Record score leads Bass to third straight City-Am title

ASHEBORO — The late Tony Concutelli once told Asheboro City-Am Golf Tournament organizer Chuck Welch that once J.D. Bass became eligible to participate in the local annual tournament, he was going to be hard to beat.

He certainly has been.

Bass became just the second player to capture three straight wins in the annual event by shooting a tournament-record 16-under-par 197 last weekend to defeat the field in the 61st Asheboro City-Am held at the Asheboro Country Club, Asheboro Municipal Golf Course and Pinewood Country Club.

His total was six strokes better than Sam Davidson, who placed second after recently placing in a tie for fourth at the NCAA Division III National Championships, representing Guilford College.

The three straight wins by Bass matches the three straight won by Concutelli from 2000-2002. No one has ever won four in a row.

Bass led after each round, shooting a 67 at AMGC, a 63 at the ACC and a 67 at Pinewood.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Bass said of his third straight win. “You look at all those names of all those guys, and I know a lot of them and you hear stories about the others. This one was more similar to last year. The first one was really stressful. The last two have been a little more enjoyable.”

In the past three tournaments, Bass has shot 5-under-par, 10-under-par and 16-under-par.

“I had no idea something like that would happen,” Bass said about the record. “I personally didn’t expect anything like that. I just got into a good rhythm.”

An eagle during each round certainly helped. Those came on par-5 holes (No. 7 on Friday and No. 12 on Saturday) the first two days and on the par-4 10th hole Sunday at Pinewood.

“There’s a lot of luck involved,” said Bass, a former assistant pro at Pinewood Country Club who now works at Jackson Furniture, about the eagles. “They all help.”

Bass, 38, said he owes a great deal of credit to Mitch Adams, who was the PGA Teaching Professional at Pinewood Country Club.

“About three years ago, I got a lesson from Mitch and he helped me immensely back then,” said Bass, who had another lesson with Adams about a month ago to refine aspects of his game. “He gave me some things to think about all the time. He’s been a big help.”

Davidson finished second once again, the same spot as last year.

“It was the best I’ve played in the City-Am,” said Davidson, an Asheboro High School graduate who is competing in the North Carolina Amateur this week. “I kind of got off to a slow start at the country club and lost a few shots there.”

Davidson said he enjoys the challenge of the City-Am.

“I like playing in the City-Am, there are so many good players in it,” he said. “It’s fun playing in it and seeing everyone. For me, it’s a little more laid back than the bigger tournaments I play in, but playing with J.D. the last day was fun.”

Joshua Spell finished third for the second straight year (204) and he was followed by Rob Elliott (216) and Stephen Spencer (216), who tied for fourth.

Flight winners were David Elliott (first flight, 230), Bruce Quigley (second flight, 242), Eric Cox (third flight, 267) and Michael Thompson (super senior, 221). Thompson was a repeat winner in the division and took home the first Tony Concutelli Senior Trophy.

“The tournament went well,” said Welch, who took over the tournament from his father after his passing in 2009. “We awarded for the first time ever the Tony Concutelli Senior Trophy and I was thrilled to have been able to tell that to him last year and he was able to see that we were doing that.”

Concutelli died on Nov. 30, 2022.

The annual banquet on Sunday night concluded this year’s event.

“When I stand up in front of those people at the banquet, I try and get the young people to understand the history of this golf tournament,” Welch said. “It’s 61 years old and it’s very special to me and a lot of the older guys. Sixty-one years is a long time to have a tournament.”