Blair and Williams win Pride of the South Amateur titles

Two of the rising stars in amateur golf, Wells Williams and Emerson Blair, shined the brightest at the Pride of the South Amateur which was held at Old Waverly Golf Club in the teen's hometown of West Point, Miss.

Williams, who recently signed a national letter of intent to play his collegiate golf at Vanderbilt next year, fired a final round 68 to come from seven strokes back to capture the men's title with a 3-under score of 213, while Blair posted a 7-over 223 to win her second straight women's championship with a score of 7-over 223.

Williams entered the final round seven strokes behind 36-hole leader Carter Loflin, who is headed to the University of Georgia next fall. Williams also had to jump over Cam Mixon of Louisville and Brock Healy of Kennesaw State, who were four shots off the pace heading into the final holes, and Mississippi State's Harrison Davis, who was six back.

After making the turn at 1-under, the three-time American Junior Golf Association All-American ran off three consecutive birdies on holes 13, 14 and 15 to finish with a 4-under 68 while others fell by the wayside.

Loflin and Healy struggled to a final round of 78, while Mixon shot a 77 and Davis carded a 2-over 74.

The sixth-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, Williams will bring an impressive junior resume to Nashville next fall. A three-time Mississippi Junior Amateur champion and the top-ranked junior player in the Magnolia State, Williams is a three-time AJGA All-American and earned first-team honors this year. He is also a former Junior Ryder Cup team member.

On the women's side, Blair carded rounds of 74-74-75 on her home course to finish at 7-over 223, good for a four-shot win over Texas Wesleyan's Malisone Chanthapanya. The 15-year-old from West Point started the day with a one-shot lead over Bentley Cotton, a freshman at the University of Texas, but Cotton fell out of contention after carding a final round 82.

The win marks the second Pride of the South women's individual title for Blair, who also has win at the Mississippi Junior Amateur Championship, the Mississippi Women’s Four-Ball, the Emerald Coast Indian Bayou Junior Classic and the Elite Invitational in Hilton Head, South Carolina. As a 9-year-old in 2016, she won the skills portion in her age group (7-9) at the Drive, Chip and Putt competition held at Augusta National.

The next stop on the College Tour X will be the Florida Winter Amateur, scheduled for January 3-5 at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.