May 1—State championship season is rapidly approaching for boys' golf teams in the South Carolina High School League, and soon the kings of each classification will be crowned.

That carries with it plenty of bragging rights, as by the end of May a team will be able to claim it's the best in Class AAAAA, the best in Class AAAA, and so on.

The best of them all? That will be decided this weekend.

The Southern Cross returns to Palmetto Golf Club for its 50th edition, pitting the best of the best teams against one another on a premium, historic layout. The tournament is scheduled for 36 holes, with the first round Friday and the final round Saturday.

The standard in year 50 is the same as it was in 1975, when a former southern amateur championship (held from 1895-1948) returned as a high school — and, at the time, junior high — showcase intended to highlight the very best in the area, state and Southeast.

It hasn't strayed far from that vision. Arthur Hendley was the chair of Palmetto's junior golf activities back in 1975 when he announced that the Southern Cross was being revitalized, crediting then-Aiken Standard golf columnist Harold Fletcher for the idea that got the ball rolling, and along with co-tournament directors Billy Howard and Joe Wyatt laid the groundwork for what quickly became and still remains one of the country's most prestigious high school golf tournaments.

"I've often told people that, when you look at the Southern Cross, it is, to me, the Masters of high school golf because it's such a great field, such great golfers, historic club, really done right, really take care of you," said South Aiken head coach Tommy DeGennaro. "Of course, having a course that was redesigned by Alister MacKenzie, it's almost like you are playing the Masters of high school golf. It means a lot. It's such a great tournament. You get a chance to see coaches from other teams that you've become friendly with over the years, so I'm really looking forward to that."

The Southern Cross has continued the grow, gaining and maintaining a reputation as having the best field in South Carolina high school golf. That's never lost on the victors, especially those who are in the hunt year after year before finally breaking through.

"It's hard to believe," Bishop England coach Jeff Burton said after his team's 2023 title, the emotion evident in his voice. "My son played in this, so he was my first call. He got third in this one time. We've been at it a long time. John Greavu and I started coaching this team about 12, 13 years ago, and it's nice to finally, finally put our team name up against some of the greats. We're thrilled, and we love this place. … Our kids look forward to this. In our opinion, this is the actual state championship. It's pretty special."

The Battling Bishops are among the state's all-time elite programs, with eight state championships to their credit. They're no strangers to hoisting trophies, yet the one they wanted most always seemed to elude them at Palmetto before Luke Walmet's par clincher.

The same goes for Christ Church Episcopal, which holds the SCHSL record with a whopping 20 state championships — all won since 1977. The Cavaliers frequently notched wins over much larger schools at other tournaments, but for years the Southern Cross was the only trophy missing from their overflowing cases. Christ Church got that monkey off its back in 2021 in a win that overshadowed — in the best way possible — the Cavaliers' 76-shot victory at the Class AA state championship tournament later that month.

"We won't see this kind of competition (at the state championship tournament), so this has got to be a big boost," head coach Kristen Rooke said following the win. "I think you can safely say we beat the best teams in the state here. It's exciting. I'm happy for the boys, and I'm happy for the school."

Greenville High is another one of the state's historic powerhouses that recently returned to the form that produced seven state championships from 1946-64. The Red Raiders have once again become a dominant force, but that never quite translated over to success at Palmetto — until last year's two-shot win over A.C. Flora and Blue Ridge.

"I mean, this one's unbelievable," head coach David Cattrell said, perhaps still experiencing the shakes he was feeling as the tournament came down to the final hole. "This tournament just speaks for itself, and to finally win it with Greenville and these guys who have been playing in it for three years, finally being able to get it done. I know they're excited. I'm super proud of them. Couldn't be happier."

North Augusta won the inaugural championship back in 1975, with the Jackets' Dave Moore making history of his own as the tournament's first medalist. Aiken High's Scott Goodman became the second in 1978, followed by South Aiken's David Seawell in 1992, North Augusta's Kyle Bradley in 1998, South Aiken's Alex Hamilton in 2001, South Aiken's Kevin Kisner in 2002 and South Aiken's Jake Carter with back-to-back titles in 2015-16.

Carter's second win was historic, as he became only the third player to medal at Southern Cross more than once. He joined future PGA Tour winners Jonathan Byrd of Spring Valley (three straight from 1994-96) and Wesley Bryan of Dutch Fork (2007-08), and Boiling Springs' Trent Phillips (2017-18) immediately joined the club after Carter.

South Aiken has been the tournament's dominant force, with a record six titles between 1990-2013. The T-Breds also won six state championships during that stretch, and they often faced tougher competition at Southern Cross than at state.

"I think it's tougher because we've got AAAA, AAA, AA and A (to compete against), and (the) Georgia (teams). The state is just the best of AAA," said Seawell, a future University of South Carolina Hall of Famer, after the T-Breds' first win at Palmetto.

It's a big stretch of the high school golf season, typically with region championships preceding the Southern Cross and then state qualifiers and state championships right after. This one carries a slightly different weight to it than the others, something that isn't lost on the visiting schools or the hosts.

"It's major. We're blessed to be a local team and get to participate in it every year. … Palmetto and Ryan Orr, they do a great job with putting that tournament on," said Aiken High head coach Luke McClure. "I would argue that it's probably the best tournament, definitely in the CSRA, but I would argue in the southeast. It's something a lot of schools from a lot of states try to get into. They just do everything above and beyond there. They think of every little thing, and every year it seems like there's new excitement.

"You just can't ask for a better high school golf environment and a better atmosphere. Palmetto's always in great shape. Their members and staff there do a great job of putting on that tournament. It's definitely an honor and a pleasure to get to enjoy that and experience that two-day stretch there to end the year."

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