Pierce Johnson wins Sonoran Amateur in dramatic fashion
05 Jan 2023
by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com
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Pierce Johnson
Well, that escalated quickly.
Pierce Johnson, who began the day tied for seventh after rounds of 73 and 68, was 2-under for the tournament through 17 holes in his final round and needed a birdie on the closing hole to tie the leaders and hopefully get into a playoff.
The Arkansas State sophomore did one better. After a perfect drive left him 198 yards out, Johnson's magical five-iron to four feet set up his eagle putt which he converted for a final round 68 and a one-stroke victory at the Sonoran Amateur.
“Today was a grind," said Johnson. "My playing partners were very good. Jimmy (Dales) pushed me to the last hole. I knew going into the tournament I was going to need to hit fairways and that is what I did really well this week. Tee balls were great. That really helped me be able to play steady golf and make birdies when I could.
"This tournament means a lot with it being at the very start of the year. It makes me very excited for 2023 and it makes me very confident heading into the spring semester at Arkansas State.”
Jimmy Dales, William Ma and Leo Cheng finished one back at 3-over 210.
Playing in front of Johnson, Lance Hamak delivered the shot of the day on the par-5 18th when he holed out his second shot from well over 200 yards out for an albatross.
The next event in the Troon Saguaro Amateur Series will be the Saguaro Amateur January 5-8, at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona.