COLUMBIA, S.C. — Patrick Stephenson will take a lot of pride in not only winning his second consecutive Midlands Chevy Dealers City Golf Tournament, but also how he overcame adversity.
In Thursday’s opening round, the Raleigh native and East Carolina product was 4-over par through his first 10 holes. But on Saturday, it was Stephenson who had secured the lowest score at the Spring Valley Country Club. Stephenson shot a 3-under 69 in the third and final round to finish at 9-under for the tournament. That was good enough for a five shot victory over A.C. Flora graduate Luke Sullivan.
Stephenson moved to Columbia a couple of years ago for work and he has certainly made the local golf scene his home. The last golfer to repeat as City Golf Champion was former South Carolina head golf coach Steve Liebler who accomplished that feat in 2008 when he won his fourth consecutive title.
Liebler has not forgotten how to win as he won the senior amateur title in a playoff with Dan Sullivan.