Men's Golfer Wins U.S. Amateur.
Sunday, August 26, 2001 | Men's Golf
Bubba Dickerson (Hilliard, Fla.) became the 101st U.S. Amateur Champion after defeating Robert Hamilton (Carmichael, Calif.) Sunday in Atlanta, Ga. Dickerson walked away with a one-hole victory after a 36-hole final match which was aired nationally by NBC.
Dickerson struggled through the first half of the match, allowing Hamilton to take a five-hole lead at 14. He then rallied scoring two birdies and an eagle on 20 to tie it up. The two then exchanged the lead over the next few holes until the advantage was again Hamilton's. Dickerson double bogeyed the par 4 hole 34 to give Hamilton a 1-up lead. An incredible par on 35 then tied it and Dickerson two-putted his way to a championship.
"This is so incredibly emotional for me," Dickerson said as he choked back tears. "I knew that whatever happened at 35 would set the outcome for the final. I needed to get it even there and I did. When I got to that final tee shot I just used a heavy 4-iron and gave it everything that I had. I've been hitting the ball pretty good all summer. Just not winning and not making putts. This is just unbelievable."
Three other Gators have claimed the title over the years. Fred Ridley was the most recent to score the trophy in 1975. Previous to Ridley was Steven Melnyk in 1969 and Robert Murphy in 1965. Current Gator head coach Buddy Alexander also claimed the title in 1986.
A junior at the University of Florida, Dickerson is playing in his third U.S. Amateur championship. He was runner-up in the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links, losing in 37 holes to D.J. Trahan at Heron Lakes in Portland, Ore. Earlier this year, Dickerson captured the Western Amateur and finished second in the S.E.C. Championship. Among other honors, he was named S.E.C. Freshman of the Year in 2000, as well as first team All- S.E.C. and third team All-America in 2001.
Dickerson qualified for match play with rounds of 69 at East Lake and 72 at Druid Hills. In the first round, Dickerson defeated Steve Passmore of Ashland, Ohio, 6 and 5; in the second round, he defeated Chris Nallen of Hackettstown, N.J., 1 up; Dickerson defeated Camilo Villegas, of Colombia, 2 and 1, in the round of 16; and in the quarterfinals, he defeated Michael Sims, of Bermuda, 1up.
The U.S. Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
