Harper Victorious at 27th Huntington Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship
Brooks Harper finished strong on Thursday, winning the 27th Huntington Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship at Trinity Forest Golf Club. The Dallas native made three birdies in his final five holes to win by one stroke.
Harper started hot in the final round, making birdie on the par-5 second and the par-3 third. He kicked in another on the par-5 fifth and the par-4 seventh to get to 13-under after nine holes. He made birdie on the par-5 10th to get to 14-under and four strokes ahead of the field.
“I got off to a really good start, but had a big hump in the middle of the round where I missed a lot of putts,” said Harper following his round.
The round started to derail after a double-bogey on the 11th and a bogey on the 12th. Harper hit his tee shot on the 13th before play was suspended. After an hour and 20 minute delay, Harper returned to the 13th fairway and proceeded to make bogey on the par-4.
“It was a good reset and then was able to knock in a few putts to make some birdies to finish,” said Harper.
His lead had disappeared and he trailed by one heading to the par-4 14th. Harper drove his tee shot greenside and got up and down for birdie to get back to 11-under and made a tough par on the par-4 15th to stay tied for the lead. He found the green in two on 16 and made birdie to get to 12-under but was still tied for the lead. Harper regained sole possession with a birdie on the par-3 17th after knocking it to two feet. He made a routine par on the 18th to secure his victory.
“It’s really cool to follow up some big names like Jordan Spieth, Brooks Simmons and all those guys,” said Harper.
Lakeway’s Mackey Beckett battled with Harper in the final group, even sharing the lead at one point. Becket made an early bogey on the fourth, but bounced back with three straight birdies on holes five through seven. He knocked in another birdie on the par-3 11th as well as the par-5 16th, where he shared the lead with Harper. He finished with two pars and one stroke back.
Isaac Diaz of Del Rio and Austin Randall of Prosper finished tied for third at 11-under. Diaz fired a 7-under 65, which included back-to-back eagles on the par-4 14th and 15th. Randall produced the shot of the day on the 105-yard 17th after holing his wedge. The hole-in-one got him back to 11-under and within two of Harper.
Brayden Verret of Farmers Branch and JP Lynch of Austin finished tied for fifth at 10-under. Sterling Hurd of Houston and Connor Bryce of Dallas finished tied for seventh at 9-under. Stratton Cushman, Ryan Lee, Tripp Depoy and Declan Dent finished tied for ninth at 8-under.
Trinity Forest Golf Club was the host for the first time in the event’s history. Trinity Forest GC opened in 2017 and was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The par-72 layout was the host of the PGA Tour’s Byron Nelson Championship as well as numerous NCAA Regional events.
This championship boasts a good list of past champions including Jordan Spieth, Preston Stout, Chandler Phillips and Gaven Lane. Harper joins the list of players that have gone on to success at the Collegiate and Professional levels.
With his win, Harper earns 2000 points towards the Player of the Year Race presented by Huntington Bank. He also earned an exemption into the 117th Texas Amateur presented by Hytera US.
The Legends Junior Tour heads to Katy for the Flodder Financial Shootout on June 15-16. The tour returns to DFW for the 100th Texas Junior Amateur presented by Edwin Watts Golf Shops at the end of the month.
About Huntington
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $285 billion asset regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1866, The Huntington National Bank and its affiliates provide consumers, small and middle-market businesses, corporations, municipalities and other organizations with a comprehensive suite of banking, payments, wealth management and risk management products and services. Huntington operates more than 1,400 branches in 21 states, with certain businesses operating in extended geographies. Visit Huntington.com for more information.