Lyerly's bogey-free stretch leads to Eastern Am victory

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (July 15, 2018) – Nick Lyerly put a big feather in his cap Sunday when he won the Eastern Amateur. Lyerly, who will be a sophomore at UNC Greensboro in the fall, had a four-shot lead entering the final round and won by five shots at Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club. Lyerly led from the opening round. Most notably, he played 62 holes before making his first bogey of the tournament when he three-putted the par-3 ninth in the final round. Lyerly, who only got 11 holes in before storms ended his practice round, got to 17 under in Sunday's round before playing the final 10 holes in 1 over to post a final-round 69. He was 16 under for the week. Lyerly played his rain-shortened practice round with longtime competitor Tripp Summerlin and the two were paired together on Sunday. They grew up playing junior golf together and have played dozens of tournament rounds with one another. Summerlin, an Appalachian State rising junior who was runner-up in the Sun Belt Conference Championship this spring, shot an even-par 70 to tie VCU golfer Alston Newsom at 11-under 269. Newsom, who grew up playing the Elizabeth Manor course, fired a steady 2-under 68 on Sunday. Radford’s Peter Gasperini, Wake Forest’s Kengo Aoshima and Michael Brennan, of Leesburg, Va., tied for 4th at 8 under. Information from the Eastern Amateur used in this report