SIMPSON FENDS OFF OSBORN AND SWAN TO WIN 99TH SOUTHERN AM

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Webb Simpson of Raleigh, NC raced out to a 5-shot lead in the final round of the 99th Southern Amateur at The Dunes Club on Saturday, but had to fend off charging Garrett Osborn of Shoal Creek AL to win the prestigious title by one shot on the dramatic final hole. The winner finished at 3-under 277, a shot ahead of Osborn and third-round leader Matthew Swan of Montgomery AL.

As the Southern Am champ, Simpson earns an invitation to play in Arnold Palmer's PGA Tour Bay Hill Invitational next spring, and likely a spot on the U.S. Walker Cup team. Ironically, Simpson attends Wake Forest on the Arnold Palmer Scholarship.

Behind by a shot at the start of the round, Simpson, Wake Forest's ACC Freshman Golfer of the Year this season, burned the front nine in 33 and ran up his 5-shot lead early on the back side. However, Osborn birdied three out of four holes starting at the 13th and was just two back as the final threesome went to the 17th tee.

Both parred the 17th, then ran into trouble on the tough, 470-yard closing hole. Simpson pushed his tee shot to the right rough and tried to layup short of the pond protecting the green. However, the shot ran too long into the water, he wedged on and two-putted for a double-bogey six. Osborn, meanwhile, pushed his 175-yard approach into an awkward lie in a greenside bunker and made bogey.

"I guess I was trying to please the crowd," Simpson said of the closing drama. "I couldn't imagine my layup would run into the pond. But this is a wonderful victory in a very important tournament and I'm grateful."

A highlights show of the tournament was aired by Fox Sports Net South five times in August.





Complete results:

Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-70-69-70--277
Garrett Osborn, Shoal Creek, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . 70-68-71-69--278
Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . 70-68-68-72--278
Justin Elliott, Hattiesburg, Miss. . . . . . . . . . . . . .70-69-70-70--279
Matt Harmon, Grand Rapids, Mich. . . . . . . . . . . 71-70-70-68--279
John-Scott Rattan, M'gomery Village, Md. . . . . . 69-70-71-71--281
Jonathan Mount, Kingston, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . .74-69-72-66--281
Kyle Reifers, Columbus, Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69-69-72-71--281
Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . 73-69-70-69--281
Hudson Swafford, Tallahassee, Fla. . . . . . . . . . .71-75-67-70--283
Robert Gwin, Houston, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69-68-76-70--283
Dawie Van der Walt, Beaumont, Texas . . . . . . . .77-71-67-69--284
Tanner Ervin, Mount Pleasant, S.C. . . . . . . . . . .75-72-70-67--284
Andrew Dodt, Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69-73-73-70--285
Clint Provost, Gulf Breeze, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73-66-70-76--285
Mark Harrell, Hazlehurst, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74-71-73-67--285
Randy Lowry, Spring, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-69-72-73--285
Will Swift, Hoover, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71-72-70-72--285
Andrew Dresser, Carrollton, Texas . . . . . . . . . . .74-69-71-72--286
Ben Spickard, Roswell, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71-72-69-74--286
Lee Williams, Alexander City, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . 74-74-68-70--286
Greg Forest, Palm City, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-70-71-73--287
Greg Koch, Orlando, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-67-71-73--287
Michael Barbosa, St. Petersburg, Fla. . . . . . . . . 72-69-74-72--287
Seung-Su Han, Bradenton, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-70-73-71--287
Trip Kuehne, Irving, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72-72-72-71--287
Michael Sim, Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74-69-70-75--288
Pat Carter, Huntington, W.Va. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-73-70-73--288
Adam Cohan, Wayne, Pa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-71-72-71--289
David Noll, Dalton, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-72-71-70--289
Glenn Northcutt, Dothan, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-70-72-76--289
Jeremy Frye, Palestine, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-68-72-74--289
Ross Hamann, Lakeville, Minn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69-73-75-72--289
Stephen Poole, Spartanburg, S.C. . . . . . . . . . . . 75-72-72-70--289
Bryce Ledford, Ooltewah, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . .70-74-72-74--290
Drew Laning, Little Rock, Ark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-73-73-69--290
Franklin Corpening, Fort Worth, Texas . . . . . . . .71-73-75-71--290
Sam Saunders, Windermere, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . 74-73-69-74--290
Shaun Goodwin, Conroe, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-73-71-71--290
Ty Harris, Longwood, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73-73-70-74--290
Warren Thomas, Columbia, S.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-72-71-73--290
Alex Hamilton, Aiken, S.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68-76-73-74--291
Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 71-73-75-72--291
Tripp Davis, Norman, Okla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-75-74-71--291
Christopher Wells, Valley Head, Ala. . . . . . . . . . 77-71-72-72--292
Marc Campbell, Southlake, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . 74-73-73-72--292
Mark Ogren, Daphne, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74-72-75-71--292
Patton Kizzire, Tuscaloosa, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . .72-73-76-71--292
Tom Davis, Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77-71-72-72--292
Derek Oakey, Lagrange, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-71-76-70--293
Jace Strandberg, Greensboro, N.C. . . . . . . . . . .77-71-75-70--293
Michael Lebow, Royersford, Pa. . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-72-74-74--293
Ryan Kornmann, Beaumont, Texas . . . . . . . . . . 72-73-72-76--293
Adam Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . 77-70-74-73--294
Reed Darsie, Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-74-77-71--294
Brice Bailey, Germantown, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . .74-71-70-80--295
Derek Busby, Tallulah, La. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-73-75-72--295
Jack Tyler, Novi, Mich. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-74-73-74--295
Kyle Coody, Plano, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-72-74-73--295
Patrick Sullivan, Maumelle, Ark. . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-71-73-76--295
Steven Groover, Birmingham, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . .72-74-71-78--295
Andrew Medley, Athens, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-73-73-76--296
Eamonn McLoughlin, Amityville, N.Y. . . . . . . . . .76-72-74-74--296
Kane Hanson, Detroit Lakes, Minn. . . . . . . . . . . 76-72-69-79--296
Parker LaBarge, St. Louis, Mo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-70-75-73--296
Spencer Provow, Murfreesboro, Tenn. . . . . . . . . 74-71-78-73--296
Tyler Brown, Ponte Vedra Bch, Fla. . . . . . . . . . .75-70-77-74--296
Bud Reynolds, Knoxville, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73-75-73-76--297
Sean Moore, Marshville, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71-74-72-80--297
Brian Noonan, Austin, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-75-74-77--298
Eddie Peckels, Pinehurst, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70-73-78-77--298
Zack Reeves, Arlington, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70-70-80-78--298
Bradley Ruch, Louisville, Ky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-73-78-76--299
Chris Bagley, Charlotte, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78-69-75-79--301

