If Braden Thornberry becomes big-time in professional golf, most will remember that they first heard of him when he blitzed the field down the stretch to win the Men’s Individual NCAA Championship.
Thornberry, a sophomore at Ole Miss, shot a final round 1-under 71 in absolutely brutal conditions to reach -11 for the week and take the title by four strokes.
Bullets
- The 30 Best: 30-teams make up the annual Championship Field.
- Long Absence: The Ole Miss squad made the NCAA Championships for the first time in 16 years.
- Consistently Good: Thornberry went 66-71-69-71, and was the only player in the field to shoot under-par in all four rounds.
- Comeback Kid: Thornberry was two strokes behind Scottie Scheffler of Texas after 54 holes.
- Tough Day: Scheffler, one of the biggest names in college golf, shot a final-round 6-over 78 to finish T3, five back of Thornberry.
- Tour Exemption: A five-time champion this season, Thornberry was given a sponsor’s exemption to the upcoming PGA FedEx St. Jude Classic.
Quotable
“In the practice round I hit the same shot and it was a little into the wind, so I knew driver was going to be perfect,” Thornberry said. “I just stepped up there and happened to hit a big one.”
–Thornberry, on his tee shot on the par-4 6th hole, which he went on to eagle.
Content originally appeared as part of the Daily Rundown.
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