The Arkansas State Golf Association Amateur Championship brings out the best in Fayetteville's Luke Long.
Long secured his second state amateur title in four years, rallying to a one-shot victory over Caleb Miller on Saturday afternoon at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
Long, 23, also captured one of the ASGA's biggest prizes in 2018 and finished second last year to Matthew Cole, his former teammate at Fayetteville High School and the University of Houston.
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Unlike 2018 or 2020 (the winning margins were five and six strokes, respectively), Long had to sweat out the final moments Saturday after birdieing the 18th hole to post a final-round 5-under 67. Long's three-round total of 7-under 209 was one shot better than Miller, who led after the first two rounds.
Miller, playing one group behind Long in the final pairing, also closed with a birdie on No. 18, a 531-yard par-5 that could easily be reached in two shots. Long began the final round tied for fourth, five shots behind.
"I knew it was going to take a low one," Long said after accepting the championship division's E.B. Gee Trophy for the second time. "There were a lot of good players behind me, a lot of good players in my group and in front of me and a couple of guys had shots on me going into the day. I didn't know 5 under would be the number, but at least 4 or 5 under would put me in the hunt."
Long's round, which equaled the second-lowest of the 54-hole tournament, featured seven birdies, four on the front nine. He shook off consecutive bogeys (Nos. 13 and 14) on the back nine to birdie two of his final three holes, including the 18th with a 10-foot putt. Long's last stroke was the difference.
"Any time you don't know what your competition is doing on the golf course, and you've got a good round going, you've got to figure you're in the hunt," Long said. "But you always have to assume you need one more."
Miller finished one shot clear of Little Rock's Mitchell Ford, who carded a final-round 2-under 70 for a 211 total. Beau Glover of North Little Rock, the 2007 champion, and Josh McNulty of White Hall tied for fourth at 4-under 212. Devyn Pappas of Jonesboro finished sixth at 3-under 213, followed by 2019 champion Tyler Reynolds of Rogers in seventh at 1-under 215 and Trevor Brunson of Lowell in eighth at even-par 216. Corey Bartlett of Bentonville, Hunter Hickingbotham of Little Rock and 1999 champion Chris Jenkins tied for ninth at 1-over 217.
Miller, 19, entered the final round with a three-shot lead but bogeyed three consecutive holes on the front nine and No. 16, a 402-yard par-4, after his tee shot found water. He finished one stroke out of a playoff after a 1-over 73.
"I knew how I was standing within the people in my group and I knew the group in front of me had some good players," said Miller, a 2020 Cabot graduate who recently completed his freshman season at Southern Arkansas University. "I heard he [Long] was playing well at one point on the front nine. I made that putt on 18 for birdie and was hoping maybe to get into a playoff. I really wasn't sure if it lost or tied. I knew it was close, though."
Long, a 2016 Fayetteville graduate, won the 2018 state amateur after transferring to Houston from Tennessee-Chattanooga. He plans to complete his collegiate career in this season at the University of Arkansas.