AUGUSTA, Mo. (Sports Network) -- Cory Whitsett destroyed fellow Texan Anthony Paolucci, 8 & 7, on Saturday to win the U.S. Junior Amateur.
"It was a pretty special day out there today," acknowledged the 15-year-old from Houston. "I just tried to take it one shot at a time. Played pretty well in the morning and pretty steady in the afternoon."
Paolucci actually stormed out Saturday in the morning 18. He ran home an eight-foot birdie putt at the sixth to go 2-up, and that number would have been better if it weren't for a Whitsett chip-in par on No. 3.
Whitsett went off from there. He won the seventh with a birdie and the eighth with a par. Whitsett rattled off three more wins from Nos. 9-11 to win five consecutive holes and march out to a 3-up lead.
Paolucci won No. 13 thanks to a Whitsett bogey, but Whitsett reclaimed a 3-up lead with a two-putt birdie at 14. The morning-18 lead became 5-up when Paolucci hit a poor drive en route to a bogey at 16 and three-putted the 18th green.
"I played pretty steady and didn't leave myself a lot of work," said Whitsett after the first 18. "I knew that if I hit fairways and greens, I'd have the lead of some kind. It is a little larger than I expected."
During the second 18, Whitsett extended the margin to 6-up with a par at the third. He bogeyed No. 4 to fall to 5-up, but a birdie at the sixth got him back to 6-up.
Whitsett won No. 8 with a birdie and 10 with a par. That gave him an 8-up lead with eight to play and though he missed the green at 11, he chipped to a foot and was conceded the match.
"I thought I had a chance," acknowledged Whitsett, who became the fourth left-handed player to win a USGA championship. "You always have a chance to win when you tee it up. It's a great feeling. No matter what happens, I can say I won that tournament."
For Paolucci, getting to the final was a pretty special accomplishment.
"My goal was to make the cut. I did a lot more than that," said Paolucci, who at the age of 14 was the youngest finalist in three years. "I thought I might win one match, not five in a row."
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