Desert Amateur: Ty Anderson wins by a slim margin

Ty Anderson of Spokane, Wash., a sophomore at Weber State, shot a final-round 2-under 69 to finish 6-under over 54 holes to win the 2023 Desert Amateur at Grand Canyon University Golf Course.

Anderson finished one shot ahead of Matthew Diehl of Redlands, Calif., who finished in solo second place. Diehl will be a Grand Canyon University golf team freshman next fall.

Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, Colo., and Camden Braidech of Scottsdale, Ariz., were another shot back and finished T3 at 4-under.

Braidech was the solo leader through 36 holes but shot a final round 5-over 76 to fall out of the top spot.

“This means so much to me seeing the hard work pay off that I’ve been putting in," Anderson told the Desert Amateur. "It was a blast to be able to be down here during the winters we have up in Ogden and just super thankful for the opportunity to play here."

Anderson added, "I can’t thank my caddie, Alex Cooke, enough. He plays down here at GCU. He helped me so much around the greens and was a big reason we played well together. It was really nice to get the win under pressure with a ton of great players around me, that’s probably the most adrenaline I’ve felt coming down the stretch in any tournament in a long while.”

The Desert Amateur is a part of the Troon Saguaro Amateur Series and is open to amateur golfers who meet the eligibility and exemption requirements. The maximum handicap is 3.0.

The Troon Saguaro Amateur Series is a world-ranked amateur tournament series that is hosting 10 tournaments in the 2023-24 season.

Sebastian Sandin of UTEP won the Gobbler Amateur at Sewailo Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 29 - Nov. 30.