P.J. Shields breaks records in third Chicken Dinner win
There are few amateur golfers in the area, and perhaps in the entire state of Georgia, as hot as P.J. Shields is right now.
The former LaFayette High School individual state champion and Dalton State College NAIA All-American came back to the Queen City of the Highlands this weekend eyeing his third career Chicken Dinner tournament championship, which would put him in select company as just one of a handful of players who have ever won the 82-year-old tournament at least three times.
Not only did Shields join that select fraternity, he did it in record-breaking fashion.
Shields blistered the 6,510-yard, par-72 layout on Saturday with an 18hole tournament record 61 before following up with a 69 on Sunday to claim the title with a score of 130. The 14-under par total for 36 holes is also believed to be a Chicken Dinner tournament record.
“This is like my Masters,” said Shields, who went 9-under par (68-67) to win the North Invitational at the Dalton Golf and Country Club a week earlier. “(The Chicken Dinner) may not be the biggest tournament, but it really hits home (for me).”
His record-setting round began with a frontside 32, highlighted by birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 7. He would really put the pedal to the metal on the back nine as he started out birdie, eagle, birdie and finished up with three consecutive birdies at 16, 17 and 18 for a backside 29.
Then on Sunday, Shields overcame a double bogey on the par4 second hole by carding birdies at Nos. 1, 4 and 8, while also posting an eagle two at the par-4 third hole. He would shoot 33 on the front nine and coast home with nine straight pars on the back.
“Everything that could happen the right way did,” Shields said of his 61. “I was making putts, more than I normally do. I’ve put a lot of hard work into my putting this year. I hit everything like I wanted to and putted well. The second round, not so much, but I hung in there.
“The main thing is that I haven’t really made any mistakes. Last week (in Dalton), I had just one bogey in two rounds. This week, I just had the one double (bogey), so there’s really been no mistakes and that’s what will get the job done.”
LaFayette Golf Course head professional Eddie Jackson called Shields’ 61 “incredible”.
“He makes it looks so easy,” Jackson said. “He’s one of a few young men I’ve ever worked with that I believe can take their game to the next level. He’s a dominant player and I look forward to seeing him do that on the pro level.”
Shields said he may play one or two more amateur tournaments this summer in preparation for his quest to become a pro.
“I plan to turn pro in August or September and see what happens,” he added. “I have Q (qualifying) school for the Web.com Tour and hopefully I can get through it and get status on that tour. If not, I plan to do some minitour stuff.”
Former Southeast Whitfield High School golfer Matthew Cleary finished second (6966) and was five shots off the pace with a 9-under par 135 in the championship flight. ExHeritage High School golfer and Shields’ teammate at Dalton State, Sport Allmond (68-68), took third at 8-under, while another Dalton State alum, Levi Nix, was 6-under after rounds of 67 and 71, but was denied a fourth straight Chicken Dinner title.
Brad Beck (68-71) was fifth at 5-under, while former Gordon Lee and Georgia Northwestern golfer Lanier Guest (6872), along with Dawson Garrett (69-71), tied for sixth place overall at 4-under.
Another former LaFayette High School and Georgia Northwestern golfer, Keaton Stanfield, shot 75 and 68 to win the first flight with a score of 1-under par 143. Branton Bailey, an All-American at Georgia Northwestern this past fall, carded back-to-back 73’s to earn second place at 2-over after a three-way scorecard playoff.
Ty Pendley (7769) and former twotime Chicken Dinner champion Shonn Weldon (73-73) finished third and fourth, respectively, while Ryan Carrington (73-73) and Byron Reed (73-74) rounded out the top six in the flight.
Stephen Keen (7873) took second flight honors, while former
Trion and Georgia Northwestern golfer, Ben Huggins (84-79), won the third flight. John Stanley (75-76) won the Senior Division in the first year it was offered at the tournament.
Jackson said that the Chicken Dinner field continues to get deeper every single year.
“That’s what I’m most proud of as a club pro,” he explained. “We only had 105 players this year, but the quality of the players we got is great. We had 11 players finish at evenpar or better for the tournament. We’re getting the best players in the area to come play and that’s very gratifying for me.”
Jackson said it’s also no surprise to him that the younger golfers are winning and finishing high on the Chicken Dinner leaderboard more and more in recent years.”
“I watch them. I teach them. I see them every day,” Jackson added. “This younger crop is getting better and better and they are dominating now, not just here but other tournaments around the area as well.”