After going winless for nearly five years, Loomis native and Junior Tour of Northern California alum Austin Smotherman made a triumphant return to the winners’ circle.
In June, Smotherman, now 31, won the Korn Ferry Tour BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX at Thornblade Club in South Carolina by three shots after carding rounds of 65-62-66-67 for a total of 25-under 260.
In the final round, he’d card a clutch three birdies over his final four holes, including a bomb on the 18th to seal the deal.
For Smotherman, it was his first KFT victory since the 2021 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. The second round 62 matched his 18-hole career low.
Along with the win, Smotherman as of late June had notched four top 10s in 14 starts this season.
“This one's pretty special," Smotherland told the Greenville News. "I've never really made a putt like that to win on the last hole. It's so cool, and I wish I could recreate that moment every week. You don't always expect long putts like that to go in. But I couldn't have drawn it up any better."
