NAPLES, FLORIDA | Caleb Surratt, a 17-year-old who will play for the University of Tennessee, made a birdie on the final hole Sunday to cement a three-stroke, wire-to-wire victory in the Terra Cotta Invitational at Naples National Golf Club.
A 3-under-par total made Surratt, who lives just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, the only player in red numbers for the 54-hole tournament. But the final margin doesn’t do justice to the patience it took to get there. He led since his opening round, a bogey-free 3-under-par 69, and then found himself in a tie for the 36-hole lead with Cohen Trolio, who will start college in the fall at Louisiana State University.
Throughout the opening 12 holes of the last day, Surratt played brilliantly with two birdies and 10 pars to earn a three-stroke lead ahead of Maxwell Ford, who will play collegiately at the University of Georgia, and a four-stroke advantage ahead of Trolio. Surratt played deliberately, at one point taking more than three minutes to hit an approach shot from the middle of the fairway on the ninth hole, as the final threesome needed 3 hours and 5 minutes to complete the opening nine.
“It didn’t really bother me,†Surratt said. “When we got to the back, we didn’t really change anything. I didn’t play faster. I mean, I’m leading the golf tournament, so why would I let that get to me?â€
The snail’s pace fit into Surratt’s game plan as he plodded around the treacherous Naples National greens, fist pumping several par saves and picking conservative lines for his approaches. That strategy seemed likely to produce a comfortable victory, but Surratt’s momentum hit a speed bump starting at the 13th hole. He caught a flier from the rough on his second shot – he had laid back off the tee thinking the hole location was near the front of the green instead of the back – and could not get up and down from the pine straw beyond the green, creating a two-shot swing as Ford rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt to get within one stroke.
Surratt did well to make par at the par-4 14th, getting up and down while short-sided in a greenside bunker, and Ford could not convert a 6-foot birdie try to tie for the lead.
"I was fine with my score but I thought it could have been a lot lower. Maxwell and Cohen are two of my best buddies, so that made it a comfortable group for me.â€
Caleb Surratt
On the par-5 15th, with Surratt already on the green, Ford pulled his wedge approach beyond the green and appeared destined to find the penalty area until his ball improbably hit a rock and bounced back onto the fringe. Surratt then proceeded to race his birdie try well past the hole and could not make the comebacker, making bogey and creating a tie at 3-under with Ford.
Both players ran their approaches through the 16th green and made bogey. Surratt had only made two bogeys and one double bogey in 44 holes before making three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the back nine, but the tournament would flip back in his favor at the par-3 17th. Ford left himself a long, downhill birdie putt and three-putted for bogey, falling one behind Surratt heading to the last hole.
“We’ve worked really hard on my emotions the last couple of months,†Surratt said. “It hit me on the 12th hole today that I’ve had the least amount of bogeys in the field. … I made some mistakes coming in, but you have to realize how hard it is and keep perspective.â€
There would be little drama on the par-5 18th. Surratt hit a classy approach to 15 feet and Ford could do no better than an approach to 40 feet, which he went on to three-putt. Surratt coaxed his birdie putt beautifully down the hill, offering an emphatic fist pump as it rolled in on the left side of the cup.
Surratt came into the Terra Cotta ranked No. 1,066 in the world, well behind Ford and Trolio. The junior at Union Academy Charter School had his father on the bag and spent Sunday evening and into the morning driving more than 10 hours from Naples back to Charlotte for a high school match scheduled for noon on Monday.
“I didn’t think I was an underdog at all today,†Surratt said. “I had played the best golf in the field through 36 holes. I was fine with my score but I thought it could have been a lot lower. Maxwell and Cohen are two of my best buddies, so that made it a comfortable group for me.â€
It was the 25th anniversary for the Terra Cotta and it celebrated with the best field in tournament history as Tyler Strafaci, Stewart Hagestad and several other highly ranked players competed.
RESULTS
Sean Fairholm
