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1
| Seth Reeves
Duluth, GA-6 |
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2
| Sepp Straka
Valdosta, GA | -3 |
3
| Keith Mitchell
Chattanooga, TN | -2 |
T4
| Brad Smith
Peru, IN | -1 |
| Jordan Walor
Wake Forest, NC | -1 |
T6
| Derek Chang
Alpharetta, GA | E |
| Scott Strohmeyer
Auburn, AL | E |
T8
| Gabriel Costa
Tequesta, FL | +1 |
| Ian Phillips
Raleigh, NC | +1 |
| Joe Doramus
Little Rock, AR | +1 |
| Kyle Scott
Johannesburg, S. Africa | +1 |
| Riley Pumphrey
Norman, OK | +1 |
| Smylie Kaufman
Birmingham, AL | +1 |
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Players exempt into the 2009 Southeastern Amateur represent the following
countries:
- U.S.A.
(AL, CA, DE, FL, GA, IA, IN, MO, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA)
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Ireland
- Australia
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Derek Chang
Derek Chang fired a bogie free final round of 64 to repeat as Southeastern Amateur Champion.
After a second cold year at the University of Minnesota, Derek Chang came back to the Southeastern and gave a repeat performance. Firing a bogie free final round of 64, Chang emerged from the pack to retain the trophy.
The "pack" also contained 2008 Champion Mitch Krywulycz and Wesley Bryan - 08 Runner up and younger brother of 2007 Champion George Bryan IV. Also in the mix were fellow National Champion Augusta State Jaguars Taylor Floyd and Carter Newman. It was one of those final rounds that you know is going to be exciting. About 15 players had a realistic shot at the title, and the list of guys in the mix have impressive resumes - both in the Southeastern and in College golf. And they did not disappoint. Even though the final tally was a three shot victory, the title seemed up for grabs until the end. Derek definitly emerged with a font nine 32. And after making it through Oh Man! corner unscathed, the chatter on the scoring radios started turning toward "is he going to do it... is he going to repeat?". Of course, the girls at the large leaderboard behind the 18th green didn't have time to talk because they were updating the board constantly. Six inch numbers and 3 foot name magnets were flying everywhere!
At the end of the day, after a tremendously exciting finish and with a storm trying to come in, a really cool scene developed. George Bryan - expected to be playing in his last Southeastern before turning pro finished T15 was congratulating younger brother Wesley who is returning to the University of South Carolina, and the Augusta State team congratulating Derek, who had decided to transfer to Augusta State during the summer break. In all, we were treated to a great tournament, with some new names popping up, some old names remaining, and some moving on to the next level. What a week.
What a tournament.
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Derek Chang
Derek Chang came back in 2009 to improve upon his T-2 finish from the year prior.
Derek came back after his freshman year at Minnesota with improved distance and strength and even more talent than he had shown just out of High School.
The tournament was a bit touch and go through Saturday, with a couple of 63's posted by Chang and Binfield, but by the turn on Sunday, the championship belonged to Chang. With his father walking along with him outside the ropes, Derek brought the trophy home. The first time it has remained in Georgia in a couple of years!
Congratulations to Derek and the Chang family on a job well done!
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