FAYETTEVILLE – Razorback rising senior John Daly II captured the 119th Southern Amateur title this week at The Blessings Golf Club, firing a final-round 68 to finish with a 72-hole total of 278 (-10). Fellow Razorbacks Thomas Curry and Camden Smith tied for third at 285 (-3), with Smith earning third place outright via a scorecard playoff.
Daly posted rounds of 70-71-69-68 and outpaced runner-up Garrett Endicott, who finished at 283 (-5). With the victory, Daly clinched a spot in the 125th U.S. Amateur Championship, set for August 11–17 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. He now joins an elite list of Southern Amateur champions that includes Bobby Jones, Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Bob Tway, Justin Leonard, Webb Simpson, and Harris English.
Daly’s win also capped a strong summer stretch on the Elite Amateur Golf Series, including a third-place finish at the Northeast Amateur (64-68-71-73) and a T15 showing at the Trans-Mississippi Amateur (68-68-75-71).
After a bogey to close round three, Daly entered the final round two shots behind Endicott. He seized momentum early when Endicott found trouble off the first tee and made double bogey, while Daly parred to tie for the lead. Despite a bogey at No. 2, Daly surged ahead with birdies on holes 4, 5, 6, and 8. He added birdies at 16 and 17, overcoming a bogey on 13, to seal a five-shot victory.
Camden Smith, a rising junior who transferred from Georgia, delivered a dramatic final push, matching Daly for Saturday’s low round with a 68 to climb 22 spots into third. His final two rounds (72-68) included two hole-outs for eagle and an ace on the par-3 8th in round three — his fourth career hole-in-one. Smith’s tournament rounds were 72-73-72-68.
Thomas Curry, a rising junior from Texarkana, played steady throughout the week, finishing with rounds of 71-72-70-72 to join the four-way tie for third, highlighted by his even-par 72 on the final day to move up four places on the leaderboard.
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