OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) — SMU senior Bryson DeChambeau won the U.S. Amateur on Sunday to become the fifth player to win the tournament and NCAA individual title in the same year.
DeChambeau, from Clovis, California, beat Virginia junior Derek Bard of New Hartford, New York, 7 and 6 in the 36-hole final at Olympia Fields.
Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996) and Ryan Moore (2004) are the only other players to sweep the NCAA and Amateur titles in a season.
DeChambeau had a 2-up lead after the morning round, and won seven holes in a nine-hole stretch to go 8 up with eight holes to play.
Bard didn’t make a birdie after the sixth hole of the morning round, while DeChambeau had nine birdies in the 30 holes and was 20 under in six matches.
DeChambeau was 4 up through 23 holes, then won the par-5 sixth, the 24th of the match, with a birdie, and made a 10-foot par save to halve the par-3 seventh just when it appeared Bard would close the gap. DeChambeau birdied the eighth hole and Bard bogeyed the next two to move DeChambeau to 8 up.
