Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015) – University of Mississippi’s Braden Thornberry shot an even-par, final round 71 and 2-under (211) for the tournament to win The Patriot All-America Invitational on the Gold Course at The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Adam Wood from Duke University with a final round 73 (212) and David Kocher from the University of Maryland with a final round 69 (212) tied for second place.
Wood entered the final round with a one-stroke lead over Thornberry, a three-shot lead over a trio of golfers and a four-shot lead over Kocher.
During the final round, Wood held a two-shot lead over Thornberry going into the final 9 holes. With a Wood birdie on the par-3 11th hole and a Thornberry bogey, Wood’s lead increased to four shots. Wood then bogeyed three of the next four holes (No. 12, 13 and 15), while Thornberry eagled the par-5 14th hole and birdied the par-3 16th for a 6-shot swing. A Thornberry bogey and a Wood par on No. 17 gave the Ole Miss freshman a one-shot lead going to 18. Thornberry parred the par 4 18th, while Wood’s birdie putt slipped past the cup.
“It was kind of a tough start and not a lot of putts went in for our whole group,” said Thornberry. “I made a couple mistakes and Adam made a couple birdies on the back nine. I think he was four up on me at one point. Then he started missing a couple putts and I hit a 30 footer off the green for eagle on 14 and that tied us right there and I just tried to keep the momentum coming in.”
Kocher’s final round 69 vaulted him from sixth, heading into the final round, to a tie for second place. Kocher had five birdies during his final round, including three on the back nine. A double-bogey on the par-4 8th hole and a bogey on the par-5 10th ultimately kept the Terrapin sophomore from the winning the tournament.
