CLEMSON, S.C.— Clemson golfer Zack Gordon defeated Vanderbilt’s William Moll in 19 holes on Thursday to move into the final 16 of the North-South Amateur at Pinehurst #2 in Pinehurst, N.C. Gordon will now face Sun Belt Conference Champion Ben Carr of Georgia Southern on Friday morning.
Gordon, who gained fame in April by making the 20-foot deciding putt in a 21-hole match against Florida State’s Grayson Porter to give Clemson the ACC Championship, reached the match play portion of the North-South Amateur by finishing third in stroke play. The rising senior shot a 65 on Pinehurst #2 on Tuesday, and 70 on Pinehurst #4 on Wednesday. His 135 total trailed only Christian Banke (132) and Karl Vilips (133).
Gordon was 2-down to Moll after six holes in his round of 32 match, then made a strong comeback. He won the 12th and 13th holes with birdie putts inside three feet to take a 1-up lead. Moll came back to tie the match on the 15th hole.
The match remained tied through 18 and the two players went back to the first hole, the 19th hole of the match. Moll hit a shot into a bunker and was faced with an impossible lie. He went on to make a double bogey and Gordon won the match with a bogey five.
The Gordon vs. Carr match will begin at 7:48 a.m.. on Friday. The winner will turn around and play a quarterfinal contest at 1:24 p.m. against the winner of Joe Highsmith vs. Brad Reeves match.
The North-South Amateur is one of the top amateur tournaments in the nation. Previous winners include former Clemson players Philip Mollica (2007) and William Nottingham (2017).
