Purdue's Kent Hsaio's closing birdie wins First Coast Amateur over UCF's Egon Eroshenko
FERNANDINA BEACH — What a showcase of college golf.
What a finish.
Purdue junior Kent Hsaio, just over a month from a disappointing third-place finish in the St. Augustine Amateur, returned to the First Coast and didn't leave without a trophy this time.
Hsaio dropped a 12-foot birdie at the par-4 18th hole at Amelia National on Monday to beat Ergo Eroshenko of UCF by one shot to win the eighth annual First Coast Amateur in its return to the course that hosted the event for the first time in 2017.
Eroshenko missed from 15 feet for birdie moments before Hsaio's winning putt. The two were tied at 10-under standing on the 18th tee.
Hsaio (65) birdied four of his last five holes to edge Eroshenko (68) and finish at 11-under-par 205. Florida State's Wilmer Edero (68), who had two eagles on the front nine, finished third at 8-under.
There was a three-way tie for the lead through 15 before Edero parred Nos. 16 and 17 and bogeyed the last. Hsaio and Eroshenko both birdied Nos. 15 and 16, and they both bogeyed the short par-3 17th after errant tee shots.
It was a Boilermaker Day
Had Purdue been playing in a team event, the Boilermakers would have won going away. Yilin Sin (72) tied for fifth, Nels Surtani (70) tied for seventh and Kentaro Nananyama (72) tied for 11th.
Hsaio is the second Purdue player to win the First Coast Amateur. Cole Bradley, the son of Purdue coach Rob Bradley, won in 2018 at Hidden Hills and 2020 at The Conservatory in Palm Coast.
The Boilermakers brought 10 players to this year’s tournament. North Florida had eight past or present members and Iowa and Ball State four each. There were 46 colleges in all represented as the tournament continues to grow into a must-play for college golfers nationwide looking for stout competition before the spring season begins in earnest later this month.
Bartram Trail graduate Brody Stevenson (72), who plays at Florida Gulf Coast and topped Hsaio to win the St. Augustine Amateur, tied for fifth with Sin. Former University of North Florida player and past Jacksonville Amateur champion Cody Carroll (70) tied for seventh and defending champion Brock Healy (73), who plays at South Florida, tied for 11th.
Seventeen of the top-22 players on the final leaderboard are active college players, representing teams from the Big Ten, ACC, AAC, ASUN and the SEC.
Hsaio and Eroshenko 'pushed each other'
"It was fun out there," said Hsaio. "Egor and I pushed each other, especially on the back nine."
But it all came down to the final hole. Eroshenko was in the left rough at No. 18 but the grass was sparse enough to give him a good lie and he hit a high draw and landed his ball 15 feet from the hole. Hsaio followed with his approach from 145 yards, coming to rest 3 feet closer than Eroshenko's ball.
Eroshenko's putt stayed on the left edge of the hole. Hsaio's hit the back of the cup.
"I thought I made it," Eroshenko said. "I hit a good putt."
He was still kicking himself for the tee shot at No. 17, which landed in the left bunker, on a downslope. Eroshenko had to take a stance with his back foot put of the bunker, and could only manage to hit the ball 30 feet past the hole. He made a good two-putt.
Hsaio had gone over the green, chipped to within 12 feet and two-putted.
"I just hit a bad shot," Eroshenko said of his tee shot at the 17th.
Edero was right there until the 17th hole. He had made his moved with birdies at Nos. 4 and 5, then an eagle-two at No. 8, holing a 9-iron from 160 yards out.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Purdue junior Kent Hsaio birdies final hole to win First Coast Amateur
