Jeremy Wall became the first back-to-back winner of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in 25 years, defeating medalist and 2014 titleholder Jeff Osberg, 3 and 2, at the par-70 Stonewall Links in Elverson, Pa., on Saturday. Wall and his masterful short game never trailed in the scheduled 36-hole final and he became the 10th player in the 119-year history of the championship, and first since Chris Lange of Overbrook Golf Club in 1993-94, to successfully defend the title.
“[The Amateur] is a total marathon and to get through it and be the last guy standing. All those emotions of winning and repeating were a little much to handle,” Wall said as he accepted the J. Wood Platt Trophy. “And the way it ended. [Me] making a putt. That’s what I’ve been doing the whole week. For whatever reason, everything was going in.
“To have my name on [the trophy] twice is cool,” he said before adding with a smile. “And I have two more than [brothers] Jack and Ethan.”
Wall, 23, of Brielle, N.J., has been a lifelong Manasquan River Golf Club member. He never trailed in the championship match. Wall took No. 1 (par 5, 507 yards) with a par; built a 3-up lead after nine holes; a 5-up advantage thru 18 holes and had a 4-up spread through 27 holes.
“It was a great week. I wish I would have played a little bit better in the final but I lost to a well-deserved champion who played some really great golf today,” said Osberg, 34, of Bryn Mawr, Pa. “Making the final is difficult. I felt like I had a difficult match every single match. I was down in every match this week. I was really happy the way I battled back.”
Wall put Osberg on the defensive with clutch par saves and birdie putts throughout the match. He made a remarkable 11 of 14 putts inside 10 feet.
“[His short game] was pretty unbelievable,” said Osberg, playing in his third final in six years. “I think his entire game is really great. It was spectacular. He made a ton of big putts. A ton of crucial par saves. He made some phenomenal par saves.”
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