Greensboro, NC – Throughout a successful 12-year history, the eGolf Tour has developed a reputation for playing the best golf courses in the developmental golf industry. It can be argued that this week’s inaugural Sedgefield Classic more than cements that opinion, as one of Pete Dye’s best designs, Sedgefield Country Club – Dye Course, sits poised to host some of the game’s top up-and-coming stars in what should be a fantastic first-year event.

Sedgefield Country Club’s Dye Course, known as Cardinal Golf & Country Club for a number of years, is a 1974 Pete Dye masterpiece that has long been host of the prestigious Cardinal Amateur – one of the country’s top amateur events, and an annual staple on the Carolinas schedule.

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In 2006, Dye returned to Greensboro to restore his original layout, in turn lengthening the course to modern-era standards (7,002 yards / par 70), and bringing back the penal nature of one of his premier designs. The course covers 140 acres of undulating holes playing down and away from the clubhouse, as well as those located in the river valley amidst two lakes on property. A number of holes feature Dye’s signature railroad ties, which create the daunting look of the famous bulkhead found on some of his best courses – including TPC Sawgrass.

The club's name change took effect on May 1, 2013, to create a union between Sedgefield Country Club - Dye Course and Sedgefield Country Club - Ross Course, annual host of the PGA TOUR's Wyndham Championship. Sedgefield is one of seven prestigious clubs owned by Raleigh, NC-based McConnell Golf – an industry leader in the acquisition and development of high-end private country clubs throughout the Carolinas.

“We have always had an eye on possibly bringing a tournament to Sedgefield Country Club – Dye Course, so it’s exciting to finally see it come to fruition this year,” said eGolf Tour president David Siegel. “We’d like to thank Mr. McConnell and McConnell Golf for their willingness to host our tour, and we feel without doubt that our players will deliver an exciting tournament for the club and its members.”

Jin Jeong

The Sedgefield Classic will feature one of the deepest fields of the year on the eGolf Tour. Players of note include:

Zack Sucher (Birmingham, AL)
A former star at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Sucher earned two Cardinal Amateur titles, winning in back-to-back years in both 2007 and 2008 – claiming the former by two shots over current PGA TOUR member Patrick Reed. At the Web.com Tour’s South Georgia Classic in April, Sucher parlayed a successful Monday qualifier into a T2 finish, thanks to rounds of 72-70-70-65—277. Sucher wound up four shots shy of winner Will Wilcox, but earned $48,533, which has him just over $6,000 shy of earning temporary member status on the PGA TOUR’s developmental circuit for the remainder of the year. He will be making his third eGolf Tour start of the year at Sedgefield, having earned top-25 finishes at both Irish Creek and Ballantyne.

Jin Jeong (Melbourne, Australia)
Korean-born amateur star became the first Asian player to win the British Amateur when he did so in 2010. That same summer, Jeong notched low amateur honors at the British Open following rounds of 68-70-74-72—282 and a T14 finish. Missed the cut at the 2011 Masters Tournament prior to turning professional, then made three more starts on the PGA TOUR at the Valero Texas Open, The Memorial Tournament and the Greenbrier Classic. Jeong finished runner-up to 2012 eGolf Tour leading money winner Drew Weaver in his maiden eGolf Tour start at the Willow Creek Open in May of last year. He enters the week with three top-25 finishes in three starts thus far on the 2013 eGolf Tour, including a season-best T11 at April’s Championship at St. James.

Olafur Loftsson (Iceland)
Loftsson, a former standout at UNC Charlotte, won the Cardinal Amateur in 2011, posting rounds of 65-69-65—199 en route to four-shot victory over fellow eGolf Tour member Will Collins and Matt Nagy. The win gave Loftsson an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship later that summer, where he became the first native of Iceland to compete in an official TOUR event. Loftsson has made eight starts on the eGolf Tour this year, posting a season-best T12 effort at the Oldfield Open in February.

Ryan Armour (Jupiter, FL)
The 37-year-old former Ohio State star spent 2007 and 2008 on the PGA TOUR, and has been a six-year Web.com Tour member dating back to the 2004 season. The Akron, OH native has four career runner-up finishes on the Web.com Tour, with a T2 at the 2012 Panama Claro Championship serving as his most recent. Armour might best be known for the 1993 U.S. Junior Amateur, where he had Tiger Woods two down with two to play at host Eugene Country Club in Portland, Oregon, prior to losing 1-down on the 19th hole as the eventual 14-time major championship winner rallied to win the final three holes. The win marked the third consecutive U.S. Junior title for Woods, which preceded three straight U.S. Amateur titles for the longtime world No. 1. Sedgefield will mark his third consecutive start on the eGolf Tour.

Ryan Armour

Chris Epperson (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Currently No. 2 on the eGolf Tour money list, Epperson enters the week at Sedgefield with five top-5 finishes under his belt, including a T3 at the Palisades Classic two weeks ago. The 2013 PGA TOUR Canada member posted a career-best runner-up finish at the Championship at Ballantyne Country Club in March. Dating back to the 2011 season, Epperson has now made a tour-best 29 consecutive cuts on the eGolf Tour – a stretch in which he has posted 17 top-10 finishes and 26 top-25 finishes.

A handful of 2013 eGolf Tour winners are in the field this week, including Brent Witcher of Atlanta, GA (Oldfield Open), Ryan Nelson (Irish Creek Classic), Cam Burke of Ontario, Canada (Founders Club Classic), T.J. Howe of Osceola, PA (Forest Oaks Classic), and Andy Bare of West End, NC (Palisades Classic). Other past Cardinal Amateur champions in the field include Justin Clement (2012) and Dustin Bray (2002).

Local players of interest include Will Bowman (Greensboro, NC), Preston Dembowiak (Greensboro, NC), Andrew Moss (Greensboro, NC) and Travis Stewart (Jamestown, NC).

The first round of the 2013 Sedgefield Classic will begin at 7:40 AM on Wednesday (5/29) morning. Following the completion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 percent and ties for Friday’s final round of play. As always, the tournament is open to the public and free of charge.

For more information on the eGolf Tour, or the Sedgefield Classic, please visit www.egolf.com.