Cristian DiMarco
(FSGA Photo)
Cristian DiMarco came out on top as the 100th Amateur Championship concluded this afternoon. Shooting a four day total of eight-under par, 280, DiMarco held on to win the prestigious event by four shots over Brandon Mancheno. With the temperature reaching the high 90s, 72 of Florida's most talented amateur golfers teed off on the final round of the 100th State Amateur Championship with the goal of claiming the Clarence Camp trophy at the end of the round. However, at the end of the day, it was only Cristian DiMarco who earned the title of the 2017 Florida State Amateur Champion.
DiMarco, a rising senior at the University of South Florida, started out with a birdie on the first hole and kept the putter hot throughout the front nine. After posting three birdies and one bogey in his first nine holes, DiMarco made the turn with a comfortable lead over Jackson Suber. With nerves of steel, DiMarco rolled in crucial par putts early on in the back nine to keep his lead. Missing greens in regulation on the 15th and 16th holes cost DiMarco two strokes, bringing his lead from five to three. However, with a lengthy drive on the final hole, DiMarco safely landed his second shot on the green for a two-putt birdie that would give him the title of the 100th Amateur Champion. "I told myself to try and keep making birdies," DiMarco told himself coming down the final stretch. "I wanted to get to ten-under par."
Finishing the championship with an eight-under par total of 280, DiMarco becomes the 100th Amateur Champion and the second University of South Florida golfer in three years to claim the title. "It means a lot to win the 100th Amateur Championship here because of Jack Nicklaus and the history of the tournament," DiMarco said.
Brandon Mancheno of Jacksonville finished alone in second after posting a three-under par round of 69 this afternoon. Mancheno started off with a bogey, yet became the fourth player this week to make a hole-in-one after he aced the 210 yard second hole with his six iron. Using the hole-in-one as momentum, Mancheno went on to make two more birdies and 14 pars to card a 69. The University of Auburn commit finished the championship with a four-under par total of 284. Rounding out the top three was Kyler Tate of Winter Garden and Jackson Suber of Tampa. Tate finished the round with four birdies, one birdie, and one eagle to shoot the low-round of the day, a five-under par 67. Suber moved up the leaderboard this morning by going out in 32 that included an eagle at the par-four ninth hole after holing out from the fairway bunker. Struggling a bit early in the back nine, Suber was able to add three more birdies to his round throughout his last seven holes to secure third place with Tate.
Those individuals finishing in the top 15 and ties will automatically earn exemption into the 101st Amateur Championship that will take place at The Concession Golf Club and The Ritz-Carlton Member's Club in Bradenton June 21-24, 2018.
The Florida Amateur Championship is the oldest continuous sporting event in the state, and now Cristian DiMarco can add his name to the many decorated golfers that have won before him.
ABOUT THE
Florida State Amateur
Started in 1914, the Amateur Championship is
the oldest continuous sporting event in the
state of Florida. The field will include exempt
players and players who have qualified
through
18 holes of stroke play at one of the qualifying sites.
The Championship features a field of 168
players split alternately on two golf courses
the first two days. The field is reduced to the
low 70 and ties after the first two rounds to
play an additional 36 holes of stroke play.
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