- Southeastern Amateur photos
There wasn't much drama at the 90th Southeastern Amateur on Saturday, which is just how
Benjamin Carr wanted it.
For the 18-year-old Columbus, Ga. native who just finished his freshman year at Georgia Southern University, a stress-free final round was the ultimate goal as he stepped to the first tee with an eight-shot lead.
Carr blew the tournament open on Friday with a 9-under 61, which was the lowest score ever shot in the 110-year history of the Country Club of Columbus.
An old axiom of golf says that it's hard to follow up a low round with another low round, but Carr started fast again on Saturday, with two birdies in the first three holes. It was a continuation of a pattern of fast starts for the leader -- 2 under through 4 holes in round one, and 3 under through 4 in rounds two and three.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for Carr. At 19 under par and up by nine, he suffered a rare stumble with a bogey on the par-5 4th (only his third bogey of the week to that point), and after a birdie at the 6th, he dropped three more shots at the 8th and 9th.
But these were just minor irritations for the hometown favorite and Country Club of Columbus member. Carr would bounce back with back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, pushing his lead back to nine and turning the final holes into a victory lap. Carr birdied the final hole for a 2-under 68 and an 18-under-par total, good enough to win by ten shots.
Jordan Doull, a Columbus State player from Perth, Australia, bogeyed his final two holes but still finished solo second with a 68 and a 9-under total. University of South Carolina rising sophomore Ryan Hall (Knoxville, Tenn.) and rising University of Georgia senior Will Chandler (Atlanta, Ga.) shared third place at 8 under.
Garrett Johnson (Hayden, Ala.) of Mississippi State and recent Georgia Tech graduate James Clark, III (Columbus, Ga.) tied for fifth at 7 under par. Clark was the only player other than the champion Carr to shoot all four rounds under par.
Rusty Mosley (Vidalia, Ga.), the 37-year-old former Florida State player who took 14 years away from competitive golf before returning with a semifinal run at the U.S. Mid-Amateur last year, slipped on Saturday with a 73 but still finished solo seventh at 6 under.
The low rounds of the day were a pair of 65s shot by Garrett Wood (Mason, Ohio) of Xavier University and Ford Clegg (Birmingham, Ala.) of Mississippi State, both of whom finished tied for 19th.
ABOUT THE
The Southeastern Amateur is a top-level amateur
golf tournament with a rich history
dating back to 1922 - when the tournament was
created by Fred Haskins. Each year,
the Southeastern Amateur has the great honor of
hosting many of the nation's top
amateur golfers, from Division I NCAA National
Champions to the nation's top Mid-
Amateurs.
Field is limited to 90 players. The format is 54 holes
of stroke
play with no cut. Open qualifier held the day before
the tournament.
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