Clayton State's Wilcox Wins Alabama State Amateur Title
he Lakers’ junior All-American picked up where he left off
in the spring with a thrilling one-stroke victory on Sunday in the
92nd Alabama State Amateur at Willow Point Golf and Country Club.
Wilcox, who’s from Pell City, Ala., finished the championship
with a whopping 13-under-par 275 for the four-round event. He edged
Division II rival Cole Willis from Valdosta State by one stroke to
win the premier amateur golf event in the state of Alabama.
Wilcox finished two strokes ahead of third-round leader Kyle Sapp
from Alabama-Birmingham and three strokes in front of first-round
leader and Division II rival Daniel Creel from North Alabama.
After trailing by four strokes following the second round, tied for
ninth place, Wilcox saved his best golf for the final two rounds.
He had tap-in birdies at the first two holes to give him a great
start toward his 5-under-par 67 that allowed him to jump seven
players on the leaderboard in the third round. He finished the
third round tied for second place at 8-under (208), three strokes
off the pace Sapp, the leader following the third round.
In Sunday’s final round, Wilcox matched the third-performance
with another 5-under 67. He recorded two birdies on the front nine
holes and three more on the back nine. His final birdie was on the
Par 4 17th hole gave him a three-stroke lead on Willis, who came up
short despite recording an eagle on the final hole.
The big key for Wilcox was going the entire final round without a
bogey or double-bogey. That was especially critical on the 18th
hole when he hit his tee shot into the bunker and it took two shots
to get the ball on the green. However, Wilcox preserved the
championship with a seven-footer for par.
For the tournament, Wilcox recorded 19 birdies.