USC golfer wins Palmetto Amateur; Gamecocks place three in top 10

University of South Carolina golfer Jamie Wilson bounced back from a late double-bogey and captured the title in the 44th Palmetto Amateur on Saturday at Aiken’s Palmetto Golf Club.

Wilson, a rising senior from Mount Pleasant, earned the championship on the second playoff hole against Evan Brown, a Loyola (Maryland) golfer from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Brown staged an incredible rally to tie for the lead after the regulation 72 holes. He opened with rounds of 72 and 76 and stood 53rd, 15 strokes off the pace with two rounds to play. He made 11 birdies in a 9-under-par 62 on Friday and shot 5-under 66 to finish at 8-under 276.

Wilson, meanwhile, played steady golf with rounds of 67, 73, 68 and 68. He began the final round in fifth place, overcame a bogey at the fifth hole with an eagle and three birdies before a double-bogey on the par-5 14th dimmed his chances. But birdied he short par-4 15th and posted a final 68 and matched Brown at 276.

The pair halved the first extra hole before Wilson claimed the title on the second.

USC golfer Caleb Proveaux (Lexington) and former USC Aiken player Johnson Holliday (Aynor) shared third place, two strokes out of the playoff. Proveaux birdied the final two holes, capping an un-and-down final round that included five birdies, one bogey and one triple bogey.

Proveaux led the field of 84 with 24 birdies, two more than Brown, for the four rounds. But he also had two triple bogeys and two double bogeys.

Ryan Hall, a rising sophomore at USC, tied for ninth, giving the Gamecocks three players in the top 10.

Third-round leader Morgan Deneen (Conway/Coastal Carolina) skied to a 7-over 78 Saturday and placed 13th.

Top scores

(x=won title on second playoff hole)

This story was originally published July 27, 2019 at 4:19 PM.