PARAMUS, N.J. - Georgia Southern fifth-year senior Ben Carr won four of the final nine holes to down Derek Hitchner 3 & 2 Saturday in the semifinals of the 122nd U.S. Amateur Golf Championship. With the win, he advances to Sunday, August 21, 2022, 36-hole championship final against Sam Bennett of Texas A&M.
After falling behind on the third hole, Carr came back with a birdie on the fourth hole to square the match. Hitchner won the sixth hole, but that would be his final win as Carr got rolling on the back nine. Carr won holes 11, 13 and 14 and nearly ended it with a birdie on 15, but halved hole 16 to end the match.
"I'm so proud of Ben," said men's golf coach Carter Collins. "He held his composure all day and as the pressure built, he played better. He's elite on and off the golf course and deserves every opportunity ahead of him. We are all so proud, can't wait for tomorrow. Hail Southern!"
Georgia Southern alum Buddy Alexander won the 1986 U.S. Amateur with a 5 & 3 win over Chris Kite at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club.
The battle for the Havemeyer Trophy begins at 8 a.m. with the first 18 holes of match play with the final 18 holes starting at 1:30 p.m. NBC Golf will begin its broadcast at 2 p.m. Live scoring is available at USGA.org.
Viral emotional tribute to his late dad
In a television interview immediately following his win yesterday that advanced him to the final, he shared an emotional story regarding a special marker he uses to remember his dad who passes way suddenly in 2019 at the age of 52.
This has now gone viral. Watch the interview below:
An emotional interview with #USAmateur finalist @bencarr__@GaSouthernGolf | #USAmateur pic.twitter.com/vT04xnjCCt
— USGA (@USGA) August 20, 2022
Ben's opponent in the final Sam Bennett dad passed away after a battle with Alzheimer's.
Read the story of the bond by grief in the story below written by the Golf Channel's Brentley Romine.
U.S. Amateur finalists Ben Carr, Sam Bennett bonded by grief
Congratulations and Encouragement
Rabid GS fans are taking to social medial to congratulate Ben Carr, including Governor Brian Kemp, Cole Swindell and Georgia Southern alum and 1986 #USAmateur Winner, Buddy Alexander.
All of Georgia is behind @bencarr__ today. He’s already made us proud, and we can’t wait to see him play in the “tradition unlike any other” in Augusta next Spring! https://t.co/wO1AVM0lyj
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) August 21, 2022
𝗚𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. - @coleswindell@GaSouthernGolf | @bencarr__ pic.twitter.com/pDkYQWI7SQ
— Georgia Southern Athletics (@GSAthletics) August 21, 2022
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝘁. - Georgia Southern alum and 1986 #USAmateur Winner, Buddy Alexander @GaSouthernGolf | @bencarr__ pic.twitter.com/pupJYuKHGm
— Georgia Southern Athletics (@GSAthletics) August 21, 2022
Quotes from Ben Carr:
How did the rain delay affect you?
"The rain delay stressed me out and it helped me. I didn't like waiting around longer to tee off, but it also helped calm me down. It gave me a quiet place in the locker room to sit for about two hours. It was a long delay; it wouldn't stop raining. But I was able to calm down a little bit and reset after the delay and that really helped a lot."
What changed for you after dropping the third and sixth holes as you didn't drop any more holes after that?
"On three, I juiced a wedge over the green and had a tough lie, so I gave him that hole, which was tough early in the round. But then I hit a great shot into 4 and made the putt, which settled me down. Hearing all my friends, family, and people in the crowd get really loud when that putt went in gave me a lot of confidence going forward. Feeding off the crowd allowed me to win in the end.
You had a lot of friends, family, teammates and coaches up there. What did having them there do for you?
"Having my own little cheering section of people from Columbus and people from Statesboro, and a bunch of friends, family, teammates and my coach there meant so much to me when I walked into the lobby this morning. It gave me a little peace of mind knowing they would be there to support me no matter what happened."
You looked pretty comfortable on the back nine. Were you feeling good at that point?
I was pretty confident on the back nine after making a couple of putts. I was hitting the ball pretty good, as well. I knew if I could feed off the crowd and make a couple more putts, I could close it out early. But Derek Hitchner is an unbelievable player and a great competitor and I think he will become a friend of mine. Those are things you can't explain or really see on the broadcast.
You were really emotional at the end, but the work isn't done. What's your routine tonight and tomorrow?
"I just want to get dinner with my family friends, get a good night's sleep, wake up, and play the golf course again. Me and [caddie] Will [Wilcox] have been doing that all week and it's been working for us and I'm looking forward to doing it again tomorrow."