In his first appearance in the Richmond Golf Association Amateur Championship, Ben Cooper '19 finished with the crown, topping Kevin South 3 and 2 Sunday, June 17 at The Dominion Club.
Cooper, who earned the No. 6 seed after stroke play shooting a 70, used an impressive amount of patience and work on the greens for a 17-year-old, en route to the major victory.
"I don’t use driver unless I need to," Cooper told the Times-Dispatch. "Not many courses are too long for me. If I can hit a 2-iron or 3-wood off the tee and still have a wedge in my hand, I’m probably going to do that over a driver. I know what those clubs are going to do more than my driver.”
The runner-up Kevin South was impressed by the youngster.
"He’s an all-around great player,” said South. “I’ve played with a lot of good players. He has every facet of the game.”
Cooper beat teammate second-seed Connor Johnson '18 2 & 1 in the semifinals. Johnson, headed to Virginia Tech, downed VCU commit and teammate Clifford Foster '18 in 20 holes in the quarterfinals. Johnson led the field with a 67 in the qualifiying round.
Drew Brockwell '18, another VT commit, was third in stroke play at 69, but fell in the round of 16; a wonderful showing for the four Saints.