Invitational welcomes top area amateurs

BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

ABINGDON, Va. – In 1957, Camp Glenrochie gave way to Glenrochie Country Club.

After touring the club’s 9-hole course, members would plop down inside the camp’s abandoned infirmary, said a 1968 article in the Washington County News, “until the possibility of the porches and roof caving in and the children falling into the cess pool became too close to reality and the building was taken down.”

Two years later, the burgeoning private club instituted its first Glenrochie Invitational Tournament. According to the Washington County News, the invitational drew golfers from throughout the region to Abingdon, where they would pitch tents in the nearby hills and light fires in preparation of a three-day carnival.

A half-century has passed, the course has expanded into a brutal 6,887-yard, 18-hole track, and the hills around the course that once hosted tents are now littered with towering houses and condos.

But the Glenrochie Invitational Tournament marches on, only – like the course it calls home – with a few minor tweaks.

On Saturday, more than 60 amateur golfers will descend on Glenrochie County Club for its now two-day Invitational. After being suspended around the turn of the century for lack of support and participation, the invitational is in its fourth year back and promises one of its deepest amateur fields ever.

“We want to let people know that there are some accomplished junior golfers in the area, there are accomplished amateurs in the area and there are accomplished seniors in the area who may not even know that we are having an invitational,” Glenrochie club president Larry Bales said. “Amateurs in our area are so accomplished now. We want to give them an opportunity to display their skills in their hometown and in their area. We’d also like to show off the course.”

This year’s field features Appalachian State University’s Casey Johnson, the Mountaineers’ No. 1 player and medalist at the 2009 North/South Intercollegiate in Jacksonville, Fla. Also present will be Chip Spratlin, the current Tillinghast Invitational champion. Spratlin won the 1995 NCAA Div. I national championship while at Auburn, finishing three strokes better than some Stanford freshman named Tiger Woods.

Also vying for the tournament’s top honor is a strong combination of local collegiate and prep players: former Abingdon High School golfers Brandon Ketron and Cory Hinchy (now playing at Roanoke College and Carson Newman, respectively), Tennessee High’s Greg and Glen Hanson, soon-to-be Tusculum freshman David Talley, and current Falcons players Jordan Patrick, Robert Stallard and Bradley Simmons.

“It’s the strongest field that I can remember,” Glenrochie head golf professional Euggie Jones said. “It’s a good mixture as far as high school and college players and other guys from around here with more experience.”

But every member of the talent-laden field should be ready for a booby-trapped course, courtesy of Glenrochie superintendent Ben Abel.

After watching a downhill putt stop short on the precipitously slopped 15th green on Tuesday, Abel informed his playing partners: “You ain’t going to see that come Saturday.”

The 30-plus-year Glenrochie veteran intends to shave the greens and lengthen the rough, admitting that this year’s invitational champ deserves a true “test.”

Such a setup suits Bill Hardin, Glenrochie member and last year’s winner, just fine.

“[Abel] loves for people to shoot above par,” Hardin said. “That’s his championship. Knowing that’s the condition the course is going to be in, I think that I might have a little bit of an edge to know where to keep it below the pin. Patience is the key up here and that’s what I had last year.”

scampbell@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2543

What: Glenrochie Invitational Tournament
Where: Glenrochie Country Club, Abingdon, Va.
Who: Top amateurs from around the Mid-Atlantic
When: July 27-28
How much: $150 for non-Glenrochie members, $100 for members, high school and college players. Registration deadline ends today.
Noteworthy: Herald Courier sports reporter Spencer Campbell will participate in this year’s tournament.