COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Aggies are known for their championship-winning teams and one Aggie athlete is celebrating big.
Three words – hole in one.
Aggie golfer Sam Bennett took home the gold Sunday as the winner of the U.S. Amateur.
Ranked number three player in the world of amateur golf, the Madisonville native says he is excited to bring the gold back home to the Brazos Valley.
“I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to Madisonville and holding this trophy on the first tee of my nine-hole course,” said Bennett.
Coach Brian Kortan says Bennett’s style of playing is what sets him apart from the competition.
“Our belief is that his good golf is really hard to handle – so it doesn’t matter who is on the other side who he is playing. If he is playing 'good Sam Bennett golf' – they are going to have to play great golf to beat him,” said Kortan.
Kortan says the struggles he and Bennett have faced in life have brought them together.
“We have both been through a lot of stuff and different things; we have both been through some trauma in our life. We are two guys who obviously play golf- I got to the professional level I dreamed of, and I’m trying to help him do that as well,” said Kortan.
Bennett says he waited to finish at Texas A&M to give the U.S. Amateur one last shot, and it paid off in a hole-in-one.