- Niagara Gazette photo

Until Saturday.

Rodgers, 19, of Avon, Ind., made an improbable comeback in the 53rd Porter Cup, erasing a seven-shot deficit with eight holes to play and defeating Wesley Bryan on the first playoff hole.

“It was weird,” said Rodgers, a Stanford freshman, who shot 12-under 268 at Niagara Falls Country Club. “I was so far out of it with eight holes to play that I didn’t even really think about winning until it was over. I just kept playing and grinding trying to get myself back in it.”

Rodgers eagled both par 5s on the back nine, the 11th and the 13th, then birdied the par-3 16th en route to a final-round 68. Meanwhile, Bryan, a South Carolina senior from Chapin, S.C., struggled to find the clubhouse, bogeying three of his final six holes to shoot 4-under 66.

With momentum having changed sides over those final few holes, the playoff was predictable: After Bryan dumped his tee shot into a greenside bunker at the 189-yard par-3 18th, Rodgers hit to within 15 feet.

“I rolled it in and just went bonkers after that,” Rodgers said.

Bryan had played flawlessly early, making the turn in 6-under 29 and then adding birdie at the 11th to go to 7 under for the round.

But Rodgers, playing in the final group with Bryan and third-round leader Paul Haley (70-269, T-3), a recent Georgia Tech graduate, made his move.

At the par-5 11th, with 232 into the green in two, Rodgers hit it to within a foot for a tap-in eagle. Meanwhile, Bryan, who had a 5-footer for eagle, missed.

At the 13th, Rodgers gambled off the tee and left himself a 285-yard second shot, which he hit over trees to 10 feet, from where he made another eagle. Bryan three-putted for bogey, cutting his lead to three and losing all momentum. From there, Rodgers kept up the pressure, right through the playoff hole.

Next up for Rodgers: This week’s Western Amateur and then the U.S. Amateur later in August.

He’s also got his eye on the season’s big prize in amateur golf: a berth on the U.S. Walker Cup team that will play the top amateurs from Great Britain and Ireland on Sept. 10-11 at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland.

“That was the reason for me to switch to full-time amateur golf this summer, although I could have played a few more junior events,” he said. “I know that I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I know I learned a lot from this week that I can use.”

After so many top finishes in big events this year -- runners-up at The Players Amateur and the Terra Cotta Invitational, and third places at the Azalea Invitational and Jones Cup -- Rodgers’ play at the Porter Cup signals a pivotal moment in his development as a top amateur.

“This was so important for me,” Rodgers said. “I kind of got a taste of being in contention this summer, but I haven’t been able to finish it off. I just kept trying to learn from all those weeks.”

Consider the lesson learned.