North Carolina State senior Ben Shipp wins South Beach International Amateur in playoff
For Ben Shipp, the start of Sunday’s final round of the South Beach International Amateur could only be described as dreadful. Errant shots and miscues had put him six strokes off the lead after four holes.
By the end of the round, things had improved considerably for Shipp. You could even say they had improved massively since he was holding the tournament’s championship trophy over his head. The grin on his face almost said, “Wow, how did that happen?”
Afterward, even Shipp had some difficulty explaining his turnaround at Miami Beach Golf Course under dark and overcast skies with winds kicking up past 20 miles-per-hour. Most golfers, many of them frustrated by the weather, said there was a two-club or three-club wind hurting or helping them on many shots.
“With the wind, it became about trusting my game,” said the 22-year-old North Carolina State senior. “The wind causes mistakes. There’s no doubt about it. You just have to trust what you’re doing.
“I wasn’t worried about the lead when I was six behind,” he continued. “I was thinking about what I was doing.”
With the South Beach tournament ranked sixth in the world because of its strong field, Shipp knew his 135th world amateur ranking was far from being the best among the players. Nevertheless, Shipp in the first three rounds was not intimidated and managed to play his way into the final foursome of tournament leaders.
That foursome included No. 19-ranked Karl Vilips and No. 20-ranked Garett Reband.
Winning the trophy against such competition made Shipp certain, “This is my biggest win ever, no doubt.”
There was plenty of drama at the end when Shipp (70-74-67-70—281) and Reband (68-70-69-74—281) moved into a sudden-death playoff that Shipp won on the second playoff hole.
In regulation, Reband could have won outright but on No. 18 he three-putted away the opportunity. On the first playoff hole, once again No. 18, Shipp and Reband both made par. The next playoff hole, No. 17, a par-3, Reband tapped in for a routine par and Reband three-putted again for bogey.
Tournament over.
At age 3, Shipp already had an odd and intense interest in golf and that soon led to him playing with mini-golf clubs.
Question: Why in the world would parents buy golf clubs for a 3-year-old?
Shipp’s answer: “At that point, they knew I really liked golf. My parents told me I was the only 3-year-old who would sit down and watch a full golf tournament on television.”
That was the start, and it has not stopped.
“I’ve never gotten tired of golf . . . never,” Shipp said. “I love it too much.”
Doral-Public Junior Classic
On the next-to-last day of the tournament presented by the Orange Bowl, the 16-18 and 14-15 age divisions were played at Trump National Doral.
In 16-18 play, Anthony Amoroso III of Homestead was at 74-72—146 to lead the boys’ division by one stroke, and Paula Schulz-Hanssen was at 73-72-145 to lead the girls by seven shots.
In 14-15 play, Vany Simont of Mexico shot 79-70—149 for a two-stroke advantage in the girls’ division, and Sebastian Samboa, also of Mexico, led the boys division by one shot at 73-72—145.
