Baggett, Sharp pace locals at Nob North

Published 11:11 pm Saturday, September 13, 2014

COHUTTA — Eric Sharp, a 2007 graduate of Dalton High School, has been playing at Nob North Golf Course since before his time with the Catamounts.

And coming off the No. 15 green at 2-under-par for the round during Saturday’s opening 18 holes at the Georgia State Golf Association’s Public Links Championship, he felt in control on the familiar course.

Then the wind hit him in the face.

Sharp played the round’s final three holes at 3-over — including a double-bogey on the par-5 16th — as his fortunes shifted, but he’s still just two strokes behind a tight group atop the leaderboard.

Four players shared the first-round lead at 1-under-par 71 as a wind blowing in from the north made the course more difficult than many expected. The conditions had shots missing greens, and the Bermuda rough around those greens gave players fits with their short games.

Marietta’s Peter Dash, Adairsville’s Brent Sizemore, Roswell’s Jeremy Schmiederberg and Atlanta’s Chris Waters are on top entering today’s final round, while Roswell’s Billy Mitchell — the tournament’s champion in 2010 and 2011 — is fifth after opening at par. Sizemore is the event’s only three-time champion, having won in 1998, 1999 and 2007.

Also shooting a 73 and joining Sharp in sixth place among 92 players in the tournament was Dalton’s Danny Baggett, who had one birdie to offset a pair of bogeys on Saturday.

Other local golfers in the championship flight are Rocky Face’s Kevin Chastain (75, tied for 14th overall), Dalton’s Rob Smith (76, tied for 17th), Cohutta’s Randy Durham (77, tied for 24th), Dalton’s Gary Whaley (80, tied for 36th) and Dalton’s James Blanchard (97, 88th).

Tunnel Hill’s Tony Clayton leads the second flight after opening at 83. Also in that flight are Rocky Face’s William Williams (84, second in the flight) and Jerry Reddix, whose 86 had him sharing fourth with Dalton’s Tim Harrison Jr. Dalton’s Tim Harrison Sr. (93) is tied for eighth in the 12-player flight.

Back in the championship flight, Sharp had four birdies and a bogey on his way to shooting a 33 on the front nine, but the back nine proved to be a tougher challenge for most of the field.

“I kind of lost it on the back,” Sharp said. “The front side was definitely a lot better. I had four birdies and made some big putts for par on the front side, but the wind played a big part on the back side.”

After graduating from Dalton High School, Sharp went on to play at the University of West Georgia. Since completing his biology degree in 2012, Sharp has been substitute teaching with Dalton Public Schools while helping out as a community coach for Dalton High School golf. He is working on a master’s degree from Columbus State to earn a teaching certificate.

Still carrying a handicap under 2, this is the third time Sharp has played in the Public Links Championship.

Playing at Nob North is a different experience, however.

“I figured I would play since it is at my home course,” Sharp said. “You get home cooking and don’t have to worry about staying in a hotel. I have played it in the past in LaGrange and Canton, but it is definitely an advantage to have the knowledge of playing on a course you see all of the time.”

The wind wasn’t the only thing holding scores down Saturday. With heavy rains this past week, the rough is thicker and more penalizing than usual. Course regulars also said balls were rolling faster than they typically would on the greens.

Still, most expected lower scores.

“You definitely had to have a good short game out there if you missed the greens,” Sharp said. “I figured there would be someone at 2- or 3-under, and if the wind wasn’t blowing, the scores would have been lower without a doubt.”

Smith, who bogeyed the last three holes after turning into the wind at 1-over, said the greens were the key.

“These greens have a lot more slope on them than a lot of courses do, and I think a lot of people had a tough time reading the greens,” he said. “I would be very surprised if most everyone out there didn’t have at least one three-putt. But I thought the course was very fair, and we don’t have a lot of excuses for not scoring better.”