Womble captures N.C. Amateur Match Play title
Aug. 2—WINSTON-SALEM — High Point native Davis Womble defeated former Wake Forest teammate Cyrus Stewart 1-up for the Carolinas Golf Association North Carolina Amatuer Match Play Championship on Sunday at Forsyth Country Club.
Womble went ahead for just the second time in the match when Stewart missed a par putt on No. 17 and then won the title when they shot the same score on No. 18.
"I only play about three or four individual tournaments a year. When I was younger and in contention a lot, it was not as nerve-wracking and I was more comfortable in the spot so it was a lot easier to win more often," Womble said. "Hopefully I can build on that momentum and keep that with me for the next couple of years as I try to compete on the highest level from a mid-am perspective."
It was Womble's first victory in six years. His two previous CGA titles were as a junior in 2007 and 2010. Womble now lives in Winston-Salem.
"It is awesome to have my parents here," Womble said. "They come a lot so it is nice to have them see me win. It is just fantastic that it was in Winston too. I was able to stay in my own bed and be close by for a relatively stress-free week and playing with Cyrus, who is a good buddy of mine, was just a lot of fun."
Womble was 2 down after the first two holes. He knocked his tee shot off on a tree on the first hole and took a lost ball penalty. Stewart chipped in for eagle on No. 2.
For the remainder of the front nine, Womble and Stewart played a game of back-and-forth between Stewart leading and settling for a tie. Womble won No. 5 with a birdie to tie the match. Stewart took No. 6 with a birdie to go 1 up. The 2020 Carolinas Mid-Amateur Champion extended his lead with another birdie on No. 8 to go 2 up. Womble immediately answered back with, you guessed it, another birdie on No. 9 to make the turn 1 down.
Stewart chipped in for birdie on No. 10 to go 2-up, Womble sank a 90-foot birdie putt on No. 11 and then tied the match with a par on No. 12. Stewart and Womble both birdied No. 13 and parred No. 14 to head to No. 15 tied.
"On No. 15 I hit it a little left and caught a tree and it came back down the cart path like 30 yards backwards to about 260 (yards) behind some trees," said Womble. "I hit a 3-iron, just absolutely smoked it to about 20 feet. It was an unbelievable shot for me and it put the pressure back on Cyrus to execute. I was fortunate that Cyrus wasn't able to get up-and-down on the par-5 for birdie and I hit a nice putt over a ridge and had a tap in. That was definitely another turning point in the match."
This was the first time that Womble took the lead in the match, but Stewart did not let that last long as he made a solid par on No. 16 to bring the match back to a tie.
The top 32 after two rounds of stroke play took part in the match play portion.
Womble won 6-and-4 in the round of 32, 4-and-3 in the round of 16, 4-and-3 in the quarterfinals and 3-and-2 in the semifinals.
