand, Charleston 68-77-78-76–299
Steve VanHorn, Morgantown 76-74-74-76–300
Tim Fisher, Ripley 77-77-69-77–300
Brandon Reece, Charleston 81-70-71-78–300
2007: Anthony Reale defeated Matt Hicks by two strokes in a three-hole playoff to capture his first West Virginia Amateur title. Reale, 21, had three pars while Hicks, 21, had a par and two bogeys in the playoff on the Greenbrier course. Reale, a Glenville native now living in Charleston, finished second to Pat Carter in the 2006 Amateur but won this time despite frittering away a six-shot lead with five holes left in regulation. Hicks caught him during a three-hole stretch in which Hicks went par-birdie-birdie while Reale went bogey-bogey-double bogey. The double came when Reale put his approach shot into the lake on the 16th hole. “”It wasn’t the end of the world when I hit the ball in the water,” Reale said. Both players parred 17 and birdied 18, with Hicks blasting from a greenside bunker to within a foot of the cup on 18 while Reale hit a five-wood 255 yards to within 25 feet. Reale called it the best 5-wood he’s ever hit. “”I felt good going into the playoff. I could have folded like a tent but I hung in there,” Reale said. In the playoff, both parred the 16th hole before Reale took the lead on 17 when Hicks put his tee shot into a greenside bunker, blasted out 25 feet past the hole and missed the putt for a bogey. Reale got a break on 18 when his drive bounced off a tree back into the fairway about 150 yards from the tee. His second shot landed under some trees but he hit a low-hooking 5-iron 190 yards to within 30 feet of the cup on the long par-five and saved par. Hicks put his second shot into a greenside bunker, blasted out 35 feet from the cup and wound up three-putting for a bogey. “”My swing kind of went downhill a little bit and I tried to keep it together,” Hicks said of the playoff. Jared Jones went into the final round tied with Reale for the lead but shot a 77 to finish tied for fifth with Carter, the 12-time champion who was not a factor this time. Leaders by rounds: first, John Duty, Jr., 69, by one; second, Jones, 138, by three; third, Reale and Jones tied, 210s.
x-Anthony Reale, Charleston 71-70-69-74–284
Matt Hicks, Charleston 73-70-69-72–284
Brandon Reece, Beckley 70-72-73-71–286
Trent Schambach, Glen Dale 71-74-68-73–286
Pat Carter, Huntington 70-74-73-70–287
Jared Jones, Kenova 70-68-72-77–287
John Duty, Jr., Morgantown 69-74-73-73–289
Ben Palmer, Parkersburg 73-71-73-72–289
Ryan Whalen, Morgantown 74-69-72-74–289
Justin Carroll, Bridgeport 72-77-71-72–292
Brian Meador, Morgantown 75-71-74-72–292
x–won three-hole playoff
2008: Tim Fisher edged defending champion Anthony Reale by one stroke and captured his second West Virginia Amateur title in a two-man shootout at The Greenbrier resort. Fisher and Reale traded the lead back and forth the entire tournament and were tied with two holes left in the final round on the Old White course. Fisher got his winning margin with a birdie on the par-five 17th hole as he reached the green with a five-iron second shot and two-putted. Reale was short and left under a tree on his second shot, put his third shot over the green and wound up with a par. Both players hit their tee shots about 30 feet from the cup on the par-three 18th hole. Reale two-putted for a par, forcing Fisher to make his second putt from about four feet to clinch the victory, which he calmly did. Fisher said winning his second Amateur meant a lot to him. “”I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder,” said Fisher, who ended Pat Carter’s 10-year wining streak in 2005 for his first victory, Fisher is now the 15th multiple winner out of 89 Amateur tournaments. Reale said Fisher definitely earned the victory. “”He shot a 68 to win, so hat’s off to him,” Reale said. Fisher finished six-under par with a 278 total and Reale at 279 was the only other player under par after two rounds each on the par-72 Greenbrier course and the par-70 Old White. Tournament officials decided to change the order of the two courses and have the Amateur finish on the remodeled and tougher Old White. Reale has finished second, first and second in the last three Amateurs. Leaders by rounds: first, Fisher, Reale and Justin Caroli tied, 69s; second, Fisher 138, by one; third, Reale 209, by one.
Tim Fisher, Statts Mills 69-69-72-68–278
Anthony Reale, Glenville 69-70-70-70–279
Justin Caroli, Bridgeport 69-72-72-72–285
Michael Veres, Chapmanville 72-70-70-74–286
Pat Carter, Huntington 71-71-75-70–287
Christian Brand, Charleston 70-71-76-70–287
Bosten Miller, Charleston 72-73-71-71–287
Ben Palmer, Parkersburg 78-71-68-74–291
Kenneth Hess, Parkersburg 70-75-74-75–294
David Fields, Fort Gay 75-74-74-72–295
Sam O’Dell, Hurricane 72-73-73-77–295
Matthew Gissy, Weston 73-71-75-76—295
2009: Tim Fisher charged from behind in the final round to win his second straight Amateur and third title overall. Fisher began the round three strokes behind Pat Carter but overtook him with a blazing 30 on the front nine of the Old White course at The Greenbrier. Fisher birdied holes Nos. 4, 6, 7 and 9 to go four strokes ahead of Carter, who had a 37 at the turn. “I got out fast and took the lead, and then I had to protect it,” Fisher said. “”And that’s the way I played coming down the stretch. It was all about making pars, and that’s what I did.” Fisher had eight pars and one bogey (on No. 13) on the back nine to hold off Carter, who birdied Nos. 10 and 13 to close within a stroke. Both players parred the last five holes and Carter’s last chance to force a playoff came on a 30-foot uphill putt over a hump on the 18th green but the ball veered to the right. “You’re only going to make that putt one time in 20,” Carter said. “I just fell a stroke short. That’s the way it goes sometimes.” Fisher finished with a 67, the only round all week in the 60s, as he again stymied Carter after ending Pat’s national-record streak of 10 straight Amateur titles in 2005. The first round of the 2009 Amateur was dominated by teen-agers as Brian Anania, 17, of Hurricane and Joey Seabright, 19, of Wheeling shared the lead with 70s on the par 72 Greenbrier course. Anania took low junior honors with a 293 total while Steve Fox was the low senior with 298. The 90th Amateur capped an historic week at The Greenbrier as
15-time champion Bill Campbell and the late Sam Snead were inducted as the first members of the West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame at a dinner the night before the Amateur and then The Greenbrier announced that it will host a PGA tournament on the Old White for six years. Leaders by rounds: first, Anania and Seabright tied, 70s; second, Carter and Michael Veres tied, 143; third, Carter, 215, by one.
Tim Fisher, Statts Mills 75-72-71-67–285
Pat Carter, Huntington 73-70-72-71–286
Anthony Reale, Glenville 74-70-73-72–289
Sam O’Dell, Hurricane 72-72-72-74–290
Ryan Mason, Bridgeport 73-72-75-71–291
Michael Veres, Logan 71-72-76-73–292
Trent Roush, Mason 76-74-73-70–293
J.R. Jones, Washington 72-79-71-71–293
Kenneth Hess, Parkersburg 75-72-74-72–293
Brian Anania, Hurricane 70-77-73-73–293
Michael Mays, Lester 75-71-72-75–293