Lincoln Newton won what turned out to be a father-son battle down the stretch to claim his second straight Triad Amateur championship Sunday at High Point Country Club’s Willow Creek Course.
The 18-year-old rising senior at Oak Grove High birdied Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to overtake his father Scott Newton and Jamal Hutchison of Fletcher by one stroke. Playing two groups ahead of Lincoln, Scott could do nothing but watch Lincoln finish off the victory with an easy par on the final hole.
Lincoln shot 4-under-par 68 to finish at 7-under 137. The 50-year-old Scott closed with 66, including an eagle on the par-5 10th. After bogeys at 11 and 14, Scott applied pressure with birdies at 15 and 17. Hutchison, a rising junior at N.C. Central University, finished with 70.
Using a live scoring app, players could stay attuned to the leaderboard. When Scott hit his approach at 15 to within tap-in distance, he gestured to Lincoln, who was within viewing range.
“He was pointing at me, so I knew I had to do something good,” said Lincoln, who has committed to playing at UNC Greensboro.
Preston Dembowiak of Kernersville, the first-round leader after opening with 66, joined Davis Delille of High Point and Jordan Williams of Charlotte at 140. Grady Newton, Lincoln’s older brother, finished at 142.
More than 70 players dealt with Sunday temperatures that reached 98 degrees. The championship flight played a course of about 6,900 yards.
Lincoln trailed Dembowiak by two strokes at the turn, overtaking him with a birdie at 11. After a a three-putt bogey at 14, Lincoln rolled in a 25-footer for birdie at 15, a 5-footer for birdie at 16 and converted a tap-in at 17. Scott had the lead before Lincoln’s three-birdie run.
“It was a pretty boring round,” Lincoln said. “I didn’t make a lot of putts.”
Lincoln bounced back after bogeys on the first hole each day.
Last year, Lincoln entered the Triad Amateur after winning the TYGA High Point Junior and taking the CGA Father-Son with grandfather Ernie Newton. But he’s had less success this summer. He’s entered in the Dogwood Junior, which starts Monday at Maple Chase.
“I haven’t really gotten anything going this year,” Lincoln said. “Hopefully, this tournament will give me some confidence.”
Steve Sharpe of Greensboro shot rounds of 68 and 74 to win the Senior Division.