Bryce Lewis holds on to win Sunnehanna Amateur
Bryce Lewis (Courtesy of Sunnehanna Amateur)
Bryce Lewis completed a wire-to-wire victory at the 69th playing of the Sunnehanna Amateur on Saturday and carved out a little piece of history along the way.
Lewis, who plays collegiately at Tennessee, survived a final round 75 to finish at 5-under par to earn a one-shot victory over
Kelly Chinn and
Maxwell Ford in the first of seven events in the Elite Amateur Series.
Lewis' victory gives him an early leg up in the Elite Amateur Series points race, which is ladened with incentives for the top-five finishers such as an exemption for the 2022 U.S. Amateur and the 2023 U.S. Open Final Qualifying. They will also earn exemptions into the PGA TOUR's Butterfield Bermuda Championship (Oct. 28-31) and select Korn Ferry Tour events.
Lewis took control of the tournament from day one after carding an impressive 6-under round of 64 on Wednesday. He entered the final round enjoying a three-stroke lead at 10-under par which proved to be just enough of a cushion to withstand a closing 75 on Saturday.
A bogey-bogey start gave hope to his closest pursuers, namely Chinn and Ford who play collegiately at Duke and Georgia, respectively. With Lewis struggling, Chinn and Ford closed within a stroke, but a clutch two-putt par save on 18 delivered the Hendersonville, Tenn. native the biggest win of his amateur career.
• • • • •
Future Elite Amateur Series Events
•
Northeast Amateur (June 22-25; Wannamoisett Country Club, Rumford, RI)
• North and South Amateur (June 26-July 2; Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, Pinehurst, NC)
• Trans-Mississippi Amateur (July 6-9; Denver Country Club, Denver, Colo.)
• Southern Amateur (July 13-16; Sea Island Golf Club, St. Simons Island, Ga.)
• Pacific Coast Amateur (July 19-22; Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Portland, Ore.)
• Western Amateur (Aug. 1-6; Exmoor Country Club, Highland Park, Ill.)
ABOUT THE
Sunnehanna Amateur
The Sunnehanna Amateur was inaugurated in
July of
1954 -- it was the first country club
sponsored 72-hole stroke play competition for
amateurs
in the United States. The
tournament is played on a classic A.W.
Tillinghast
design. Only one other amateur
tournament in the United States can list the
likes of
Chick Evans, Arnold Palmer, Julius
Boros, Art Wall, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson,
Tiger
Woods, and Rickie Fowler as
contestants: the United States Amateur. Its
medal
play
format has been emulated by
countless amateur tournaments across the
country.
View Complete Tournament Information