Redman outlasts Ghim in 37 holes to win U.S. Amateur Championship at Riviera

PACIFIC PALISADES >> Eddie Merrins stood just off to the side of the 18th green at Riviera Country Club late Sunday afternoon, perhaps not even noticing that Doc Redman and Doug Ghim went right behind him with a purpose toward the 10th tee box at the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship.

“That’s about as strong a finish as you’d hope to see,” said the 84-year-old legendary golf pro at Bel-Air Country Club and former UCLA coach who, in 1954, made it to the quarterfinals in a tournament won by Arnold Palmer.

The thing was, this edition of the oldest USGA tournament wasn’t even finished.

Redman, the 19-year-old Clemson sophomore who barely made it into the match-play field of 64 if not for a scramble to nab one of the final spots on Wednesday morning, had just come back from two holes down with two to play — dormy, as they say in match-play vernacular.

He nailed a remarkable 60-foot eagle putt at the 17th to cut it to one down, before Ghim could even get a chance at his own birdie putt that would have won it.

Moments later, he made a clutch 10-foot birdie at the 18th that forced everything all square.

Before Merrins and those in the gallery realized how this would be continued, Redman launched a drive at No. 10 that went straight at the flag on the pa- 4, 315-yard iconic hole.

Ghim’s tee shot drifted into some weeds and palm fronds far to the left.

As Redman stood and watched before even attempting his second shot, the 21-year-old Ghim twice struggled to get out of bunkers on either side of the green, and ended up conceding the hole, the match and the Havemeyer Trophy to Redman, who didn’t have to convert a birdie putt try.

“It’s incredible to add my name to the list of all the incredible champions already and to have conquered arguably the best field in amateur golf in a really difficult grind,” said Redman. “I beat some of the best players in the world and I hope that can catapult me into that conversation as well going forward.”

Way back when the final started at 7:30 a.m., Redman was behind with a double-bogey at No. 1. Ghim stayed 1-up until Redman’s birdie at No. 11 to make it all square and Redman went 1-up with a birdie at No. 13 that stood up through the first 18 and an hour-and-a-half lunch break.

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Redman even went 2-up after a long birdie putt on the 20th hole, to see Ghim trim it back to 1-up with his own par at the 22nd hole (No. 4) as Redman bogeyed.

Ghim’s birdie on the 29th hole (the 11th green) eventually made it all even again in a day where it was difficult for either to separate themselves.

Redman could have made things more miserable on himself when he pushed his tee shot far left at the 30th hole (No. 12) but he hit a eucalyptus tree and the ball bounced back into play. Both made par.

Ghim then went 1-up at the 31st hole (13th green) and found himself at 2-up after the 34th (No. 16) when Redman missed a par putt that could have halved the hole.

But that’s when Redman, who came back from four holes down with nine to play at the recent Western Amateur before losing in 22 holes, turned it all around in a matter of three holes.

“It was do-or-die, and he did it,” Ghim said of Redman.

Redman realized that when he hit clutch putt on the 35th hole, he walked toward the ball as he was rolling to the cup.

“It was on a good line so I wanted to get a better angle at it,” he said. “I was pretty confident it would have a chance.”

Ghim said the fact neither could get apart from the other all morning and afternoon was “testament to how good we played. For most of the day we stepped up and executed. Whenever someone got in the lead we knew it was probably going to last for awhile unless we could pull off an incredible shot. Both guys were just waiting for a moment to maybe try to take a chance, but no one really wanted to because it was so risky.

“It was like a chess match … It was like a blinking contest. Who’s going to blink first?”

Redman earned himself an exemption into the 2018 Masters and U.S. Open and an opportunity to defend this Amateur at Pebble Beach next summer as well as two years after that.

After Sunday’s play, it was announced that Redman also was picked for the 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team that will play against Great Britain and Ireland at L.A. Country Club North Course on Sept. 9-10.

Ghim will join Redman on a Walker Cup squad that includes USC’s Stewart Hagestad (Newport Beach), former Temescal Canyon High standout Norman Xiong of Canyon Lake and La Canada-Flintridge’s Collin Morikawa. Hagestad is the only returning player from the 2015 team in the biennial event. The Great Britain/Ireland team will be announced Monday morning.