The 36-hole match paired 31-year-old John Kelley against 21-year old Banks Wood in a classic amateur showdown that Wood won 5 and 3.
Kelley gave up aspirations of being a full-time golfer several years ago and earns his living working in commercial and residential real estate development in Winston-Salem.
Wood is returning to N.C. State University in a few weeks to resume the elusive dream of making golf a career. The Carolinas Amateur was a major step for him, made even sweeter because he was playing on one of his home courses. He’s also a member of Myers Park in Charlotte.
While it was a proving ground for Wood, it was just a nice week of competition for Kelley, who graduated from Wake Forest in 1995. He was outgunned off the tee and forced to play catch-up golf all day after losing the first two holes of the match. But he never quit trying, even when it was obvious that his chances were miniscule.
Kelley went down in style. On the 33rd hole of the match, he missed a tee shot badly to the right and found it underneath a bushy tree in the woods. He could only chip out, and that effort put him in a fairway bunker, still some 50 yards behind the drive of Wood. The approach from the bunker was pulled and ended up just inches from going into a lake bordering the green
Seconds later, Wood lofted his approach to within a couple of feet of the pin and everyone knew that Kelley was done. But he wasn’t. Not quite. He holed the improbable chip shot for par, then graciously conceded the winning birdie putt to Wood.
Match over, but satisfaction gained.
Kelley made it through 36 holes of qualifying and won four match play battles before succumbing to Wood. And he did it with only eight clubs in his small bag. Eight clubs. That’s six less than he’s allowed. Why?
“I don’t know; it’s just something I started a few years ago,” he said. “I don’t practice all that much anymore and it’s become pretty much a ‘feel’ game for me. I’m not nearly as mechanical this way and it’s really a lot more fun.
“I can’t say it’s hurt me because I finished second in the North Carolina Amateur last year and second here. But I might want to throw a 3-wood in there to use on the par-5s.”
Wood is a hungry golfer who feels he hasn’t accomplished all he should have on the N.C. State team. But he’s hoping his win here will be a milestone in his career. Meanwhile, he’s going to enjoy the win and try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur.
Wood trailed only once after seven holes in match play, against David Brown in the opening round. And if he hadn’t hit a run of three-putts could have put Kelley away a couple of holes earlier.
“Every day the greens had starting baking out and gotten much faster in the afternoon round,” he said, “but today they didn’t do that. For some reason, I couldn’t seem to adjust to the speed and I kept leaving putts short.”
It didn’t matter. Wood was dominant.
“Every time I play match play, I try to get up early and step on the guy’s throat,” he said. “If I go 4-up, I try to get to 5-up, and I’ll do whatever it takes to win the hole.
“Having the tee is so important because it allows you to put the pressure on the other guy to hit a good shot.”
Wood plays the game in a hurry, too. His semifinals match with Brad Burris went 17 holes and lasted less than 2½ hours. The morning match in the finals took just a fraction more than three hours.
“I like to play fast,” Wood said. “That’s probably why I prefer match play; you seldom have to wait on anyone.”
