DI's Austin Scott wins 61st Annual SCGA Junior Championship

“Neither rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night” are words long associated with the U.S. Post Office and their creed to get the job done no matter what.

The words could also be used to describe Austin Scott’s appearance – and performance – in the recent South Carolina Golf Association (SCGA) Junior Championship, which was held at the Country Club of Lexington.

Scott, a rising junior at Bishop England and a Daniel Island resident, won the 61st annual event, his first major individual title, and he did it with fashion and flair, edging J.T. Herman of Hilton Head in a two-hole playoff in a water-logged and rain-shortened tournament.

“Winning the state junior [championship] is a big accomplishment,” Scott said. “That helped my summer season get off to a good start and I’m going to try to continue the entire summer.”

About that rain we mentioned. The tournament was supposed to be a three-day event, but eight inches of rain in one day forced cancellation of one round.

And then, there’s the gloom of night part. By the time the two-hole playoff concluded, night had pretty much set in and the golfers battled the shadows.

Both Scott and Herman finished the 36-hole tournament at 5-under par. Both golfers carded pars on the first playoff hole.

On the second and deciding hole, Herman had to tee off two times thanks to a lost ball. Scott, meanwhile, landed his drive in the fairway and made par on the par 4 No. 5 hole to secure the title.

“I had a good drive,” Scott said. “After my drive, all I had to do was hit the green and two putt, which is what I did.”

Scott has been no stranger to championships. In May, Scott helped the Bishops’ golf team rally and top Chesnee to claim the Class AAA state title for the second consecutive year..

“It’s definitely a lot different winning a team championship,” Scott said. “You see everyone out there working as a team. In the state, we didn’t play well that first day, but we really showed some improvement on the second day. It was a great team effort. After the first day, we were down by two strokes.”

Chesnee led Bishop England 312-314 after the first day. But the Bishops shaved 16 strokes off their first day total to win going away, 15 shots better than Chesnee.

Scott led the Bishops with a two-day total of 148, which was good for a tie for fourth place. He carded a 77 on the first day, but cut six strokes off his score on the second day.

He also had a big role in the Bishops’ state championship in 2018 despite being only a freshman. Scott shot a 153 (76-77) to finish third overall and earn all state.

While he still has two more years of academics at Bishop England, he’s starting to think about college, and that includes, Clemson, which is at the top of his list.