Camp Creek to host U.S. amateur qualifier

Camp Creek Golf Club will host a sectional qualifier for the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship July 30-31, featuring the area’s best golfers competing for a chance to play in the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship held August 18-24 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

The USGA’s oldest championship, the U.S. Amateur, was first played in 1895 at Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. Only non-professional golfers with a USGA Handicap Index of 2.4 or below are eligible to enter any of the U.S Amateur Qualifiers.

Qualified entrants will play from Camp Creek’s championship tees, which measure 7,159 and feature one of the region’s highest slope ratings, 152. The course’s final three holes – a 215-yard par-3, a 559-yard par-5 and a 453-yard par-4 – present one of the most difficult finishing stretches in the state.

Camp Creek, designed by Tom Fazio, and sister course Shark’s Tooth (Greg Norman) are owned by the St. JOE Company and operated by Troon Golf. Camp Creek served as the venue for a sectional qualifier in 2006 and a U.S. Open Qualifier in 2007, and Shark’s Tooth Golf Club recently hosted a local qualifier for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

The courses are private but are available for play by guests of the WaterColor Inn and Resort and WaterColor/WaterSound luxury vacation rentals. For more information about Camp Creek Golf Club, visit www.campcreekgolf.cub.com or call 850.231.7600. More information about golf packages is available at www.watercolorinn.com.