Trey Marrion, a rising freshman at Illinois, defeated Robb Kinder, a former All-American from Christopher Newport, in a playoff to win the 67th Eastern Amateur at Elizabeth Manor Country Club in Portsmouth, Va.
Marrion and Kinder finished at 10-under to force the playoff. Marrion started the day two shots behind Branden Boyce and Kinder but found himself tied with Kinder for the lead as they stood on the No. 17 tee.
Marrion bogeyed No. 17 to fall back to one shot behind Kinder but made a birdie on the par-5 No. 18 to get back into a tie on the leaderboard and force the playoff. In the playoff, Marrion made par, and Kinder made a bogey to end the championship.
"My mindset has been altered a lot over the last three or four months," Marrion said. "The way I practiced was inefficient, and I was not consistent enough to put four rounds together. I give a lot of credit to my family and also my mental coach."
Marrion added, "He has really helped me stick to my routine, and advice concepts have really helped me not focus on the pressure."
Marrion talked about closing the tournament in the final round and how his mentality has changed this year.
"I really haven't won a lot of big tournaments throughout my junior career," he said. "Before this year, I used to get really nervous and rush things, but this year, I have done a good job of handling the final rounds.
"My mentality was to make a lot of birdies early on so that I forgot about the score," he added.
UNC-Greensboro's Branden Boyce, who shared the 54-hole lead, eagled the 18th to finish in solo third place at 9-under and one shot out of the playoff.
"Winning this tournament and the couple of others I have won this year is so important," Marrion said. "Closing out tournaments helps your mental game so much."
In what was another close call, Robb Kinder has been in the final group in three of the past four years, and as a rising high school junior, Marrion finished in 14th place in 2022.
Elizabeth Manor’s Eastern Amateur is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the country. Some of the best players in the world have followed their path to success right through the Eastern Amateur at Elizabeth Manor.
U.S. Open champions who have competed in the Eastern include Hale Irwin, Scott Simpson, Curtis Strange, and Tom Kite. U.S. Junior champions who have competed here include Eddie Pearce, Gary Koch, Robert Byman, Brett Quigley, and Jason Widener.
Many U.S. Amateur champions have competed here, including Marvin “Vinny” Giles, Lanny Wadkins, Buddy Alexander, Harvie Ward, Deane Beman, Bill Campbell, Bob Murphy, Steve Melnyk, Craig Stadler, Fred Ridley, Nathaniel Crosby, Jay Sigel and Matt Kuchar.
Many other past Eastern competitors regularly appear on the various mini-tours and in numerous local, state, national, and international amateur and open events.