KYLE STANLEY WINS 100TH SOUTHERN AMATEUR

BIRMINGHAM -- Kyle Stanley made it closer than he wanted, but did just enough to win the 100th Southern Amateur Championship at The Country Club of Birmingham on July 22. Stanley, of Gig Harbor, Wash., shot a final-round 71 for a total of 275, eight under par on the demanding 7,113-yard West Course layout. That edged a fast-finishing Drew Weaver of High Point, N.C., by one shot. Weaver had a final round 68 to finish at 276.

Next came Brandon DeStefano (277) of Bryan, Texas.  "This feels great to win such a good tournament with such a good field,'' Stanley said.  ''I tried not to think about the winner here getting a spot in Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill tournament, but not with much success. Playing in a big PGA Tour event like that is a dream for any amateur.''

Low finisher with local ties was University of Alabama senior Thomas Hagler of Ringgold, Ga., who closed with the low round of the day - a 66 - giving him a 279 total and fourth place.

Birmingham native and UAB golfer Garrett Osborn had a good comeback from a poor third round, shooting with a final-round 67, good for a 281 total and a tie for sixth. Also at 281 were University of Alabama golfers Thomas Harrell of Hazelhurst, Ga., and Matthew Swan of Montgomery.

But it was Stanley's day. The 18-year-old freshman-to-be at Clemson had a three-shot lead through 13 holes when rain rolled in and forced a delay of two hours and 45 minutes.  Immediately after resuming play, the first shot he faced was a 60-foot putt on No. 14, which he rolled 15 feet by. But he made the comebacker for par, which he called huge.  It was a struggle the rest of the way as he bogeyed both 16 and 17 to see his three-shot lead dwindle to one over Weaver, who, in the group ahead of Stanley, just missed his 25-foot putt for birdie on No. 18.  Stanley made a solid par on the final hole despite missing the fairway left of the hole.  ''I didn't quite have all the pieces today and it was a bit of a struggle, especially after the rain delay,'' Stanley said.  The win caps a remarkable three-week stretch for Stanley, who came into the championship after winning the Sahalee Invitational two weeks earlier and finishing third in the Players Amateur, where he shot a sizzling 20-under-par.

Weaver, a sophomore at Virginia Tech, said he was ''disappointed, but I couldn't have played any better in the last two rounds. Considering I was close to the cut line after two rounds, to finish this close (to the lead), I'm thrilled.'' He made birdies on 3, 8, 10, 13 and 17, with bogeys on 12 and 16.


Complete results:

Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. 67-70-67-71--275
Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C. 71-72-65-68--276
Brandon DeStefano, Dallas, Texas 69-70-66-72--277
Thomas Hagler, Ringgold, Ga . 69-75-69-66--279
Justin Metzger, Lenoir City, Tenn. 69-70-66-75--280
Garrett Osborn, Birmingham, Ala. 70-68-76-67--281
Mark Harrell, Hazelhurst, Ga. 70-74-68-69--281
Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. 71-69-71-70--281
Jack Hall, Macon, Ga . 66-73-73-70--282
Carlton Forrester, Birmingham, Ala. 72-68-71-72--283
Nick Bailes, Cleveland, Tenn. 66-70-74-73--283
Terrence Miskell, New Braunfels, Texas 69-73-72-69--283
Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. 73-68-73-70--284
Creighton Honeck, Austin, Texas 72-71-72-69--284
James Vargas, Miami, Fla. 75-68-70-71--284
Luke List, Ringgold, Ga. 74-72-66-72--284
Steve Dartnall, Mt. Pleasant Perth, AU 71-68-76-69--284
Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C. 74-70-69-71--284
Brandon Kuban, Newnan, Ga. 74-66-66-79--285
Chris Rogers, Franklin, Tenn. 69-76-74-66--285
Mike McCoy, West Des Moines, Iowa 71-74-69-71--285
Taylor Hall, LaGrange, Ga. 71-69-67-78--285
Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. 68-72-72-73--285
Trey Denton, Canton, Miss 72-70-70-73--285
Will Swift, Hoover, Ala. 71-70-71-73--285
Ben Smith, Vero Beach, Fla. 71-72-70-73--286
Chris Gilliland, Chattanooga, Tenn. 69-72-73-72--286
Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. 69-72-72-73--286
Glenn Northcutt, Dothan, Ala. 74-71-71-70--286
Robert Gerwin, Cincinnati, Ohio 72-72-71-71--286
Jonathan Hodge, Jefferson City, Tenn. 71-72-72-72--287
Patton Kizzire, Tuscaloosa, Ala. 73-70-70-74--287
Rory Hie, Lakewood, Calif. 75-66-72-74--287
Talbert Griffin, Hoover, Ala. 71-73-70-73--287
Cameron Tringale, San Juan Capistrano, Ca 75-71-72-70--288
Franklin Corpening, Fort Worth, Texas 71-72-72-73--288
Matt Harmon, Grand Rapids, Mich. 72-71-76-69--288
Randy Lowry, Spring, Texas 75-71-71-71--288
Ryan Hybl, Winterville, Ga. 69-73-72-74--288
Brady Schnell, Bettendorf, Iowa 73-72-74-70--289
Josh Thompson, Indianapolis, Ind. 74-67-75-73--289
Scott Tashie, Memphis, Tenn. 74-72-70-73--289
Adam Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. 69-72-70-79--290
Andrew Lawson, Mobile, Ala. 72-71-75-72--290
Bud Reynolds, Knoxville, Tenn. 72-74-70-74--290
Chris Condello, Longwood, Fla. 66-74-74-76--290
Greg Koch, Orlando, Fla. 72-73-72-73--290
Peter Malnati, Dandridge, Tenn. 72-74-74-70--290
Greg Forest, Palm City, Fla. 71-71-71-78--291
Brad Doster, Winter Park, Fla. 71-75-73-73--292
Bryce Ledford, Ooltewah, Tenn. 72-73-74-73--292
Chase Barnes, Houston, Texas 73-71-72-76--292
Chris McCartin, Arlington, Va. 73-71-70-78--292
Matt Fast, Hattiesburg, Miss. 76-70-70-76--292
Michael Green, Augusta, Ga. 71-75-69-77--292
Andrew Medley, Athens, Ala. 77-69-70-77--293
Matt Boyd, Sugar Land, Texas 75-69-74-75--293
Mark Ogren, Daphne, Ala. 74-69-79-72--294
Clay Hodge, Tyler, Texas 73-71-74-77--295
Gavin Cambre, Orlando, Fla. 72-74-76-73--295
Parker Pemberton, Apple Valley, Minn. 68-76-73-78--295
Porter Smith, Birmingham, Ala. 74-71-75-75--295
Scott Sikes, Dallas, Texas 76-70-75-74--295
Adam West, Montgomery, Ala. 75-69-71-81--296
Kyle Morris, Powell, Ohio 70-75-73-78--296
Bryant Lach, The Woodlands, Texas 68-75-75-79--297
Seth Brandon, Dalton, Ga. 73-73-73-78--297
Jason Turner, Little Rock, Ark. 74-72-72-80--298
Dan Crockett, Franklin, Tenn. 71-75-74-79--299
Robert Lindstrom, Huntsville, Ala. 71-75-74-79--299