Andrew Goodman of Norman, Oklahoma, broke through for his biggest victory, erasing a seven-stroke deficit and winning the Trans-Mississippi Amateur in a playoff on Friday at Flint Hills National in Andover, Kansas.
Goodman, a rising senior at the University of Oklahoma, shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 to take the clubhouse lead at 14-under 270. He waited as William Sides, a fellow Oklahoman who is from Tulsa and plays for Southern Methodist, birdied the par-5 18th to force a sudden-death playoff.
Upon returning to the 18th hole for the playoff, Goodman got up and down from the right side of the green for birdie, and Sides failed to match the 4.
Goodman got off to a strong start in the final round, making birdie on five of his first seven holes. He added birdies on the par-4 13th and the par-5 18th to set the target score of 270.
Goodman, who entered the week at No. 21 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, finished fourth in last year’s Trans-Miss. He posted four top-10 results in 13 college tournaments in the 2023-24 season for the Sooners.
Cooper Schultz, who grew up in Andover and is a senior at Kansas State, failed to convert a three-stroke lead after 54 holes into victory. He closed with a 3-over 74 and share of third place with Australia’s Quinnton Croker, the reigning Australian Men’s Amateur champion, at 11-under 273.
Jack Barber shot 9-under 275 to lead the mid-amateur division and tied for eighth overall.
The Trans-Miss, which dates to 1901 and is the fourth event on the seven-stop Elite Amateur Golf Series, rotates among courses traditionally west of the Mississippi River. Its roster of winners is a who’s-who of future professional stars, including eventual major champions Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa, among others.
The Elite Amateur Golf Series continues this week with the 118th Southern Amateur, to be played July 17-20 at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, Kentucky.
RESULTS
Steve Harmon