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Hudson Weibel wins W.E. Cole Cotton States Amateur in a playoff
Hudson Weibel (Cotton States Amateur Photo)
Hudson Weibel (Cotton States Amateur Photo)

After making a bogey on the par-5 14th hole, Hudson Weibel of Dallas, Tex., thought his chances at winning the 2023 W.E. Cole Cotton States Amateur were out the window.

However, after making birdies on Nos. 16 and 18, Weibel was able to force a playoff with Cameron Bonner of Cantonment, Fla. Bonner made a birdie on hole No. 16 and parred Nos. 17 and 18 to finish at 10-under.

Weibel came into the final hole down one shot and was able to make a birdie at the last to force the playoff.

Weibel then won on the first playoff hole with a bogey, with Bonner making a double bogey. Both players were in trouble off the tee and had to scramble for the rest of the hole.

Weibel was the only golfer that shot under par in all four rounds of the tournament.

"I didn't put myself in any tough spots," Weibel said about his consistency. "I hit the ball well all week. I got off the tee well, which was huge because you can get some tough lies out here and weird lies, which can cause some bad shots, so playing out of the fairway was great and gave me a lot of birdie opportunities."

Weibel added, "I didn't have those stressful 8-10 footers for par."

Playing four rounds fairly stress-free was key for Weibel to stay mentally focused on each hole and each day.

"It is huge," Weibel said, adding about keeping the ball in play. "You aren't really building up that scar tissue and you are basically keeping yourself light. It helps you stay pretty stress-free."

Wheaton Ennis of Eagle, Idaho and Hunter Battles of Tuscumbia, Ala., finished T3 at 8-under. Battles was 10-under total through 16 holes of the final round but made bogey on Nos. 17 and 18 to fall out of contention.

Results: Cotton States Amateur
1TXHudson WeibelDallas, TX30070-67-71-70=278
2FLCameron BonnerCantonment, FL20067-66-74-71=278
T3IDWheaton EnnisEagle, ID10070-67-72-71=280
T3ALHunter BattlesTuscumbia, AL10065-72-73-70=280
5FranceAlexandre VandermotenFrance10069-71-70-71=281

View full results for Cotton States Amateur

ABOUT THE Cotton States Amateur

Originally played in 1949 as the Bayou DeSiard Labor Day Golf Tournament, the tournament's name was changed to the Cotton States Invitational in 1951 by the club's young head professional, W. E. "Winnie" Cole. He felt that the name better reflected the main states that the tournament's players originated from (and a move to mid-summer made the name a necessity later anyway). Little did Cole know that 27 years later, in 1978, the event would be renamed again, forever to be known as the W. E. Cole Cotton States Invitational Golf Tournament.

Past champions of this highly competitive, yet festive tournament include Don January and Hal Sutton. Gil Morgan, David Toms and many other PGA Tour players have also competed. The tournament field field is limited to 96 amateur participants having a verified USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 0.0. Long a match play event, the format was changed in 2021 to 72 holes of stroke play.

View Complete Tournament Information

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