Christian Brand dominates to win the West Virginia Amateur

May 29, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Christian Bland (Submitted Photo)

Brand, who also won the championship in 2011 by nine shots, shot 22-under to win by an impressive 21 shots

Christian Brand left no doubt en route to winning his second West Virginia Amateur Championship at The Greenbrier Hotel and Resort, the Old White Course, in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

Brand finished an astonishing 22-under with rounds of 64-63-66-65 to win the championship by 21 shots, adding to his 2011 win.

"In the first round, I got off to a sputtering start," Brand said. "I was playing okay but missed a couple of opportunities and made an early bogey. But then I made six birdies over the next 14 holes, and that set the tone for the rest of the week. I got into a good mindset."

Brand is ranked No. 824 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings. He finished in solo fourth place at the 2023 West Virginia Amateur. He also finished T64 at the prestigious Azalea Invitational, which was won by top mid-amateur Stewart Hagestad.

"My game has been really good going into it, and it was nice to see it on display," Brand said.

Brand entered the final round with a comfortable 12-shot lead over Nick Dent, but he made it a point to take it all one shot at a time.

"I had to set new goals," Brand said. "Where I was at, one of two things could happen. I could set new goals, which is what I did, or I could fall back to the field because I got complacent. So I decided to set new goals of keeping a bogey-free streak together and getting to 20-under."

Brand added, "It focused me."

Dent finished in solo second place at 1-under. Ryan Bilby finished in solo third place at even-par, and Owen Elliot finished in solo fourth place at 1-over. Bryson Beaver, Cameron Jarvis, and Christian Casingal all finished T5 at 3-over.

Brand recorded 24 birdies and just two bogeys through 72 holes.

And now, he can call himself a West Virginia Amateur champion for the second time.

"It's great," Brand said about winning for a second time. "In between, I turned pro, so it is important to cement my golf career with two major wins on either side of it. It really means a lot."

Results: West Virginia Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Christian Brand	Scott Depot, WV	200	64-63-65-66=258
2	Nick Dent	Lewisburg, WV	100	70-67-67-75=279
3	Ryan Bilby	Follansbee, WV	50	66-71-69-74=280
4	Owen Elliott	Hedgesville, WV	50	69-71-71-70=281
T5	Cameron Jarvis	Barboursville, WV	50	70-73-70-70=283

View full results for West Virginia Amateur

About the West Virginia Amateur

Must be a WVGA member, players who are not exempt must qualify at one of the six qualifying locations in May. Format is 72-holes of stroke play championship with the field cut to the low 48 players and ties at the completion of 36 holes.