Rich Wills of Cramerton, a rising junior at Clemson, won the 66th North Carolina Amateur Championship Saturday at Bermuda Run’s East Course.
Wills shot 6-under-par 66 in the final round for an 12-under 276 total, two shots in front of UNC Charlotte’s Daniel Boone of Fuquay Varina, University of Richmond’s Jack LaPiana of Charlotte and University of Georgia’s Will Guthrie of Charlotte, the third-round leader. Boone and LaPiana shot 67 on the final day.
UNC Greensboro’s BJ Boyce of Spring Lake shot 70 for a fifth-place finish at 279 in the 142-player Carolinas Golf Association tournament.
The lead changed several times Saturday on a crowded leaderboard, with five players finishing within two strokes of Wills on the 7,125-yard course. After a bogey on 15, Wills birdied 16 and 17 — his third and fourth birdies on the back nine — to take command.
Wills made 21 birdies in the 72-hole tournament, plus an eagle, to help overcome two double-bogeys Friday on the back nine.
Jake Conklin and Ian Williams, both of Cary, tied for eighth at 209. Jack Boyer of Greensboro was the top Triad finisher at 282. Former U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Scott Harvey of Greensboro shot 285.