Failed to make cut:

Derek Smith, Elk City, Okla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-73--149
Johnathan Shaw, Cartersville, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77-72--149
Jonathan Hodge, Jefferson City, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . .71-78--149
Matt Bortis, Springfield, Mo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-74--149
Michael Feuerstein, La Jolla, Calif. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-74--149
Rob Manor, Greenville, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-75--149
Ryan Baca, Richmond, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-70--149
Tucker Ervin, Mount Pleasant, S.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78-71--149
West Streib, Atlanta, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-74--149
Beck Troutman, Fernwood, Miss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-77--150
Clark Brown, Navarre, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-77--150
Colin Clark, Durham, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-74--150
Derek Abel, Frisco, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-71--150
Derek Rende, Soddy Daisy, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72-78--150
Gator Todd, Florence, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-77--150
Joe Green, Duluth, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-75--150
Michael Brice, Jacksonville, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-75--150
Mitch Brock, Lewisburg, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-74--150
Pat Phillips, Athens, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-76--150
Robert Gates, Gainesville, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-71--150
Ryan Neal, Arlington, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-75--150
Brian Bohlig, Eagan, Minn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-71--151
Bryan Vahlberg, Norman, Okla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-75--151
Cale Barr, Versailles, Ky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-75--151
Chad Grimes, Woodlands, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74-77--151
David Dragoo, Scottsdale, Ariz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76-75--151
Ian Schneider, Charlotte, N.C. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-73--151
Jake Shaw, Cordova, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79-72--151
Jamie Frazier, Glasgow, Ky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73-78--151
Lee Sanders, Little Rock, Ark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77-74--151
Mark Silvers, Savannah, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80-71--151
Michael Smith, Lafayette, La. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77-74--151
Nicholas Cristea, Cypress, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77-74--151
Thomas Hagler, Ringgold, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-76--151
Will Grace, Gulf Breeze, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-76--151
Bill Sharpe, Edmond, Okla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-74--152
Jake Lambert, Jackson, Miss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72-80--152
John Eades, Charlotte, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77-75--152
Matthew Mincer, Lenoir City, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73-79--152
Nicklaus Newcomb, Benton, Ky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-72--152
Jay Reynolds, Austin, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-77--153
Lanse McColl, Murrells Inlet, S.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-75--153
Chris Gilliland, Chattanooga, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74-80--154
Jacob Goins, Dayton, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79-75--154
Josh Nelms, Hixson, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-75--154
Matt King, Knoxville, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78-76--154
Michael Buttacavoli, Miami Beach, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-76--154
Richie Taylor, Snellville, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78-76--154
T. J. Shuart, Coral Springs, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75-79--154
Bryce Mueller, Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79-76--155
Colton Turnquist, Austin, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79-76--155
James Sacheck, Zionsville, Ind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-73--155
Matthew Myers, Auburn, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80-75--155
Will Oldham, Richmond, Va. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-73--155
Clarke Rheney, Houston, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77-79--156
Eddie Brescher, Ponchatoula, La. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-80--156
Chris Woodruff, Knoxville, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72-85--157
Scot Ploucha, Johnson City, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82-75--157
Taylor Hall, Lagrange, Ga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-78--157
James Wingerter, Winter Park, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82-76--158
Oren Hodak, Dallas, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83-75--158
Robby Shaw, Louisville, Ky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81-77--158
Taylor Palmer, Edmond, Okla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78-80--158
Tyler Lane, Dayton, Tenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-76--158
Josh Webber, Dallas, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79-80--159
Justin Roberts, Decatur, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-79--159
Michael Daniels, Decatur, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81-78--159
Allen McFerran, Fort Smith, Ark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84-76--160
Forrest Taylor, Montgomery, Ala. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81-79--160
Andrew Buergler, Cary, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-82--161
Dudley Payne, Warrenton, Va. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81-80--161
Jonathan Jackson, Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81-80--161
Garret Davis, Sarasota, Fla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-80--162
Joshua Robert, Jennings, La. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-83--165