Brooks Rabren Defends Spirit of America Title

7/9/2018 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Brooks Rabren (Jeronimo Nisa/Decatur Daily photo)

Rising South Alabama senior Brooks Rabren becomes the first player since 1989 to successfully defend his title

DECATUR, AL (July 9, 2018) - Brooks Rabren (Andalusia, AL) made history at the 51st Spirit of America Classic on Sunday, becoming the first player since 1989 to successfully defend his title. Rabren did so in comeback fashion, erasing a three-shot deficit entering the day with a final-round 3-under 68 at Burningtree Country Club. Decatur mid-amateur Matt Gourgeot was the overnight leader but dropped four shots on the front nine. Rabren, going out in 1 under, took the lead after the 8th hole and held it the rest of the way. The rising South Alabama senior was the only player in the field to shoot all four rounds in the 60s, finishing with a 12-under 272 total (69-66-69-68). University of Vanderbilt rising sophomore Cooper Sears (Mount Juliet, TN) closed with a 68 to finish runner-up at 10 under. Sam Murphy (Decatur, AL) and Sylas Elliott (Hanceville, AL) tied for third 6 under, while Gourgeot fell to a tie for fifth at 5 under after a round of 78. Clay Guerin, the Birmingham National champion who also won the Haskins Four-Ball and Alabama State Four-Ball this spring, tied for 9th at 3 under par. Last year Rabren broke open a tight contest with a final-round 67 to take a three-shot win. Sam Farlow was the last repeat champion of the Spirit of America, winning in 1988 and 1989.

Results: Spirit of America

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Brooks Rabren	Andalusia, AL	300	69-66-69-68=272
2	Cooper Sears	Old Hickory, TN	200	68-72-66-68=274
T3	Sam Murphy	Decatur, AL	100	71-72-66-69=278
T3	Sylas Elliott	Cullman, AL	100	71-71-67-69=278
T5	Taylor Eyster	Birmingham, AL	100	70-66-74-69=279

View full results for Spirit of America

About the Spirit of America

The Spirit of America Golf Classic is Burningtree Country Club's long-running, fundraising tournament held annually in conjunction with Decatur’s Spirit of America Festival, which itself is one of the largest, free Fourth of July festivals in the sou...

Most Popular Articles

2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Guide: Sites, Scores, and Who Advanced

Dec 5, 2025Second Stage is complete and Final Stage awaits at Sawgrass — follow every Q-School leaderboard and the players still chasing

2025 LPGA TOUR Q-Series: Final Qualifying Stage FINAL SCORING

Dec 8, 2025Helen Briem earns medalist honors, 31 players headed to the LPGA next year

2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Final Stage: Ewart Leads Five New TOUR Card Winners

Dec 14, 2025A.J. Ewart topped Final Stage at TPC Sawgrass, leading five players who secured PGA TOUR membership for 2026.

Australian Open at Royal Melbourne: Preview, amateur bios, and how to watch

Nov 30, 2025Rory McIlroy headlines one of the championship's top fields in years - at least four amateurs will have their chance at glory

Inside Gil Hanse’s Restoration of Baltusrol’s Upper Course: A Return to Tillinghast’s

Dec 11, 2025Renowned architect Gil Hanse reveals how he brought Baltusrol’s Upper Course back to life by honoring A.W. Tillinghast’s original

Filters

Related Tournament

Spirit of America

View Details

Loading latest news...