Dalton State College junior golfer S.M. Lee nearly won the 112th Southern Amateur Championship with a late charge Saturday at Alvaton, Kentucky.
Lee eagled the final hole for a 70 and finished the four-day tournament at 11-under-par 277, one stroke behind winner Patrick Cover of Cornelius, North Carolina, who began the final round with a five-shot lead. Eric Ansett was third at 278.
"I knew I was playing for second," Lee told the Bowling Green Daily News. "If I did something on 17 and 18, maybe, but I just tried my best out there. (As for) amateur tournaments, this one is pretty high and it's good to have this finish on my resume."
He has been honored as the best player in the NAIA the last two years.
Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga player Luke Long of Fayetteville, Arkansas, tied for 22nd at 287 after beginning with a 66 and a 68.