Strong finish carries Connor Carter, 19, to Asheboro City-Am title

ASHEBORO — Midway through the 2025 Asheboro City-Amateur Golf Tournament, Connor Carter, like most of the golfers in the field, went through a rough patch.

Playing in high winds and wet conditions at the Asheboro Municipal Golf Course on that Saturday afternoon, Carter was 4-over-par after eight holes, which left him three-over for the tournament, a score that would certainly put him in a huge group of golfers who were vying for the championship of the 63rd annual event.

“I told myself to keep the ball low,” said Carter, a 2023 graduate of Eastern Randolph High School and current member of the Catawba golf team. “Something had to click. I did realize I would be in the middle of the pack if I didn’t do something.”

Something is exactly what he did. Something very impressive.

Carter quickly regrouped, recorded a birdie on the ninth hole, finished the round with chip-ins for birdies on holes 17 and 18 and rode that momentum to his first Asheboro City-Am championship.

Carter, who finished the three-day event with a 70 at Pinewood Country Club on Sunday, fired a total of 2-under-par 211, the only golfer in the field of 97 to finish under par.

Sam Davidson, who carded 75s in the first two rounds at the Asheboro Country Club and AMGC, blistered the Pinewood course for a 66 to finish second with a 216 (3-over-par). Jacob Clodfelter placed third with a 217, which was 4-over-par.

Carter, who placed 18th in this year’s SAC Tournament, was playing in just his third City-Am.

“Being a kid who has grown up in Asheboro, it was a local tournament I had always wanted to win,” Carter said. “After tapping in and looking at my family and getting a handshake from Brett Black and guys running up and congratulating me, it was surreal. Winning at 19 is a huge accomplishment.”

Carter grabbed control midway through Sunday’s final round as second-round leader Zach Green, Steve Kidd, David Elliott and Nick Cromer, who all started the final round within four strokes of each other, couldn’t keep up. Green had an 81 at Pinewood, Kidd and Elliott 77s and Cromer an 80.

Carter said he went to some very valuable sources to get advice.

“Talked with Gary Pugh and Andy Routh, got some advice on how to look at things and how to handle pressure situations,” Carter said. “Seventeen and 18 are pressure moments. I got a lot of advice on how to handle that pressure. The slow pace throughout the whole thing kept me calm and never rushed me and it helped me put a lot of good shots together.”

Carter, who was eliminated on the 15th hole in a Shootout that wasn’t completed because of rain, was a regional champion in high school and two-time regional runner-up. He was also runner-up in the NCHSAA state tournament twice.

Carter recorded a 70 at the ACC in the first round and then had the strong final 10 holes at the AMGC.

“I think I do a pretty good job of keeping up with myself and not everyone else,” Carter said of his final round. “The first tee, I was pretty nervous. People expect because it was at Pinewood and that’s where I play you would just go out and ram it in. The greens were so so so tough. It was crazy slick and the pin locations were in spots I had never seen before.”

Davidson had a day to remember Sunday at PCC, recording seven birdies and one bogey for 6-under-par. That pushed him past Clodfelter for second.

“I put up a pretty respectable number,” Davidson said of his 66. “I kind of knew I had to post something low that day. I didn’t think I would finish second. My mind was set on winning it and that’s something I will be shooting for.”

Garrett Law won the First Flight (229), Jack Chambers the second flight (243), Ryan Hill the third flight (272) and Ricci D’Angelo was the Super Seniors winner with a 231.