- SBIA photo
Ben Shipp (Duluth, Ga.), a senior at North Carolina State University, won the South Beach International on Sunday, edging out Garett Reband (York, S.C.) on the second playoff hole at Miami Beach Golf Club.
It looked like it might be a two-man contest going into the round, given the quality of the two co-leaders, Reband and Australian junior star Karl Vilips. The two were four shots ahead of the field but both players struggled through the final round, giving Shipp the opening he needed.
Reband, a senior at the University of Oklahoma, held at least a share of the lead the entire tournament until the end, had a great chance to win on the 72nd hole, but an untimely three-putt, followed by another three-putt on the second playoff hole, was his undoing. He closed with a 3-over 74, while Shipp shot a 70 as both players finished at 2 under par for the tournament.
Scoring conditions were tough throughout the week, as a cold front blew through early on, rain came in and out, and the wind switched directions for the latter rounds. The 20 mile per hour winds on Sunday were probably the lightest of the week.
Vilips, a Stanford commit and former Southern Amateur champion, never could get anything going in a round of 4-over 5 that left him alone in third at one under par, one shot out of the playoff.
Jake Bolton of England finished fourth at even par, with consistent rounds of 72-70-70-71.
Benjamin Jones of England and Reband's Oklahoma Sooner teammate Patrick Welch each shot the low round of the day, a 4-under 67, resulting in a 5th- and 6th-place finish, respectively.
The SBIA field of 210 players included 162 "Top 1,000" players and 16 "Top 100" world-ranked players. Overall this year’s field included 104 international players from 31 countries, making the SBIA the second largest international tournament in the world, exceeded only by the British Amateur.
ABOUT THE South Beach International
72-hole event with 36-hole cut. Open to
highly
ranked amateurs, college players, mid-amateurs
and juniors. Non-exempt players must submit a playing
resume to be considered for the field.
View Complete Tournament Information