Andrew Mason wins Pennsylvania Amateur

When Andrew Mason stood on the 17th tee at Rolling Green Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon, his once-sturdy lead was slipping. He didn't know it, though. Not yet.

But after driving his first shot into a bunker on the 501-yard, par-5 hole, Mason learned what unfolded on the 17th green moments earlier. Playing one group in front of Mason's, Daniel Charen sank an eagle from nine feet out.

"You couldn't have had a straighter putt from nine feet if you wanted," he later said. Charen, who began the day 5 strokes behind the first-place Mason, jumped to 3-under par and just 1 shot off the lead.

Back in the bunker, Mason gripped his sand wedge and laid the ball up. For his third shot, he stuck with the same club, this time dropping the ball on the green, about 20 feet from the hole. Then, he guided it in for a birdie, giving him a 2-shot edge with one hole to go.

Mason, of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, then held on to par No. 18 and clinch the 99th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, shooting a 5-under 205 in the three-day, 54-hole tournament.

This is Mason's second victory in as many weeks. On July 23, he won the Philadelphia Open at Pine Valley.

Mason, who has been frustrated with his play in national amateur tournaments this summer, found a rhythm again. He will next play in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills in Colorado beginning Aug. 13. Mason will be joined by Charen, who finished second in the Pennsylvania Amateur with a 3-under 207.

Entering play Wednesday, Mason was 6 under and held a 3-stroke lead. But he didn't bring the right mind-set into the tournament's final day.

"I thought if I shot even-par today I would win," he said. "But I should have been thinking, 'I've got to go shoot 65.' It's tough playing with the lead."

Mason started on a bad note Wednesday with a pair of bogeys. On the first hole, a par 4, he needed 3 strokes to get on the green. Then, on hole No. 2, also a par 4, he three-putted. On the fourth hole, he missed a three-foot birdie putt.

He eventually recovered. After starting 3-over par, Mason shot 2 under on the back nine. He birdied the par-4 13th and, of course, the 17th.

On the 18th green, Charen, of Makefield Highlands Golf Club, looked to apply more pressure on Mason. Trailing by 2, he stared down a 15-foot birdie putt. It looked tough, with a break of about two feet, right to left. He said he knew he needed to hit the ball at a sharp angle, and he did. But not sharp enough. The ball stopped rolling, a couple of feet from the hole.