Justin Thomas wins Terra Cotta Invitational

NAPLES, FL (April 18, 2010)--Justin Thomas made six birdies in a bogey-free 6-under 66 Sunday to win the Terra Cotta Invitational by three shots.

Thomas, 16, of Goshen, Ky., finished at 8-under 208 at Naples (Fla.) National Golf Club. Former U.S. Junior Amateur champion Cory Whitsett, 18, was second at 211. Patrick Reed, a sophomore at Augusta State and the 14th-ranked player in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Amateur Rankings, was third at 212.

Dodge Kemmer, the second-round leader, closed with 75 and tied for seventh.

Thomas, No. 16 in Golfweek’s Junior Rankings, is the second consecutive 16-year-old to win the Terra Cotta. Matt Ceravolo was 16 when he won last year.

Ceravolo tied for 11th.

Thomas, a junior at Louisville's St. Xavier High School who has given a verbal commitment to Alabama, became the third-youngest player to make a cut in a PGA Tour event at last year’s Wyndham Championship. He received an invitational to the event by winning the AJGA’s FootJoy Invitational in 2009.

Whitsett will play for Alabama in the fall.

Tim Jackson, 51, a two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, tied for fourth at 3 under.