Lukas Taggart, a senior at the Colorado School of Mines, struck gold at Spyglass Hill GC in Pebble Beach.
Taggart came back from a five-hole deficit in the morning to catch Jimmy Castles and later defeated Castles on the 39th hole on Thursday to win the 122nd NCGA Amateur Championship.
Along with earning an automatic exemption into the 2026 U.S. Amateur at Merion, Taggart joins the likes of NCGA Hall of Famers Lawson Little Jr., Charles Seaver and John Brodie as champions of the event. The match tied the record for the longest Amateur finals match, the last time occurring in 2007.
Helping to seal the win was an all-time shot from Taggart on the par-5 39th hole (No.1). With Castles stymied under a tree just off the fairway, Taggart unleashed a 3-wood from 260 yards out in the fairway that stopped on the green, just 20 feet from the pin. From there, Taggart two-putted for a birdie. Castles had a 5-footer for birdie to tie, but his putt slipped just past the cup.
"It was a crazy shot," Taggart said. "I smashed it. It was one of the best shots, scenario-wise, that I have ever hit. It was perfect."
The morning round was forgettable for Taggart. Castles, a 29-year-old former standout at Cal Poly-SLO, birdied three of the first 10 holes to build a quick 4-up lead. From holes Nos. 7 through 11, Taggart, who is studying Mechanical Engineering, went 4-over with four bogeys.
A Castles bogey on No.12 that trimmed the deficit to 4-up was Taggart's only help through the first 18.
"It was a grind out there. When I was five holes down through 11, I just told myself to just stick with it," Taggart said.
In the afternoon portion, Taggart got two holes immediately back when Castles opened with back-to-back bogeys on holes Nos. 19 and 20. A Taggart birdie on the 21st hole (No.3) later, and the deficit was manageable again at only 1-up.
From there, the two see-sawed until the 33rd hole, where Castles made birdie to re-take a 2-up lead with only three holes to play. Following a tie on the 34th hole, Taggart responded with a birdie on the par-4 35th to cut the lead to one. On the ensuing 36th hole, Taggart got it back to a tie when Castles made bogey after failing to reach the green in regulation.
"It was a great week, grinding at Spy," Castles said. "I'm grateful to compete. It's a bit raw. I'll come back and compete next year."
Making the victory extra special for Taggart was his gallery, mom Sonia. He also had his dad, Paul, on the bag as caddie.
"It was great having them. My dad was with my cousin at the Leadville 100 in Colorado and drove down after that," Taggart said. "Then he was there to caddie for me. I was glad that he came down.”
Logan Kim and James Gould-Healy were co-medalists in stroke play qualifying with matching scores of 7-under 136.