'04 winners get Finley Cup invitation

The PGA Tour has the Mercedes Championship - a season-opening event in January for tournament winners from the previous year.

Augusta's amateur version of that concept, the Finley Cup, also kicks off this area's golf season.

The Finley Cup returns for its second year March 19-20 at Goshen Plantation Golf Club.

It brings together three groups of winners from 2004 in the Augusta area:

 •  The men's, women's and senior club champions from area courses.

 •  The regular and senior division winners from 2004 Regions Cup tournaments (Tommy Carpenter, Brendan O'Connell, Scott Brown, Crane Garren, Tripp Kuhlke, Chris Kuhlke, Wes Herlong, John Gault, Mike Jackson, Roger Tant, Ed Payne, Mike Kelley, Danny Williams and Bobby Gause).

 •  The men's, women's and senior winners from the 2004 Finley Cup tournament (Jackson, Sandra Moody and Chuck Withers, respectively).

There will be four sets of winners in the 36-hole Finley Cup - the men, women and seniors play an individual medal play tournament; and three-player teams (men's, women's and seniors) from participating clubs play best-ball for the Finley Cup. The Goshen team of Jackson, Moody and Richard Felder won last year.

The inaugural event drew "close to 50" players, said Goshen head pro and co-owner Spike Kelley, who said about 80 percent of the area clubs participated.

The Finley Cup's format isn't the only aspect about the tournament that's unique in the area. It's also the only one without an entry fee.

For that reason, there aren't any prizes for the winners, other than a perpetual trophy the winners keep for the year.

"You're playing against the very best of each club, so the winners are the town's club champions," Kelley said. "This is the best of the best."

Kelley, who came up with the concept of the Finley Cup, named it after Goshen co-owner Richard Finley's son, Drew Finley.

Eligible players, or their clubs, should contact Goshen Plantation at 793-1168 if they are interested in playing.

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS: The South Carolina Golf Association recently played its own version of the Mercedes Championship, and Aiken's Nick Walker was one of the winners.

The SCGA's Tournament of Champions brought together men's, women's and senior club champions from member clubs in South Carolina, along with winners of the association's one-day tournaments during 2004.

The tournament, scheduled for 36 holes, was reduced to 18 because of bad weather.

Walker, the club champion at Aiken Golf Club, won the senior division with 1-under-par 71 at The Tradition Club at Pawleys Island, S.C.

Walker edged Gary Shimmin of Okatie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Bobby Gause of Columbia, a multiple Regions Cup senior division tournament winner, shot 76 to tie for ninth place and Aiken's Charles Hartline, another former Regions Cup winner, had 78 and tied for 12th place.

In a one-day gross division tournament that was open to all comers, Augusta's Phillip McCormick was the winner with 67.

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.