-George Bryan finishes solo second-
Blythewood, S.C. - Thursday, March 10, 2011 - The 2011 NGA/Hooters Tour Carolina Summer Series kicked off its season at the Columbia Country Club in Blythewood, S.C. this week, and Mark Silvers made sure the garnet-and-black fans had plenty to cheer about.
The former University of South Carolina Gamecock cruised to a wire-to-wire, seven-shot win in the season-opening event. Silvers, of Savannah, Ga., finished with a 16-under 200 total and seven shots clear of George Bryan.
Silvers, who was named 2009 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, All-SEC Second Team and the GCAA Honorable Mention All-American at USC, opened with a 66 in the first round and never looked back.
In the second round, Silvers, who won twice last season on the Carolina Summer Series, added another 66 to build a four-shot lead over Blythewood’s Adam Hart going into the final round. Though Silvers shot his highest score in the final round, it may have been his most impressive round of the tournament.
With rain and wind battering the field, Silvers turned in the only round in the 60s on Thursday, firing a final-day 68. Silvers earned $3,200 for the victory.
Despite the brutal conditions, Bryan, of Chapin, S.C., also turned in a solid round on Thursday. Bryan closed with a 2-under 70 to move from third to solo second. Bryan’s runner-up finish was his best showing in six NGA/Hooters Tour starts. Bryan earned $1,632.
Hart, a former Carolina Summer Series winner, matched Silvers with a 66 in the second round to move into solo second, but the former Francis Marion Patriot dropped to third with a final-round 77. Hart earned $1,290.
The top three finishers earned a spot in the NGA/Hooters Tour Professional Series Charter Childhood Cancer Awareness Classic in Gainesville, Ga.
Vince Hatfield, of Greenwood, S.C., finished fourth, while Ryan Linton (Pinehurst, N.C.) and Kellen Altman (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished T5.
The Members Club at Woodcreek Farms will be the host site for the second event of the NGA/Hooters Tour Carolina Series on March 15-17. The Carolina Series hosts 14 events in North and South Carolina. The top-three finishers each week earn a spot into the NGA/Hooters Professional Series event the following week. At season’s end, the top-five money earners from the 2011 Carolina Series earn full exempt status for play on the 2012 NGA/Hooters Professional Golf Tour.
