Cohen Trolio wins Mississippi Amateur on his home course
The stakes were a little higher than a club championship on Sunday when Mossy Creek Golf Club members
Cohen Trolio and
Cameron Clarke went head-to-head down the stretch to decide the Mississippi Amateur Championship.
At the end, it was the 18-year-old Trolio who lifted the trophy after shooting a final round 69 to earn a four-stroke victory over Clarke, who played collegiately at Mississippi State.
Trolio was tested on the back nine as Clarke cut the lead down to just one stroke with after making a birdie on 12, but the West Point native responded with birdies on holes 13, 14 and 18 to account for the final margin of victory.
Trolio, a 18-year-old who will play collegiately at LSU starting in the fall, put together four subpar rounds of 65-67-68-69 on his home course to finish at 19-under 269 for the tournament. For the 72-hole tournament, Trolio made 25 birdies, one eagle and only eight bogeys en route to carding a winning score of 19-under 269. He was the only player in the field to turn in four rounds in the 60s.
“The putter was about the same as it was for the entire tournament,” said Trolio. “I just did what I needed to do to win the tournament. My goal was to get to 22-under, but even though I didn’t get there, I got the job done.”
It was Trolio’s first time competing in the Mississippi Amateur and with the win, he earns an exemption into the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Invitational at The Country Club of Jackson in the fall.
“To get it done here with a PGA Tour exemption is awesome. It means a lot to me.
“I’ve played in a lot of junior events in my life and won a few of them but it was nice to move up a bit and compete and win at the next level,” said Trolio, who was born and raised a few minutes away from Mossy Oak and is a recent graduate of Oak Hill Academy in West Point.
In 2019, Trolio became the youngest player in 25 years to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst at only 17-years of age. After earning the No. 57 seed following two rounds of stroke play, Trolio rattled off four straight wins to reach the semis, only to lose to eventual champion Andy Ogletree. He did not get a chance to compete in last year’s event at Bandon Dunes after he tested positive for COVID just before the start of the tournament.
A six-time Mississippi State Junior champion, Trolio led West Point Academy to four straight state team titles and won the state individual title in 2019.
ABOUT THE Mississippi State Amateur
Format: The tournament is scheduled for 72 holes of
stroke play with a cut to the low 60(+ties) after 36
holes of play. Field size is limited to 120 players.
Qualifiers will be held for the State Amateur,
including an Open Qualifier, the week of the event.
Each is scheduled for 18 holes of stroke play. The
number of players to advance will be determined by
the number of entries for each qualifier and the
number available in the field after the exempt
players have reserved their place. The same
percentage from each qualifier will advance to the
championship.
Eligibility: The Amateur Championship is open to
male amateurs who are bona fide residents of the
state of Mississippi for at least 60 days prior to the
first round of the tournament. Participants must
conform with the USGA Rules of Amateur Status. All
participants in Mississippi Golf Association State
Championships are required to have an active GHIN
Handicap through a USGA Licensed Mississippi Club.
View Complete Tournament Information