Penn State's Cole Miller wins Pa. Amateur
FLEETWOOD, Pa. - As Cole Miller prepped to pose for celebratory photos with the trophy, he struggled for one of the only times all day.
FLEETWOOD, Pa. - As Cole Miller prepped to pose for celebratory photos with the trophy, he struggled for one of the only times all day.
"It's heavy," he said.
Miller's win in the 103rd Pennsylvania Amateur at Moselem Springs Golf Club held a little extra weight.
"I would say this is probably my biggest win to date," said Miller, a junior this fall at Penn State.
Entering Wednesday's final round, Miller trailed Nittany Lions teammate J.D. Dornes, who was at 10-under par, by three strokes. But Miller, from New Tripoli, Lehigh County, knocked in seven birdies to shoot a 3-under-par 67 and finish the tournament at a total of 10-under-par 200.
Dornes, a Lancaster native, finished in second with a 7-under-par 203. Chris Crawford, of Bensalem, who recently wrapped up his career at Drexel, finished in third with a 5-under-par 205.
"This is a great tournament. You have all the best guys" in Pennsylvania, Miller said. "So to compete with them and pull off the win, that's all you can ask for."
The key, Miller said, was that he was able to settle in for the rest of the round once he got his first birdie. Luckily for him, his first birdie came on the second hole. Then he got his second birdie on the fifth hole and his third on the seventh.
By that point, Miller had erased the deficit and tied Dornes. The stalemate continued until the 11th hole. Miller hit back-to-back birdies and built a two-stroke lead he didn't give up. Even with the adrenaline setting in, the cushion is what kept him calm.
But Dornes responded and trailed by just one stroke heading to the 16th hole. That's where Miller hit a 15-foot putt, his biggest shot of the day.
"The putt on 16 was probably what helped me clinch it at the end there," Miller said.
On the 18th green, Crawford and Dornes hit their putts before Miller. As Miller stepped up to his ball on a par attempt, the second- and third-place finishers could only watch the final stroke of the 54-hole tournament. Miller tapped it in and sealed the deal.
Dornes didn't miss a green the entire day but often couldn't convert. On the other hand, putting was the highlight of Miller's final round, he said.
"Making putts is so huge and important," Miller said.
"He made them. I didn't," Dornes said.
As the two held the top two spots on the leaderboard entering Wednesday, they both participated in some friendly banter in a groupchat with other Penn State teammates on Tuesday night.
But after the final round, Miller was the one who got the last laugh.