Preston Stout Sees Off Miles Russell In Cruise To Title At Prestigious Amateur Event

Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout held off the challenges of Miles Russell and John Daly II to win the 63rd edition of the prestigious Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rhode Island.

Stout, who helped Oklahoma State win the NCAA Division 1 golf title in May, began the final round one clear of Daly II, with Russell two off the lead, helped largely by a scintillating 61 in his second round, which included seven birdies and an eagle. That followed a first round 69, with Stout carding a three-over 72 in the third round.

While that would have disappointed the World Amateur No.8, it still left him in a strong position to claim the title.

He set about the task confidently, with his first birdie of the day coming at the par-4 second, before moving two under for his round at the seventh. Unlike Stout’s performance on Friday, which included five bogeys, there was to be only one blemish on his scorecard on Saturday, which came with a bogey at the 12^th.

Even with that blip, Stout still was still in a strong position for the title, helped by Russell’s subdued start to his round, where he was one over after 12. Meanwhile, Daly II was having an erratic round, and was two over for the day at the same stage.

Russell, who made his PGA Tour debut a year ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, finally clicked into gear with successive birdies at the 13^th and 14^th, but any hopes the prodigious 16-year-old had of overtaking Stout were soon tempered when his opponent rattled off three birdies in four holes between the 14^th and 17^th.

Meanwhile, Russell’s rally stalled, with bogeys at the 15^th, 16^th and 18^th to leave Stout taking the title by a comfortable eight shots, completing his tournament with a final round of 65 to finish on nine under.

One behind Russell on even par for the tournament was the University of Arkansas’s Daly II, whose final round of 73 followed earlier efforts of 64, 68 and 71.

Stout succeeds Anthony Delisanti as champion. Other notable champions of the tournament through the years, which is considered a Major in amateur golf, include Ben Crenshaw, Hal Sutton, David Duval, Luke Donald, Anthony Kim, Dustin Johnson, Peter Uihlein, Collin Morikawa and Nick Dunlap.