The result was a come-from-behind two-shot victory for the Canton 17-year-old as he shot 71-70-69—210 to edge Jake Chominsky of Greensboro. Chominsky had opened with rounds of 68-71 and shared the 36-hole lead with Brandon Burris of White Horse, Tenn.
Stamey fired the four-birdie, one-bogey 69 on the renowned No. 2 Course, spoiled only by a three-putt on the second hole.
“I just decided to come in and play it smart,” said Stamey, who will be a senior at Pisgah High School this fall. “My game plan was to just play it safe, hit to the center of the greens and try to always have a putt.”
That strategy paid off with 34 on the front nine and a one-shot lead at the turn. Both Chominsky and Burris shot 37 on the first nine holes.
“I hit it great all week,” said Stamey, who helped lead his high school team to the state championship earlier this year and has verbally committed to UNC-Greensboro. “I hit a lot of greens and I got a couple of good breaks.”
Despite being two strokes down going into the final round, Stamey stuck with his safety-first strategy.
“I figured, going into No. 2, I wasn’t going to try to force it,” he said. “I’m playing well and I’ve got a lot of confidence right now. But I was a little surprised at shooting that low on No. 2.”
Stamey was almost methodical on the back nine, picking up a birdie on 13 and finishing the round with five straight pars. He is competing this weekend in the Big I qualifier at Mid Pines Resort.
Blair Miller of Southern Pines was the low regional player, tied for 49th at 228. His score was highlighted by a 72 in the second round on the No. 5 Course. Forrest Shuford IV of Fayetteville tied for 68th at 233, while Thomas Sanderson of Lillington was 87th at 246. Russ Hefner of Southern Pines was at 251.
