Ghim, shot a final round 69-275, 9-under-par, to hold off Texas A&M senior golfer Cameron Champ, 69-276.
Champ briefly took the lead himself when he eagled the 18th hole, only to see Ghim’s birdie putt for the win in the following group. Defending champion Will Zalatoris from Plano, Texas, was third with a final day 71-277 in his bid for his second straight prestigious amateur title here.
Ghim said it was only fitting his most prestigious amateur title came at a public course, which hosted the 2015 U.S. Open, after having grown up on public course as a junior.
“I came from very humble beginnings. I didn’t have a country club or anything like that growing up. To see what I have achieved is amazing.”
The current Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-America, emotionally credited his father Jeff for his development, after moving the family from Korea to the Chicago area when Doug was very young.
“I remember my dad fishing balls out of the water hazards so I would have some new balls to play with. Other people would have their marks on them, but we would polish them up to make them new. He would do anything to help me succeed.”
Ghim overcame a bogey on the first hole and a double bogey on No. 10 with five birdies, the final one at the par 5 18th after five straight pars had the tournament conclusion in doubt.
“That just boosted my confidence to see what I can do (at the U.S. Open) and what I have to improve on to get better,” Champ said.
Zalatoris only had one birdie and two bogeys in his last 12 holes in his bid to repeat. He said he remains focused on his goal on getting on the U.S. Walker Cup team and will be in the U.S. Amateur next month in hopes of being one of Captain Spider Miller's selections for the USA Team.