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SAUCIER, Miss. —  Grand Bear Golf Club hosted one of the more incredible finishes in the 110-year history of the Mississippi State Amateur. But it wasn’t for the fireworks of many. No — it was all because of one incoming Southern Miss freshman.

Jake Moffitt went into Sunday’s final round with a two-stroke lead (-12) and was coming off three straight days of solid golf. Oftentimes, the driver's seat isn’t the most comfortable when heading into the final round of a golf tournament, but for Moffitt, his confidence never wavered.

Playing alongside his good friend, and 2025 U.S. Four-Ball partner, Jackson Cook, Moffitt settled into Sunday’s final round nicely. Really nicely.

Moffitt opened his scoring with an eagle on the par-5 2nd and followed it up with three consecutive birdies on holes 3-5 to immediately go on 59-watch. Another birdie on the par-3 7th allowed Moffitt to make the turn at 6-under on the day and 18-under for the tournament.

Despite how amazing Moffitt’s scorecard was, his demeanor and body language were even more awe-striking. The Ripley native never flinched. He was in complete control of his game. The golf ball simply got in the way of his smooth three-quarter swing. On the rare occasion Moffitt missed the fairway or green, there was zero panic in his eyes. He was cool, calm and collected on the muggy 90+ degree day 20 miles off the Gulf Coast.

With all of the pomp, all of the circumstance, the pressure of winning a State Amateur title and a U.S. Amateur exemption on the line, Jake Moffitt looked it all in the eye and simply played his game.

Out in 30 and commanding an almost insurmountable lead, it wasn’t a question of who would win the 2025 Mississippi State Amateur, but how many shots Moffitt would win by.

While Moffitt was on cruise control, Cook and a handful of others were doing their best to make a charge. Cook, a Mississippi State commit, played solid golf. Despite not having his putter rolling on Sunday, he was able to secure a second-place finish at -11.

Current MSU Bulldog, David Beard, pieced together an incredible weekend. Making the cut at +4, Beard shot 64 on Saturday to put himself right back into contention and headed into Sunday’s final round eight back of Moffitt.

Beard did his part on Sunday. He carded a final round 67 to finish in a tie for third (-9) alongside Andrew Zielinski of Ocean Springs. Unfortunately for Beard, Cook and Zielinski, a buzzsaw was tearing through the tree-lined fairways of Grand Bear Golf Club.

Moffitt would close out the championship with a final round bogey-free 63 (-9) and a 10-shot victory to secure a spot in the 125th U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club in San Francisco, California (August 11-17).

The victory became a bit of a full-circle moment for Moffitt and fellow Ripley native Kye Meeks.

Meeks, the winner of the 2023 and 2024 Mississippi State Amateur Championships, turned pro this summer following his senior campaign for the 2025 NCAA semifinalist Ole Miss Rebels. Unable to play in the Mississippi State Amateur, Meeks handed the B.F. “Spec” Wilson Trophy over to Moffitt to transport it to Saucier.

Thanks to Moffitt, “The Spec” resides in Ripley for a third consecutive year.

Full results

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The 2025 U.S. Amateur will be the 91st USGA championship played in California and the 12th at The Olympic Club. The club has hosted five U.S. Opens, the latest in 2012 when Webb Simpson fended off Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson by a shot. The Olympic Club has hosted three U.S. Amateurs, a U.S. Junior Amateur and the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball. The Bay Area club also hosted the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, won by Yuka Saso in a thrilling playoff over Nasa Hataoka. The club will also host the 2028 PGA Championship, 2030 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2032 Ryder Cup.   

The starting field of 312 players for the U.S. Amateur will play 18 holes of stroke play on Aug. 11 and 12, with one round at the club’s Lake Course and one at the Ocean Course, after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scores. Six rounds of match play begin on Wednesday, Aug. 13, and the championship concludes with a 36-hole championship match on Sunday, Aug. 17. The winner and runner-up are exempt into the following year’s U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

Coverage of the event will be available on Peacock (streaming), NBC and Golf Channel.