OOLTEWAH, TENN. - Louis Brown of Marietta defeated Daniel Sullivan of California 4-and-3 to win the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship! The 69th playing took place Aug. 24-29 at The Honors Course just outside of Chattanooga.
Brown started off strong against Sullivan with birdies on the first two holes and a long par save on the par-3 3rd to quickly go 3-up on Sullivan, who finished runner-up at this year's Lupton Memorial (senior division) at The Honors Course.
Sullivan won the par-4 5th with a par, but Brown quickly regained momentum knocking in two-straight birdies to go 4-up. Brown, who won the Georgia Senior Championship in 2020, never looked back.
The pair tied with pars over the next five holes before another birdie from Brown on the par-4 13th put him 5-up with five to play. Brown missed the green right on the par-3 14th which put him in a tough position to make par. Sullivan capitalized to stay alive as they headed to the par-4 15th.
Sullivan put himself in a solid position to make birdie and keep the match going, but he was unable to roll his attempt in leaving the door open for Brown to close out the match.
Brown remained steady with the putter and knocked it in from roughly seven feet to capture his first USGA title.
"I felt like I had the game to do it," Brown said. "Quite honestly, this was my first golf tournament of the year. I didn't know what to expect coming in. I did my best to prepare and I couldn't be more thrilled.
"I've won some tournaments in my very long career. I've been at it since I was a kid, but I've never won a USGA event. I haven't really played in that many. For me, this was the big thing left to do. As this soaks in, this will be very meaningful. We all know USGA events are really the pinnacle."
With his victory, Brown continued a strong run for Georgians at the U.S. Senior Amateur. A Peach State resident has won three of the last five U.S. Senior Amateurs with Brown joining Rusty Strawn of Eatonton (2022) and Georgia Golf Hall of Famer Bob Royak of Alpharetta (2019) in recent years. The 2020 playing was not conducted due to COVID-19.
Going back a little bit further, Georgians have won four of the last 11 U.S. Senior Amateurs with Georgia Golf Hall of Famer Doug Hanzel of Savannah winning in 2013. Hanzel finished runner-up to Strawn in 2022, which included Royak making the semifinals that same year. In total, five Georgians have won a U.S. Senior Amateur title with Georgia Golf Hal of Famer Bill Ploeger in 1999 being the first.
"I have a lot of respect for those guys who have won," Brown said. "For me to join that club is really huge. Winning a USGA event is as good as it gets ... Georgia has a tremendous record in this tournament. I am so proud to add my name to the list of Georgians who have won it."
Brown's win also gives the Peach State the reigning champions from both the U.S. Senior Amateur and U.S. Senior Women's Amateur with Sarah Gallagher of Canton set to defend her 2023 victory in late September. This also marks the third-straight year a Georgian has won a USGA title with Brown following Gallagher, Strawn and Thienna Huynh of Lilburn and Sara Im of Duluth, who teamed to win the 2022 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
You can hear more from Brown following his victory and check out some highlights in the video below! For full results from the 69th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, scroll below and click the blue button.
