Samuel Mukherjee wins Sunshine State Men's Amateur in a dramatic playoff
Samuel Mukherjee (Sunshine State Amateur Photo)
Duke freshman and Scotland native
Samuel Mukherjee birdied the first playoff to win the 2024 Sunshine Men's Amateur at Mission Inn Resort, the El Campeon Course, in Howey In The Hills, Fla.
Mukherjee carded rounds of 72-68-72 to finish 3-under. Nolan Harper and Eddie Gu also finished at 3-under to force the playoff. Harper carded rounds of 72-70-70 and was the 36-hole leader, and Gu carded rounds of 71-64-67. Harper entered No. 18 with a one-shot lead, and Gu was two shots back of Harper.
A bogey from Harper, par from Mukherjee, and a birdie from Gu saw all three head to a playoff. Mukherjee made a birdie on the first playoff hole to secure the win.
"It was a really, really fun day," Mukherjee said. "I got off to a bit of a tricky start, but pretty scrappy the first six holes. And then just flipped the switch and turned it on when I hit the back nine. And then made a nice birdie on the playoff hole."
In the first round, I hit the ball really well," Mukherjee said. "The ball striking was great, but the putter was pretty cold. On day two, I came out and flipped the first few holes. I was making putts to keep myself in the round and then hit the ball great on the back nine."
Mukherjee made the final 64 of the British Amateur and won the 2023 Abu Dhabi Amateur.
"Coming into the week, I had a vision of myself holding the trophy at the end of the week, and I really believed that I was capable of winning," Mukherjee said. "I just came out and kept that high belief throughout."
Shawn Coultoff and Anthony De Schutter finished 1-under and T4 to round out the top five.
ABOUT THE
Sunshine State Men's Amateur
The Sunshine State Amateur golf championship is an
annual tournament hosted in Florida and gathering
high-level amateur golfers (Men & Women) from the
United States of America and abroad. Sister
tournament to the Orlando International Amateur. 54-
hole stroke play championship with exemptions based
on rankings and performance in various championships.
Max handicap 1.
View Complete Tournament Information