NIPOMO, Calif. (January 8, 2017) -- Jesse Yap claimed the Nipomo Amateur in wire-to-wire fashion Sunday at Monarch Dunes Golf Club.
Yap led off the tournament with an opening round 2-under 69 in 20 mph winds and pouring rain throughout the day.
As tournament director Jason Porter noted, "Words cannot do justice to how awesome of a round that was."
His opening round gave him a two-shot cushion going into the final round. Yap was able to take advantage of the improved playing conditions on Sunday morning, going out in 34 to extend his lead. Despite struggling with three straight bogeys to start his back-nine, he was able to right the ship and secure a two-shot win.
The competition was very familiar for Yap, a junior at Cal Poly, as three of the top-five finishers are teammates of his. The closest of the three was junior Jimmy Castles who fired rounds of 73-70 to come up two shots short. His 70 tied for the low round of the day with Court Lewis.
Rounding out the top-five was local high school golfer Jeffery Carr (71-75) along with Cal Poly players Grady Smith (74-72) and Justin De Los Santos (71-78).
The win for Yap adds to his growing list of accomplishments including a top-30 finish at the Asian-Pacific Amateur last fall and a win last weekend at the World Stars of Amateur Golf Championship. Keep an eye out for him and his teammates as they begin their spring season February 13-14 at the USD Farms Invitational hosted by The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
--tournament director Jason Porter contributed to this story
Jesse Yap Tops Teammates, Wins Nipomo Amateur
Yap beat out many of his Cal Poly teammates on his way to the title