Clancy and Bailey shared pars on the first two playoff holes but were forced to suspend play due to darkness. The playoff resumed the following morning.

The players exchanged another pair of pars on their third playoff hole before Bailey found a water hazard on the next. He made a double-bogey to Clancy’s bogey. On an early Sunday morning at his native Laurel Golf Club, Clancy was crowned the 107th Montana State Amateur champion.

“I’m just sitting at home and looking at the trophy and all the names on it,” he told The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports in a phone interview Sunday afternoon. “You see, the best players ever from Montana won it, and to have my name on that trophy is an honor, honestly. Just to be in the same breath as them is incredible.”

Falling one shot shy of the playoff was Sean Benson, a Billings native, who fired rounds of 69-77-67 to finish in 3rd place, bouncing back in the final round with a tournament-low 5-under 67. Carson Hackmann, a Laurel native and the 36-hole co-leader, finished in 4th place with rounds of 69-70-75. Missoula native Kade McDonough finished in 5th with rounds of 77-67-71.

The victory earns Clancy, 25, a spot in the 118th U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.

Clancy shared his goals for the U.S. Amateur with 406 MT Sports: “The goal is always to win, but making the cut would be a dream come true, honestly,” Clancy said. “It will be pretty cool to go out there and give it my best.”

For more on Clancy’s victory, read the onsite reporting from The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports here.