Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship: Australia’s Harrison Crowe, 21, drains dramatic putt on 18th to win title in Thailand
- Crowe shows nerves of steel to beat China’s Bo Jin by one shot at Amata Spring Country Club on Sunday
- ‘I really had to dig deep – I just needed one [putt] to drop. I hadn’t had a birdie all day,’ he says
If nerves of steel are a prerequisite for success in professional golf, then Harrison Crowe can at least check that off the list.
The Australian drained a four-foot putt that was anything but a gimme to card a final round of level-par 72 to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand on Sunday, beating China’s Bo Jin by one shot.
Crowe had the advantage coming down the last at Amata Spring Country Club after Jin found water off the tee on the par-3 17th and made double bogey, going from 14-under to 12-under and handing back the momentum he gained when his opponent bogeyed 16.
Even with a slim lead on 18, Crowe still made things difficult for himself by missing the green with his approach, and flirting with the spring that gives the course its name.
“I did think it was going in the water,” Crowe said. “I pulled it, but I flushed it, and I was just hoping it caught a bit of grass.”
The 21-year-old’s chip back from the rough behind the green ran long, leaving him an uphill par putt that on the best of days would require some concentration.