MADISON, Miss. — Sophomore Beck Troutman defeated Madison native and former North Carolina standout Will Dottley, 4 and 2, in the semifinal round of the 2005 Mississippi Match Play Championship on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s final round at Reunion Golf and Country Club.
Troutman will face defending champion Trey Denton in the final match that begins at 8 a.m. The tournament is sanctioned by the Mississippi Golf Association.
“Trey’s actually a real good friend of mine from here, and we played a lot of junior golf together growing up,” Troutman said. “He’s a very accurate player and doesn’t make many mistakes or bogeys at all. I just need to stay in the hole, play smart golf and make some birdies. If I don’t make any bogeys I should win the match.”
Troutman earned a spot in the field of 32 by posting a 5-over par 77 in Thursday’s qualifier. He defeated Corey Easterling, 3 and 2, and Donny Holman, 6 and 4, in the first and second round Friday to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal action against Mississippi State junior Josh Oller.
After trailing Oller for much of the match, Troutman birdied three of the last four holes and rolled in a putt from approximately 70 feet on the 18th green to win the match, 1-up.
“That’s definitely the highlight of the tournament for me so far,” Troutman said. “Even though I was 3-down through eight holes and trailed for much of the back nine, I didn’t give up. I was able to make some birdies down the stretch and made a great putt on the last hole to win.”
Troutman said his short game has been the strongest part of his play during the tournament, and he talked about his confidence heading into the final round.
“I’m just playing really well right now. I’ve been under par in every round except the qualifier,” Troutman said. “My wedge game and my iron play have been really accurate, and that’s probably been the strongest part of my game. I definitely have a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.”