(Reuters) - Patrick Cantlay regained his composure after making a quadruple bogey in a rollercoaster round to win the low amateur title at the Masters on Sunday.
The 20-year-old American won last year's U.S. Open amateur title and is ranked as the number one amateur in the world but has no plans yet to turn professional.
His final round of par 72 saw him finish the tournament at seven-over-par and that was enough for a two-shot edge over Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, who won the amateur's Silver Cup last year but who stumbled to a final round 80.
Cantlay's rollercoaster round had a bit of everything. Apart from his nine at the par-five 13th hole, he also made three bogeys and a double.
But the Californian student made amends for his errors with two eagles and five birdies.
"There was an up-and-down round out there," he told reporters. "I had a bunch of highs and lows but 72 is not too bad.
"It's just really bad considering how well I've played. I played really well today."
April 6, 2012: Friday's round at the Masters was not as friendly to SCGA Amateur Champion Patrick Cantlay as Thursday's was, as the 20-year-old UCLA sophomore struggled to a 6-over par 78. He is in danger of missing the cut for just the second time in seven PGA Tour apperances after carding eight bogeys and two birdies in his second round of action at Augusta.
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April 5, 2012: UCLA sophomore and 2011 SCGA Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay sounded confident during his pre-Masters press conference Tuesday, but it would have meant nothing had he not delivered. The rising star and world's No. 1 amateur backed it up with his play in the Masters' opening round Thursday, however, shooting a 1-under par 71 in his first competitive round at Augusta National.
"I do feel like I can win this week," Cantlay said Tuesday. "I feel like any tournament I tee it up in, if I play well, I have a chance to win. Golf is just golf, no matter whether you are playing the Long Beach City Amateur or the Masters. Either way it's still get the ball in the hole as fast as you can."
Cantlay did that Thursday, jumping out to a 2-under-par start through five holes before falling back to even par through 11. He finished the round as strong as he began it, however, earning birdies on the par-5 15th hole as well as the par-4 17th before carding a bogey on the difficult par-4 18th, which proved to be a tough hole all day.
Still just an amateur, Cantlay made the cut in five PGA Tour events in 2011, before missing the cut at the Northern Trust Open earlier this year. His Masters' round Thursday bested a number of notable professionals, including Tiger Woods (E), Fred Couples (E), and 2011 Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel (E).
Cantlay finished the day in a tie for 15th place, and teed off at 5:45 a.m. PT Friday, with the same group of himself, Zach Johnson and Ian Poulter. Cantlay was sporting a Virginia CC hat Thursday, while his good buddy Chris Roth caddied for him. Roth also caddied for Cantlay at the 2011 SCGA Amateur Championship.
