Brian Humphreys had to settle for second at the 107th Oregon Amateur golf championship.
But recent Camas High School graduate took a lot of pride in how he rallied Saturday at Black Butte Ranch.
Humphreys lost 2-and-1 in the 36-hole final to Conner Barr of Beaverton, Ore. Still, second is a nice finish for Humphreys, who was the 34th seed in the 64-person match play portion of the tournament. Barr was the No. 5 seed.
And in Saturday’s final, Humphreys showed a lot of tenacity. Eight down at the 18-hole mark, he won the next three holes and cut Barr’s lead to 3-up through 27 holes.
“I was very proud of the way I bounced back,” Humphreys said by phone. “I wasn’t really hopeful, but I started (the second 18) birdie-eagle. I picked up two holes right away. That was definitely a morale boost.”
Barr was 5-up with six to play, but Humphreys once again rallied. The Boise State signee hit a 20-foot birdie to cut the lead to 3-up with four holes left.
With Barr dormie after 33 holes, Humphreys birdied the 34th to win the hole and extend the match.
While Humphreys has played in men’s tournaments before, this was his first tournament in the men’s ranks after a successful junior career.
“Every match was super competitive,” he said. “You have to be on your game in order to advance in every stage. I didn’t comprehend how much golf you play. This was my third straight day of playing 36 holes. That’s a huge change. But it’s a great start to my men’s career.”
This is the second year in a row a golfer from Clark County has reached the final of the Oregon Amateur. Alistair Docherty won last year at The Reserve.
Saturday, Docherty halved his match at the Arnold Palmer Cup in Formby Golf Club in Merseyside, England. The recent Chico State grad is playing in the Ryder Cup-style competition of the top college golfers from the United States and Europe.
Neither Docherty nor Adrian Meronk had a lead bigger than 1-up during Saturday’s 18-hole match. Docherty led after a birdie on 16, but Meronk pulled even with a birdie on the next hole.
Europe leads 13-7 heading into the singles matches Sunday, the final day of competition.
