Jimmy Self Invitational is a special event in junior golf — and at Palmetto Dunes
July 23, 2023
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (July 2023) — The 2023 Jimmy Self Invitational will be contested this month — Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30 — at the George Fazio Course at Hilton Head Island’s Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort. This will be the 28th annual playing of the prestigious junior golf event.
Named in honor of a man who gave so much to golf, the Jimmy Self Invitational has become one of the top junior tournaments in South Carolina, and has hosted some of the top junior players in the southeast. The Jimmy Self Invitational is one of the major events for the South Carolina Junior Golf Association (SCJGA).
Indeed, golf always held a special place in the life of James C. “Jimmy” Self Jr.
An outstanding player, Self captained the Clemson University golf team in 1964 and 1965. He later served on the Board of the South Carolina Golf Association from 1969 to 1971 and remained generous to the game of golf — particularly junior golf — in the years that followed.
Self served as the Chairperson for Greenwood Development, which was founded in 1979 to acquire Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island.
Jimmy Self died tragically at 52 years old in May 1995, when he was hit by a truck crossing a busy highway. A room at Clemson’s golf team clubhouse is named in his honor. A Greenwood Index-Journal editorial on May 8, 1995, read, “His good works, quiet and unspectacularly, had a positive effect on many. They will never know, and that would make him happy. That was Jimmy Self.”
The Jimmy Self Invitational was introduced in 1996 as a fitting tribute to a man who devoted so much of his life to the game.
“My cousin, Thomas Self, played a lot of junior golf,” said Self’s son, Furman. “My uncle was taking him to a lot of junior golf tournaments with the South Carolina Junior Golf Association. It was during that summer he approached my older brother, Jay, and myself to ask what we thought about possibly having a tournament in our father’s honor.”
The 54-hole event has been presented by Greenwood Development since its inception. The original idea was to rotate the tournament’s location between Greenwood Development properties in Charleston, Greenwood and Hilton Head Island. Now the tournament permanently resides at Palmetto Dunes.
The inaugural Jimmy Self Invitational at Coosaw Creek in North Charleston was won by four-time PGA Tour winner Lucas Glover, including the 2009 US Open.
Glover ended up winning the Jimmy Self Invitational in back-to-back years, as did another future PGA Tour player, D.J. Trahan, in 1998 and ’99. Other former champions include PGA Tour members Kevin Kisner, Ben Martin and Bryson Nimmer.
Among the other former contestants who have gone on to PGA and LPGA careers are Dustin Johnson, Bill Haas, Lauren Stephenson and Natalie Srinivasan, who won the 2020 ANNIKA Award honoring the year’s most outstanding female collegiate golfer following her senior year at Furman.
Another former Jimmy Self Invitational contestant, Stephen Behr, was a Byron Nelson Award winner at Clemson University, recognizing college seniors who demonstrated character, integrity and citizenship throughout their college golf career. But Behr hasn’t pursued pro golf. He is now one of the country’s top-ranked Mid-Amateur players.
Last July marked the 27th playing of the Jimmy Self Invitational. The 2022 event was contested on the George Fazio course at Palmetto Dunes.
Entering the final round one-shot behind the round two co-leaders, Drew Jeffords of Florence, S.C., finished the day at one-under par 69 to claim victory in the boys 13-18 division. He had five birdies and finished with an overall tournament score of 2-over par 212, taking home his first SCJGA win.
“It was a good day,” said Jeffords. “I was hitting everything pretty close, finished the front nine at one-under and then just kind of held that through the back nine. I’ve been playing in SCJGA events since I was like 10 and to finally get a major win feels great.”
Matthew Baxley of North Augusta was runner-up in the boys division, posting 3-over par 213 overall for the tournament.
Anne Fernandez of Bluffton finished with an overall score of 4-under par 206 to be crowned champion of the girls 13-18 division. She made five birdies and posted a final round score of 2-under par 68, claiming the title by a whopping 28 shots and taking home her third consecutive SCJGA win of the summer.
“Today was a pretty good day,” said Fernandez. “I struck the ball well, left myself a lot of birdies chances and the wind was working in my favor. Winning this tournament and getting a back-to-back win after the Blade is an amazing feeling. I worked really hard prior to this tournament summer, so to see my hard work pay off like this is really rewarding.”
Akiera Sanchez of Charleston finished with an overall score of 24-over par 234 to finish as runner-up in the girls division.
This year’s competition at Palmetto Dunes continues the Jimmy Self Invitational’s legacy, adding to South Carolina’s rich history of amateur and junior golf.
“My father was a great golfer in his own right,” Furman Self said. “He knew that in the game you meet a lot of great folks. He always said it’s the only sport where you call a penalty on yourself. That says a lot about the integrity of the people who play the game.”
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