Woodruff wins a chilly Country Club of North Carolina Amateur

Ben Woodruff (Huntersville, N.C.), a sophomore from UNC Charlotte, shot a final-round 73 to hold off UNCG's Zack Swanson (Charlotte, N.C.) by two shots at a chilly Country Club of North Carolina Amateur in Pinehurst. The weather was the story throughout, with a cold front blowing in and chilling the field. Overnight temperatures were close to 20 degrees, but as the round wore on Friday the temperatures finally started warming. Woodruff and Swanson turned the tournament into a duel as the only two players to post under-par rounds in each of the first two rounds. Both players slowed down during the final round but none of the chasing pack, all of whom were four shots behind the top two, could catch up despite shooting some of the best rounds of the tournament. In the end, Woodruff's one-shot lead and a 73 allowed him to edge out Swanson's 74 with a 4-under 212 total. Pinehurst native and East Carolina sophomore A.J. Beechler closed with a 4-under 68 to get to 1 under and in a third-place tie with Wofford College's Matt Copeland (Maryville, Tenn.) who shot a 70. VCU's Alstom Newsom (Chesapeake, Va.) had the low round of the tournament -- a 5-under 67 -- to get to even par and tie for fifth with UNCG's Justin Emmons (Asheboro, N.C.) and East Carolina's Patrick Stephenson (Four Oaks, N.C.).