Pushing from the get-go, Overstreet bogeyed the opening hole of The Wigwam Gold Course but the NCAA Individual runner-up from a year ago would not be fazed, making birdies on the next four holes to move to 8 under and the tournament lead.
Now in front, Overstreet bounced back from a bogey on the 7th hole with a birdie on the 8th and never looked back, cruising to a four-birdie, one-bogey back nine 3-under 32. The final two birdies came on the closing two holes and provided some extra cushion.
That winning putt feeling ! 🐥⛳🏆 @MasonUAgolf sinks the birdie to take the victory at the 2017 #PatriotAllAm pic.twitter.com/H6iizYbW7O
— Patriot All-America (@PatriotAllAm) December 31, 2017
Overstreet will now look to carry the momentum from this weekend into the spring and continue what has already been an impressive sophomore campaign for Arkansas. In the fall Overstreet broke into the win column at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate where he was the co-medalist, while also finishing second at the Gopher Invitational and sixth at the Bearcat Invitational.
Five players finished half a dozen strokes behind Overstreet in second place at 5 under. The group is comprised of Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State), Patrick Fishburn (BYU), S.M. Lee (Dalton State), George Cunningham (Arizona) and second round leader Garrett May (Baylor).
Of Note: Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com No. 1 ranked Braden Thornberry, who won this event in 2015, finished even-par and tied for 15th. The Ole Miss junior signed for scores of 70-66-74.
Now in its seventh year, The Patriot All-America Invitational features a field of 84 PING All-America golfers from all three NCAA Divisions, NAIA and NJCAA rankings as well as from U.S. Military Academies and universities outside the United States. Current PGA TOUR stars who have played in The Patriot All-America during their college careers, include: 2017 US Open champion Brooks Koepka (2011), 2017 PGA Championship winner and FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas (2011), Patrick Rodgers (2011), Daniel Berger (2012) and Bryson DeChambeau (2013).
What separates The Patriot All-America from other collegiate golf tournaments is participants play for more than themselves or their school. Each golfer honors a fallen or severely injured soldier by carrying a golf bag bearing the name of that soldier. Before the tournament, participants receive a card with the soldier’s story, so they can be familiar with who that person was, what they represented and how they were killed or wounded in action. At the conclusion of the tournament, the golf bags are shipped to players’ schools and auctioned with all proceeds benefitting the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while in active service.
To get a better idea of the spirit of this unique event, and what it means to the players and the families of the fallen soldiers they honor, watch the video below.