Brandon Knight, a rising sophomore at the University of Colorado, shot 13-under with rounds of Ancil Hoffman Golf Course in Carmichael, Calif., to convincingly win the 2024 Memorial Amateur by four shots.
"I played really well in round one," Knight said. "I hit it good all round, and my putter really helped me out."
The Pleasanton, Calif., native only needed 25 putts in the first round to get through the 18 holes.
Knight added, "That really helped me through the rest of the tournament."
Knight is ranked No. 380 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings.
Reese Sato and Avinash Iyer finished T2 at 9-under, but were not able to put too much pressure on Knight. He entered the final round with a slim one-shot lead over Marc Engellenner, but a final round 2-over 74 from Engellenner saw him fall to 7-under and in solo fourth place.
"I figured if I managed my own game, I would be in a good spot as long as I shot a couple under par," Knight said. "There are a few pretty easy birdie holes out there, so I just wanted to make pars on the rest."
Knight can now use this win to propel him into the important upcoming summer months before he heads back to Boulder for his sophomore season in the fall.
"It is definitely a big confidence booster," Knight said. "I didn't have a bad year, but I didn't play how I was hoping to throughout my first year of college, so it was nice to have a couple of weeks off to reset and put some work in."
Knight added, "I am happy to see it pay off early and keep it going through the summer."