Davis Riley
NAPLES, Fla. (April 6, 2014) -- When Davis
Riley hit his 7-iron on the 182-yard
par 3 third hole, he thought he'd struck gold.
"I saw it land and saw it rolling and it went
just past the edge to about 2 feet
past the hole," Riley said. "It kind of got me
there, thinking I had a hole-in-one."
That was the story of the weekend for Riley at
the Terra Cotta Invitational in
Naples, Fla. – not missed opportunities, but
greens in regulation.
Riley, the No. 10 junior in the
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, cited his
ballstriking as
the key to a one-stroke victory at the par-72,
7,068-yard Naples National Golf
Club. He joined the likes of Matt Kuchar, Peter
Uihlein and Justin Thomas by
winning the tournament.
"I'm really hitting the ball well and giving
myself a lot of birdie opportunities,"
Riley said. "I'm putting the ball well this week.
I was getting them up there to
10, 12 or 15 feet and hitting a lot of those."
Riley, a resident of Hattiesburg, Miss., shot a
1-under 71 on Sunday to finish at
4 under for the tournament. Haden Wood and
Brad Dalke finished at 3 under.
Riley started the tournament with a 3-under
69, setting the stage for a strong
tournament.
"It was more of a ballstriker's golf course,
which fit my game really well," Riley
said. "It feels good and gives me a lot of
confidence going into future
tournaments knowing I can play with the
best."
Things got close near the end for the Alabama
commit. Riley bogeyed two of his
final four holes, nearly squandering a three-
shot lead. Wood, who was paired
with Riley and Dalke, birdied two of his final
four holes, but was not able to
catch the champ.
Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 junior in
Golfweek's rankings, took fourth place at 1
under and Andreas Halvorsen of Norway
finished fifth at even par.
Riley said that he does not have a lot of
experience at amateur events but he
approaches them in the same way as a junior
event. He plans on playing more
amateur events this summer.
Notable finishes include: Sam Horsfield (T-8),
Cameron Champ (10th), Trey
Valentine (T-14), Sam Burns (T-20), Edward
Figueroa (T-24), Zachary Bauchou
(T-33), Ben Griffin (T-49), Adam Wood (T-55),
George Cunningham (T-59) and
Andy Zhang (61th).
ABOUT THE
Terra Cotta Invitational
54-hole stroke play tournament with no cut.
Caddies are required. A Sponsor/Contestant
tournament is held before the event.
The Terra Cotta is an invitational. However,
they do
encourage applications and players can submit
their
golf resume for consideration.
View Complete Tournament Information