Dylan Healey will be the 100th name on the
Southwestern Amateur trophy (courtesy Dylan Healey)
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (June 13, 2015) -- Dylan
Healey started his collegiate career playing Division
I golf for Arizona. He has recently transferred to Cal
State San Marcos -- where he won three times this
year -- but today the Tennessee native showed that
he's got the game to compete against 155 of the
best, and come out on top.
Healey led the 72-hole stroke play tournament
after 36-holes at Desert Mountain, but a 74 on Friday
placed him one group in front of the leaders, trying
to post a number. That might have been a good
thing.
"I got off to a good start today," said
Healey. "But after birdies on the first two holes
I went bogey-double on the third and fourth, and I
thought I might have shot myself out of it."
But Healey didn't give up, and after three more
birdies against no bogeys through the 14th, he was
2-under on the day and needed a strong finish. After
missing a short putt for par on the monster 484-yard
par 4 15th (that's long even in desert heat) Healey
approached the tee on the par-4 16th and saw a
green light.
"They had the tee way up there to make it
tempting," said Healey. "So I took driver
out and hit it to 12-feet, and lipped out the eagle
putt."
A 54-degree wedge to a cozy 5 feet setup
another birdie on the 17th, and Healey posted his
third-straight tweet (the old fashioned kind) with a
solid 7-iron and 15 foot conversion on the closing
hole, a sharply downhill par-3.
|
Dylan Healey rolls the
winning putt at the scenic 18th hole
(photo courtesy Sandy Painter) |
Satisfied that 5-under had a chance, Healey
started getting ready to get a bite to eat. But a
tournament official tapped him on the shoulder, and
told him he might want to wait. He was being called
for a playoff.
That playoff was with Hayden Wood of Edmond,
Oklahoma (and Oklahoma State). Wood had earlier
suffered a double bogey on the 18th, and now had to
go back to that same tee with Healey to see who
would bring home the Centennial Southwestern
Amateur title.
Finding the bunker off the tee, Wood blasted out
to 12 feet, while Healey (who missed the green
short) was inside him at 8 feet for par. When Wood's
putt slipped by, it was left to the Franklin, Tennessee
resident -- who now attends Cal State San Marcos in
the San Diego area -- to face the biggest putt of his
life. He knocked it in, and became the 100th player
to put his name on the Southwestern Amateur
trophy.
Healey, 21, a rising senior at Cal-State
University San Marcos, said Saturday’s win “is
certainly the biggest of my career. To be the 100th
name on that trophy is pretty cool.”
Eric Sugimoto of San Diego, who recently played
so well for USC as part of their runner-up finish at
the NCAA Division I Championship, finished third,
one shot out of the playoff.
|
Champion Dylan Healey
(c) with runner-up Hayden Wood (right)
and Eric Sugimoto (photo
courtesy Sandy Painter) |
ABOUT THE SOUTHWESTERN AMATEUR
The Southwestern Amateur is the longest
running regional amateur men's golf championship in
the western United States. With origins dating back
as early as 1908, the tournament was formally
organized into a regional competition in 1915. Since
then the championship has grown to many more
players and a stepping stone for many great future
PGA Tour stars.
The 100th annual Southwestern Amateur was
held at the Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale,
Arizona. Its Geronimo Course was used for the final
two rounds; the Cochise Course also used for the
first two days. All told, the Desert Mountain
Community has six exclusive golf courses.
ABOUT THE
Southwestern Amateur
72-hole stroke play championship for national-level
amateurs with a handicap index of
1.4 or better. After 36 holes, the field will be
cut to the low 36 and ties. The
SWGA Selection Committee will select players
to
compete based upon
exemptions, playing resume and rankings.
The SWGA reserves the right to invite
amateurs of national and international
reputation, as well as other amateurs "of
note", to enter into the tournament.
Applicants are urged to submit their entries
with golf resumes of accomplishment in
major tournaments and other competitive
record
information.
View Complete Tournament Information