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Steeped in the rich golf tradition that is found in Augusta, Ga., the Administaff
Augusta State Invitational has steadily grown since its beginning in 1979 and is widely recognized as
one of the finest intercollegiate golf tournaments in the nation.
The Augusta Golf Association (established in 1949), a group dedicated to the promotion of golf in the Augusta area
with a special emphasis on junior golf development,has served as the long-time host of the Administaff ASU Invitational.
Today, the AGA boasts a membership of nearly 200 business and civic leaders.
The Administaff ASU Invitational entered a new era in 2006 with the relocation of the tournament to
Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Ga.
In 2007, for the fifth consecutive year, the tournament boasted one of the top fields in the nation,
with 10 of the nation’s top 31 teams in the field. Coastal Carolina repeated as team champion and while
Coastal senior Dustin Johnson fired three consecutive four-under 68’s to claim medalist honors.
With three distinct nines designed by golf icons and major champions Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and
Gary Player, Champions Retreat Golf Club offers three unique golf settings.
Player’s nine features the low country marshes of Euchee Creek while the surrounding
bluffs are enhanced with Nicklaus’s nine. The experience of Palmer’s nine includes a 280-acre island
with miles of shoreline along the Savannah River.
Forest Hills Golf Club, home to the Augusta State University men’s and women’s golf programs
and host of the tournament from 1979-2005, is very much a rich part of the rich golf history
of the area. The course, built in 1926 by famed architect Donald Ross, served for many
years as home to the Southeastern Open.
It was at Forest Hills that Bobby Jones began his brilliant play in 1930. Jones himself credited
his victory at the Southeastern as the spark for his amazing stretch that saw him claim both the
U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open and both the British Amateur and British Open, becoming the first
player in history to capture the Grand Slam.
Over the years, the likes of future PGA Tour professionals who graced the fairways of Forest
Hills Golf Club include Jodie Mudd, Gene Sauers, Davis Love III, Jerry Haas, Nolan Henke,
Phil Mickelson, Steve Lowery, Blaine McCallister, John Inman, Tim Herron, Justin Leonard,
Harrison Frazar, Tom Scherrer, Dickey Pride, Brad Faxon, Woody Austin, Richard Johnson,
Vaughn Taylor, Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd, Hunter Mahan, D.J. Trahan, Troy Matteson,
Bill Haas, Nick Watney, Oliver Wilson, Charles Howell III, Camilo Villegas, Graeme McDowell,
Garrett Willis, Darron Stiles, John
Rollins and Paul Casey.
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2007 Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina
2006 Scott Brown, USC Aiken
2005 Chris Kirk, Georgia
2004
Matt Hendrix, Clemson
2003 Oliver Wilson,
Augusta State
2002 David Skinns,
Tennessee
2001 Oliver Wilson, Augusta
State
2000 William McGirt, Wofford
1999 Jamie Elson, Augusta State
1998
Vaughn Taylor, Augusta State
1997 Michael
Connell, Mississippi
1996 Heath Slocum,
South Alabama
1995 Christian Raynor,
Florida State
1994 Jonathan Shiflet,
Augusta
1993 Tim Herron, New Mexico
1992 Justin Leonard, Texas
1991
Sean Halloran, SE Louisiana
1990 Andrew
Rice, Central Florida
1989 Phil
Mickelson, Arizona State
1988 Roger
Rowland, Augusta
1987 Tom Kies, Marshall
1986 Roger Rowland, Augusta
1985
Nolan Henke, Florida State
1984 Jim
Macfie, Clemson
1983 John Inman, North
Carolina
1982 John Inman, North Carolina
1981 Stuart Smith, Tennessee
1980
Jim Volpenhein, Kentucky
1979 Mark Sapp,
Augusta
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