Caleb Surratt wins inaugural Elite Amateur Series Cup

It should come as no surprise to anyone following the competitive amateur game that Caleb Surratt wouldn't have his "best stuff" in the first round of the Western Amateur, the final event in the Elite Amateur Series.

Surratt -- who has been one of the most consistent amateurs in the game this summer -- staged an epic comeback on July 30 at the U.S. Junior at Bandon Dunes, coming back from dormie eight to finally fall to Wenyi Ding of China, 3 and 2. After the physically and mentally exhausting week at Bandon, Surratt traveled to Chicago with just one day to get ready for the next grueling test, The Western Amateur.

After posting 75 in the first round, the Indian Trial, NC native mounted another comeback, but his second round 70 and 145 total was two shots shy of the 36-hole cut.

The good news? Surratt's consistent performance over the seven events earned him the inaugural Elite Amateur Series Cup.

The Tennessee-bound Surratt posted four top-five finishes in Elite Amateur Series events, including the Sunnehanna (T4), Northeast Am (3), Southern Amateur (T4) and the Pacific Coast Amateur (T2) while reaching the final 16 of the North & South Amateur. Alhough he did not reach the match play portion of the Western Amateur last weekend, Surratt had accumulated enough points before the event (over 69) and added to that total to reach 75.5607 and easily hold off Louisville standout Jiri Zuska (59.5319 pts).

Bryce Lewis (56.0217), Tommy Morrison (52.0393) and Karl Vilips (50.9137) rounded out the top five in the standings.

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Wenyi Ding holds on to defeat a surging Caleb Surratt at U.S. Junior

The Elite Amateur Cup is a points race by competing in the seven historic Elite Amateur Golf Series (EAGS) championships: Sunnehanna Amateur, Northeast Amateur, North & South Amateur, Trans-Miss Amateur, Southern Amateur, Pacific Coast Amateur and the Western Amateur.

Surratt will earn exemptions into PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour (events to be determined). He was previously in the field of the upcoming U.S. Amateur, along with Zuska and Lewis. So while the bonus exemption doesn't matter to those three, both Morrison and Vilips -- who were not previously in the US Amateur field -- gained entry for finishing in top-5. Should either play go on to win at New Jersey's Ridgewood Country Club, it would give further validation to putting the seven major events together as a series, with benefits for top performers arranged with the PGA Tour and USGA.

ABOUT THE ELITE AMATEUR SERIES AND ELITE AMATEUR CUP

THE Elite Amateur Cup point system is the cumulative total of World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR) points earned from competing in the seven EAGS events. The Elite Amateur Cup winner is the player with the most points at the end of the series that culminates with the Western Amateur. Top finishers in the series earn exemptions into USGA Championships, PGA TOUR, and Korn Ferry Tour events. A player must compete in a minimum of three of the seven events to be eligible for these exemptions. Point standings were updated weekly on Wednesdays during the series.