Gamecocks' Matt NeSmith birdies 18 to win Players Amateur in his 5th try

University of South Carolina senior and North Augusta native Matt NeSmith didn't enter Sunday's final round of the Players Amateur thinking he'd win.

Not with the three guys ahead of him also ranked in Golfweek's Top 100 amateurs in America. The leader, NeSmith's friend Chase Koepka, entered the day five shots ahead of him.

"I haven't done something like that in a really long time," the 21-year-old NeSmith, who played in last month's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, said of his sizzling 6-under-par 65 to win one of golf's most prestigious amateur events at 13 under.

"To come out and play a flawless round of golf like that with no bogeys and to birdie 18. It was fantastic. I loved every second of it."

That birdie, a 20-footer which, upon finding the hole, elicited a fist pump from NeSmith and an eruption of cheers from a large contingent of fans, including his parents, Beth and Darren.

"The percentage of those, you don't make a whole lot of those," Darren NeSmith said of his son's clutch, ultimately tournament-winning birdie, which gave him a one-shot lead on Koepka.

"You're just trying to tell yourself, 'I hope he just makes two good putts and we'll see where it goes from there.' And then when he put the roll on it and he was holding his finish up, I knew it was going to be close. And then when it went in, it was just elation."

NeSmith's excitement was tempered by the fact that his friend Koepka, who led by a shot after the 14th hole, lost the lead after a frustrating bogey on 15 dropped him into a tie with NeSmith, who birdied the hole.

An animated Koepka made clear he felt he had struck perfectly, the putt missing because of a mark on the green. It was Koepka's only bogey on a day in which he shot even-par 71, finishing the tournament 12 under.

Shotaro Ban finished third, at 10 under.

After his birdie on 18, NeSmith, who was not scoreboard watching down the stretch, said he had no idea he was going to win if Koepka didn't also birdie 18.

"I thought I had to birdie 18 just to tie," an ambivalent NeSmith said minutes after Koepka's par on 18 gave Matt the title. "I was hopefully going to go into a playoff. And then to get in to see (Koepka) was at 12 (under par, not 13 under). That kind of sucks. You don't want to beat someone because they made a bogey."

With his victory, NeSmith, a winner locally at the Sea Pines Junior Heritage in 2011, will get to tee it up at next April's RBC Heritage -- marking at least his fourth PGA Tour event. NeSmith has also played in the Wyndham Championship in N.C., and the St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

"It'll be great, I'm excited," he said of his exemption into the Heritage, as family beckoned for hugs and congratulations.

NeSmith's excitement about the RBC Heritage is not just for the literal and figurative home cooking he gets when playing in the Palmetto State.

"Basically the two amateurs I've ever won were the Azalea, which is in Charleston, and this one down here, so it's kind of cool. I guess I'm a home player," said NeSmith, who ws competing in the Players Amateur for the fifth time.

"I like being at home. I like the heat and the Bermuda grass, so it's good."

Matt's mother, Beth, also enduring the temperatures nicely, said Matt's win Sunday felt even more special than the SEC championship he claimed on St. Simon's Island, Ga., in April.

"Just to win here in South Carolina ... the meaning of that is more than I can express," she said, a tear streaming down her face.

Local golfers

Hilton Head's Will Miles and Bluffton's Bryson Nimmer each finished at 8 over.

Miles, on his way to USC, posted a 76 on Sunday, while Nimmer carded a 77.

"I'm not too happy with the scores being how much I play here and stuff," Nimmer, who said he's played Berkeley Hall dozens of times, remarked after his round. "I obviously thought I'd play a lot better, but my game wasn't quite as good as I thought it was and it showed me a lot of places I need to work on, which is the best thing I can take from it."

The 18-year-old graduate of Hilton Head Christian Academy said he was satisfied with his ball striking, but not his short game.

"A lot of putting," Bryson said. "I had I think more than 10 three-putts this week which is just something you can't do."

Still, Nimmer added, faring as he did in an event featuring a slew of college upperclassmen at the top of the amateur ranks, is absolutely a confidence booster.

"I think (tournament officials) said they have five of the top 20 amateurs in the world playing this year, which is pretty strong," he said. "I'm not upset. I made the cut, which was one of my goals going into the week."

Nimmer will have a chance to tighten up his putting in tournament play July 23 thrugh 25 at the Oglethorpe Invitational at the Wilmington Island Club in Savannah, Ga.

The Players Amateur Scores

Thursday-Sunday at Berkeley Hall Golf Club's North Course, Par 71

Final Round

1. Matthew NeSmith 68-72-66-65--271

2. Chase Koepka 68-69-64 -71--272

3. Shotaro Ban 71-70-63-70--274

4. Scottie Scheffler 70-70-63-72--275

5. Hunter Stewart 74-70-66-66--276

6. Anthony Maccaglia 67-67-73-70--277

7. Sam Burns 72-72-66-68--278

8. Robby Shelton IV 67-72-73-67--279

T9. Adam Ball 73-69-68-72--282

T9. Christopher Petefish 73-68-68-73--282

T9. Jack Maguire 72-67-70-73--282

T9. Trevor Cone 70-69-71-72--282

T9. William Gordon 71-69-69-73--282

T9. Cameron Young 68-72-67-75--282

T15. Zachary Olsen 68-75-70-70--283

T15. Davis Riley 71-72-72-68--283

T15. Jonathan Garrick 73-73-67-70--283

T15. Matt Gilchrest 70-71-71-71--283

T15. Kyle Jones 70-72-68-73--283

T20. Michael Tuten 67-73-72-72--284

T20. George Cunningham 72-75-68-69--284

T22. Rico Hoey 74-73-69-70--286

T22. Austin Smotherman 73-70-70-73--286

T22. Roman Robledo 73-72-68-73--286

T22. Frederick Wedel 68-72-72-74--286

T26. Cameron Davis 72-72-72-71--287

T26. Ben Griffin 74-70-70-73--287

T26. Riley Davenport 74-72-70-71--287

T29. Derek Bard 70-70-69-79--288

T29. Cory Crawford 70-75-69-74--288

T29. Will Voetsch 71-73-68-76--288

T29. Doug Ghim 73-70-71-74--288

T29. Jarryd Felton 70-71-73-74--288

34. Ryan Benton 71-72-72-74--289

T35. Cole Berman 70-71-71-79--291

T35. Troy Moses 71-72-72-76--291

T37. Will Miles 77-67-72-76--292

T37. Bryson Nimmer 70-72-73-77--292

T37. Harrison Shih 69-70-72-81--292

40. Andrew Novak 72-70-72-82--296

41. Kenny Ebalo 69-71-75-84--299

This story was originally published July 12, 2015 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Gamecocks' Matt NeSmith birdies 18 to win Players Amateur in his 5th try."