Doug Ghim emulated another Texas Longhorn by winning at Chambers Bay.
Ghim two-putted for a birdie on the final hole to claim a one-stroke victory over Cameron Champ of Sacramento in the 51st Pacific Coast Amateur on University Place, Wash., where former Longhorn Jordan Spieth captured the 2015 U.S. Open.
“To do it at a public course … Chambers Bay is just incredible,” said Ghim, who grew up playing the public course near his childhood home in Arlington Heights, Ill. “I came from very humble beginnings. I didn’t have a country club or anything like that growing up. To see what I have achieved is amazing.
“This win is going to give me a lot of confidence moving forward. It feels great. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be playing this week, but I got a nudge from my coach.”
Champ, who plays at Texas A&M, sank a 12-foot eagle putt on the final hole in the group ahead of Ghim to tie for the lead, but Ghim wrapped up the victory with a two-foot putt after hitting his first putt from 40 feet.
Ghim, a senior at Texas, carded a winning score of 70-67-69-69—275, 9-under-par, while Champ, who won the Trans-Mississippi Amateur last week, finished at 69-65-73-69—276.
Defending champion Will Zalatoris of Plano, Texas, was third at 69-70-67-71—277, while Andrej Bevins of Elk Grove totaled 72-70-70-66—278 to tie for fourth with Denzel Ieremia of New Zealand, who finished at 66-72-69-71—278.
Nick Hardy of Northbrook, Ill., shot 72-67-70-71—280 to tie for sixth with John Oda of Honolulu, who finished at 67-71-69-73—280, and Hayden Springer of Trophy Club, Texas, who came in at 74-66-65-75—280, while Braden Thornberry of Olive Branch, Miss., recorded a score of 71-67-74-69—281 and tied for ninth with Aaron Walen of Ephrata, Wash., who wound up at 70-70-69-72—281.
Next year, the Pacific Coast Amateur will be played at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
