Scheffler Rallies to Victory in U.S. Junior Amateur


Scottie Scheffler of Dallas overcame Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, Miss., 3 and 2, in the championship match of the 66th U.S. Junior Amateur. The event took place at the 7,740-yard, par-72 Martis Camp Club in Truckee, Calif.

Riley got off to a fine start, forging a 3-up lead through six holes thanks to a birdie and some erratic play by Scheffler.

But the 17-year-old Scheffler, who won the Texas Class AAA state golf championship for the second season in a row and led Highland Park High School to the team title, settled down with a birdie on the par-5 seventh and got the margin down to 1-up for Riley at the 18-hole mark.

Riley maintained that lead through the 22nd hole when both players birdied the 579-yard par-5. But a Scheffler birdie on the next took the match to all-square. A Scheffler bogey on the 24th gave Riley - who parred the hole -the lead again, and the 16-year-old extended it to 2-up on the 27th with another par.

But then Riley's championship hopes started to fade, as he bogeyed the 647-yard 10th (the 27th hole of the match). He kept it at 1-up through the next three holes before another Riley bogey on the 471-yard 13th brought it to all-square.

Scheffler birdied the par-3 14th hole to take the lead for good, moving it to 2-up on the par-5 15th (the 33rd hole of the match) with another birdie and closing it out on the 34th hole when Riley bogeyed the 304-yard par-4.

“I played pretty well down the stretch, said Scheffler. “In the morning round, I gave away a lot of shots and I struggled with the putting a little bit early, then I started to figure it out.”

Riley was classy, though disconsolate and teary-eyed, in defeat.

For more information and complete championship-match details, visit www.usga.org.