Sam Horsfield the first to win in consecutive years since 1978

Our 89^th New Year’s Invitational went out with a bang as defending champ Sam Horsfield holed an 80-foot chip for an eagle on the final hole to win by a shot.  Bang might be the right word as the chip was hit boldly and had plenty of speed when it hit the pin dead center and disappeared into the cup.  It left Brandon Pierce, a sophomore at LSU, momentarily stunned.  Pierce had pitched to within a foot of the hole for a sure birdie at 18, likely assuring a tie with a possibility of winning the tournament outright.  Horsfield needed to get up and down to tie; a hole-out for a win and the defender did the improbable.  It gave him an 8-under par total of 280 and made him the first repeat champion since Buddy Alexander, who in fact won 3 in a row beginning in 1976.  In fact, it was Buddy who gained Sam’s commitment to attend the University of Florida where he will begin this fall.

The tournament began on the coldest day thus far this winter.  Kyle Weldon, a Kansas State sophomore, shot a fine 69 to lead after round one.  Chris Selfridge, a University of Toledo senior from Belfast, Northern Ireland, shot a pair of 70’s to lead after two rounds.  Rounds of 68 by defender Horsfield and US Amateur champ Gunn Yang move them into a 3-way tie for the lead at 211 along with perennial contender Michael McGowan of Pinehurst, North Carolina.

The weather finally cooperated with a beautiful day on Sunday and the final round was closely contested by the 3 leaders along with Brandon Pierce who began the day a shot behind.  Georgia Tech’s Drew Czuchry made a couple runs early but was out of contention after a par-bogey stretch on 16 and 17.  Michael McGowan had birdied 14 and 15 to take a 1 shot lead but made bogied  16 while the others in his group all birdied.  Bogeys on 10, 11 and 12 had set Amateur champ Yang back but his birdie on 16 got him within 2 shots.  All 4 players made par on 17, setting up the finish on 18.  McGowan and Yang tied for 3^rd at 283, behind Horsfield and Pierce.

In all, 10 players shot even par 288 or better for the four days.  Drew Czuchry and Chris Selfridge tied for 5^th at 285, Jim Liu finished 7^th at 286, James Clark 8^th at 287 and, rounding out the top ten were Ryan Orr and Kyle Shealy at even.  Miles McConnell of Riverview, FL won the mid-amateur division with a 1-over par 289 which included a great final round of 67.  Miles was runner-up in this tournament 25 years ago.  Largo FL’s Dennis Monahan won the senior division at even par 216 as the seniors played a 54-hole event.

We look forward to Sam Horsfield‘s return to attempt a “three-peat” and hope to see many of this year’s participants at the 90^th NYI scheduled for January 7-10, 2016.

Final Results