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Top 10 men's storylines: Pugh's comeback
12/26/2012 | by Golfweek
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Golfweek counts down its Top 10 men's stories of the year. No. 8 is Rhys Pugh's comeback at the European Amateur

By Ron Balicki, Golfweek

There were plenty of good stories that came out of amateur golf this past season, exciting, happy endings as well as disappointing, heart-breaking endings.

From Steven Fox winning the U.S. Amateur, to Nathan Smith capturing a record fourth U.S. Mid-Amateur to a 14-year-old from China qualifying for next year’s Masters -- and a whole lot more along the way.

I’ve been covering amateur golf at just about every level for some 30 years and it seems each year provides its own share of interesting stories, whether in victory or defeat.

Golfweek's Top 10 Stories of 2012
  • No. 10: Guan wins Asian Am | Read
  • No. 9: Peter Williamson's Summer | Read
  • No. 8 Rhys Pugh's Comeback | Read
  • No. 7: Chris Williams' Western Am run | Read
  • No. 6: Daan Huizing wins Lytham Trophy | Read
  • No. 5: USA dominates World Am Team | Read
  • No. 4: T.J. Vogel wins U.S. Public Links | Read
  • No. 3: Alan Dunbar wins British Amateur | Read
  • No. 2: Nathan Smith wins 4th U.S. Mid-Am | Read
  • No. 1: Steven Fox wins thrilling U.S. Am | Read
Compiling a list of the best of them for 2012 was difficult, but here is a list of my top 10:

Rhys Pugh, a sophomore at East Tennessee State from Wales, shot a closing-round 66 to win the European Amateur at Carton House’s Montgomerie course. It was an incredible comeback as Pugh trailed by eight shots going into the final day.

Pugh’s winning total was 11-under 277 and he won by one stroke over fellow countryman James Frazer, who came in with an impressive 62 in the previous day’s third round.
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