EL PASO, TX (November 13, 2016) -- On the strength of a 5-under 66 final round Sam Burns of LSU overcame a one-stroke deficit to finish 12-under and win the College All-America Classic at El Paso Country Club by three-strokes.

The sophomore began his round with an opening hole birdie before carding two more on the 5th and 6th holes to reach 10-under. A 2016 PING Honorable Mention All-American a year ago, Burns birdied the 10th and 12th holes and then carded an eagle on the par-5 13th to reach 14-under.

Now leading comfortably Burns did slip up with a pair of bogeys down the stretch but his quick start to the back nine created the necessary separation.

USC sophomore Justin Suh was the runner-up following rounds of 69-68-67 to post 9-under. Suh, a Pac-12 All-Freshman performer last year, birdied six holes and bogeyed two during the final round.

36-hole leader Kristoffer Ventura of Oklahoma State ended up third at 8-under. The native of Norway couldn't get anything going during the final round and shot an even-par 71.

UNLV junior John Oda (-7) was fourth and USC senior Rico Hoey (-7) claimed fifth.

36-HOLE RECAP

After the 36-hole first day of College All-America Classic at El Paso Country Club it is Oklahoma State's Kristoffer Ventura leading the field. Ventura shot consecutive 4-under 67's to reach 8-under and take a one-stoke lead over LSU's Sam Burns.

During each round Ventura, a junior, rolled in six birdies and bogeyed twice. The native of Norway set the tone for his day with birdies on each of first two holes. Ventura, who started his afternoon round on No. 10, put together his best stretch of the round from Nos. 16-18 when he birdied all three.

Sam Burns, a sophomore, reached 7-under and second place with scores of 67-68. The 2016 PING Honorable Mention All-American birdied four holes on the frontside of his opening round to jump out to a 4-under start before playing even-par golf coming home. In the second round Burns double-bogeyed the 10th, his opening hole, but rebounded with a flawless five birdie scorecard the rest of the way.

USC's Justin Suh (69-68) is in third place at 5-under, UNLV's John Oda (71-67) is fourth at 4-under while Arkansas' Charles Kim (72-67) and USC's Rico Hoey (73-66) are tied for fifth at 3-under.

Of the 19 players competing in this weekend's elite field 15 were even-par or better on the first day. The final round will begin at 8:00 a.m. EST.

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