High school senior Hampton Beebe wins Florida Amateur

Hampton Beebe began the final round of the 109th Amateur Championship two shots behind Garrett Ebbert, but by the end of a dramatic Sunday at The Dye Preserve, he was holding the trophy.

Beebe closed with a steady 1-under 71 to finish at 6-under 281, edging Ebbert and Brock Blais by one shot. He was the only player in the field to post four rounds of even par or better, opening with 68 before adding rounds of 72, 70 and 71.

The championship appeared to run through Ebbert for much of the week. The Lake Mary golfer opened 68-68 and carried the 36-hole lead into the weekend, then began the final round at 7-under and two shots clear of Beebe.

But Beebe applied pressure immediately, birdieing the opening hole to cut the deficit to one. A bogey on the fourth slowed him briefly, but he stayed close while the leaderboard tightened around him.



Blais made one of the strongest Sunday moves, closing with a 3-under 69 to reach 5-under and ultimately share second. Tyler Mistretta also made a notable final-round charge, shooting 68 to finish solo seventh at 2-under.

The decisive moment came late. Ebbert, who had protected the lead for much of the day, bogeyed the difficult par-3 17th to fall into a tie with Beebe heading to the final hole.

Both players missed the fairway at No. 18. Beebe found a hillside right of the fairway but produced the shot of the tournament, knocking his approach to roughly 12 feet. Ebbert, left and without a direct path to the green, punched back into position and wedged to about 10 feet.

Beebe’s birdie putt missed, leaving him with par. Ebbert then had a chance to extend the championship, but his par putt slipped past the edge. The closing bogey dropped him into a tie for second and gave Beebe the title. Ebbert finished with a 2-over 74 after rounds of 68-68-72-74. Blais, who opened 70-73 before back-to-back rounds of 70 and 69, joined him at 5-under 282.

Anthony Monteleone, Leo Gellert and Sohan Patel tied for fourth at 3-under 284.

CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

* Beebe’s consistency separated him from the field. He was the only player to shoot even par or better in all four rounds.

* The low round of the championship belonged to Austin Collins, who shot 66 in the third round at The Dye Preserve. Collins finished tied for eighth at 1-under 286.

* Tyler Mistretta had the low final round among top finishers, shooting 68 on Sunday to climb into seventh place.

* Charlie Woods of Jupiter, the son of Tiger Woods, missed the 36-hole cut after rounds of 79 and 75. He finished at 11-over 154.

* Brock Blais made the strongest run at Beebe and Ebbert on Sunday, closing with 69 to share runner-up honors.

The cut fell at 7-over. Players at 8-over and higher missed the weekend.