Ernst tied for lead in South Carolina Open

SENECA — It’s been a few years since Todd Smith saw his name on top of the leaderboard after the first round of play in one of the four Carolinas PGA major tournaments. Perhaps he found some inspiration from the recent British Open story line because on Tuesday Smith, 52, finds himself back in contention with the young guys at the South Carolina Open at Cross Creek Plantation.

Smith is tied for the lead at 2-under 69 with three others, including Seneca’s Drew Ernst.

The 2008 Section Champion Billy Anderson out of Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C.; Kelly Mitchum out of Pinehurst CC.; and Ernst, an amateur, join Smith at the top.

Ernst is a member of the golf team at Coastal Carolina University and the host PGA Professional Mark Ernst’s son.

For Smith, a regular at Carolinas PGA Senior events, it doesn’t get any better than this.

“It’s kind of like Tom Watson — it’s fun to play with the seniors and you get to be friends and all that, but when you still feel like you can compete with the “limberbacks” it’s a completely different feeling.”

Watson isn’t necessarily the best comparison for Smith’s situation — it’s not the Open Championship and he’s about eight years younger — but the feeling is the same. The Carolinas PGA Senior Professional won the 2007 Senior Championship and in 2008 paired with Robert Linville, PGA of Greensboro, N.C., to win the Senior Ashworth/E-Z-GO Pro-Pro Championship adding to his Junior Pro-Pro wins in 1999 and 2005.

This year he won the North River Senior Open and placed third in the other two senior events he competed in. His best finish at the SC Open was second place in 2006 but that was in the Senior Division.

“I just played solid golf today and I had a lot of fun. The course really suits me because I drive the ball straight. I feel like I can really compete here this week.”

Ernst was a redshirt freshmen in 2008 at Coastal Carolina and was ranked by GolfWeek at 23rd in the nation while in high school.

Smith’s professional partners on top of the leaderboard have a wealth of experience and success between them. As mentioned, Anderson is the most recent winner of the Section Championship and is gearing up for the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. He won the 2006 North Carolina Open, played in 13 Nike Tour events while a competitor there in 1998 and experienced much career and playing success while a PGA Professional in the Tri-State PGA Section.

Mitchum’s tournament resume speaks for itself. He’s won the SC Open in each of the odd-numbered years since 2003. He’s got ten championship titles already, he’s been crowned player of the year four times in a row from 2004 to 2007 and he owns the 2007 Johnny Palmer Trophy for low-stroke average in the four Carolinas PGA majors. He made the 1993 Walker Cup team, was a 1993 North & South Champion, a 4-time Collegiate All-American and was a Semi-finalist in the U.S. Amateur.

As for the rest of the field, Tuesday’s scores were relatively high as only a handful of players actually managed to break par.

The South Carolina Open is a three-day, 54-hole tournament, with a cut to be established today’s round.