Alex Jordan comes from behind to win Nevada State Amateur

Alex Jordan shot a final-round 69 and won the Nevada State Amateur at TPC Summerlin on Wednesday by three shots over rising Arbor View senior and Oklahoma State commit Hazen Newman, who also shot 69.

Jordan finished at 7-under 209 and began the final round two shots behind Edward Fryatt, who struggled with his swing and shot 76. Fryatt finished tied for third at 2 under with two-time champion Brady Exber, who shot 71 in the final round.

“I was 1 over on the front and knew I had to get something going on the back,” Jordan said. “I birdied 11, 13, 14 and 16 coming in to shoot 4 under on the back nine and that is what catapulted me to the win.

“It’s really good for me because I have been putting in a lot of work on my game. I am really happy it’s finally coming around and I am able to win some tournaments. It was cool to see all of those names of the past champions on the trophy. I am really honored.”

Fryatt was even on the front and had extended his lead to three strokes heading to the back nine but made four bogeys and shot 40.

“I struggled with my swing today,” Fryatt said. “It’s really disappointing. I thought I was playing well and good enough. I made the turn at even and didn’t have great stuff but I was keeping it in play. Then I really struggled on the back nine.

“I started coming over the top and turning some drivers over, which was a shame. But hats off to Alex. He hit the shots he needed to hit on the back nine and never looked in trouble. So he played the best today and through the week. I just didn’t have it today.”

The Nevada State Amateur has been played since 1953 and this year’s field included a wide age range of players competing for the state’s most prestigious amateur title. Newman was the youngest competitor at 17 while John Turk, who finished tied for 16th, is 66.

Jordan played high school golf at Bonanza and graduated in 2013. He had some collegiate offers to play golf but decided to stay at home, attend UNLV (he is not on the golf team) and improve his game. He works at TPC Summerlin and Siena in addition to going to school and plans to turn professional in the future.

Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.