Raleigh native Doc Redman claims 2017 U.S. Amateur Golf Championship

Copyright USGA/Chris Keane

PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIF. – Doc Redman defeated Doug Ghim on the 37th hole and captured the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship at The Riviera Country Club on Sunday.

Redman, 19, from Raleigh, N.C., a former Triangle-area AJGA Junior All-American, laid his claim on the historic trophy and title in a match that pushed each player to the limit as neither held larger than a 2-up lead throughout.

An eagle and a birdie on the 35th and 36th holes by Redman allowed him to force another hole of play which eventually resulted in Ghim conceding the match on the 37th hole.

“It’s incredible to add my name to the list of all the champions and to have conquered arguably the best field in amateur golf in a really difficult grind,” Redman said.

“I beat some of the best players in the world, and I hope that this can catapult me up into that conversation as well going forward.”

Watch: Highlights – 2017 U.S. Amateur Championship Final (United States Golf Association)

Redman, a sophomore at Clemson University who had a remarkable string of one-putts, missed an 8-foot par putt on the par-3 34th hole to go 2-down with two holes to play.

He rallied to square the match by dropping a 60-foot putt from the back of the green for an eagle on the par-5 17th, and then converted an 8-footer for birdie on No. 18.

Ghim had putts for birdie on No. 17 and for par on No. 18, but never got the chance to attempt either of them as Redman, the No. 70 player in the world, made his dramatic puts to push the match to extra holes.

“When it went in, it was like, wow, OK – that’s quite a blow,” Ghim said.

The recent winner of the Pacific Coast Amateur and the No. 7 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking tried to keep a positive mindset to close the match out.

“My dad kept reminding me on the next hole that you are still winning; ‘He might’ve just made the putt of his life, but you are still winning this, and you have to make him go get it from you.’”

Redman did exactly that and claimed the championship accordingly.

“All that was going through my head was about making the putt and putting a good stroke on it,” Redman said.

“Honestly, I was just going through, you know, ‘you’re going make this, you’re going to make this’, and it worked out well.”