Bentley Cotton wins 99th Women's Texas Amateur

When women's college golf returns, look out for Bentley Cotton on her home course. Incoming University of Texas freshman (and Austin native) battled her way to a win at the 99th Women’s Texas Amateur over a natural rival in Texas A&M’s rising sophomore Makenzie Niblett. The competition was held at none other then the University of Texas Golf Club -- whose double entendre tagline is "where champions play." Qualifying with a one-over 72, Cotton was slated as the 6-seed. Getting through the first day's two matches with a 1-up and a 2 & 1 win, Cotton got past another Austinite, Stanford signee Sadie Englemann in a comeback 1 up victory as Cotton won four of the last five holes to advance to Thursday afternoon’s semifinals. In the semis, Cotton had her biggest margin of victory with a 3 & 2 win over SMU senior Kennedy Pedigo. Wasting no time, Cotton birdied the second hole of the 18-hole championship match against Niblett to take a 1 up lead. Carrying the lead all the way to the par-3 eighth where Niblett earned her first win of the day, Cotton countered immediately to regain a 1 up advantage as the duo made the turn. Losing her lead on the 10th, Cotton quickly regrouped with wins on the 11th and 12th holes for a 2 up lead through 12. Volleying between 2 up and 1 up, Cotton held Niblett’s comeback attempts at bay long enough to clinch the championship on the final hole as the pair split the hole with pars. “We went back and forth a lot today,” Cotton told the Texas Golf Association. “I was a little nervous on 18, but I just wanted to make par. I kept breathing and told myself, ‘You can do it.’” The event was one of the more stacked events in the country this week as the field saw five of the top-100 ranked players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. “It means a lot to me,” Cotton said. “It gives me a lot of confidence going into my next two events, which are the North and South Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Especially with the same format, this gives me a lot of confidence.”