PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Auburn rising junior Andrew Kozan won the 28th Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) Match Play Amateur Championship after defeating North Florida’s Jordan Batchelor 5&3 Sunday afternoon at the Old Marsh Golf Club.
“It means a lot to get this win,” Kozan said. “I’ve been working really hard these last few years and it’s been a while since my last victory. It feels great to get this right before I head back to Auburn next week.
“It was great to play well in the match play since a lot of postseason is match play. I played great golf the whole week through the adversity of hours and hours of rain delays and competed really well. I’m really looking forward to getting back up to Auburn and seeing what we can accomplish as a team.”
After firing a 2-under 70 in the only round of stroke play to determine the match play seeding at the 7,100-yard course, Kozan produced back-to-back wins in the Round of 64 and Round of 32 with 7&6 and 3&2 wins, respectively.
The West Palm Beach, Fla. native then secured consecutive close triumphs in the Round of 16 (2&1) and the quarterfinals (1-up).
Kozan tore up the back nine in his final two matches in the semifinals and championship, each 5&3 victories.
In the semifinals, Kozan was all square with his opponent, Adam Hofmann of Vanderbilt, through the first 10 holes before clinching the next five from the 11th through the 15th to earn the win.
In the championship, Kozan had a 2-up advantage through 11, but won three of the next four holes to secure the title.
With the victory, Kozan has earned exemptions into the next three FSGA Amateur Match Play Championships, as well as next year’s Mid-Amateur Championship and Florida Open.