Aiden Lee raced out to a three-hole lead on the front that he never surrendered en route to capturing the Match Play crown at Goose Creek GC, defeating Sean Birren 1-up in the championship match to wrap up an impressive series of five rounds in three days.
Lee, a Pasadena native, found himself in the championship after a strong morning performance where he eliminated Alex Resurreccion, 5 & 4, before going up against Birren, who only needed 16 holes to bounce his semifinal opponent, in the afternoon.
Lee established a lead on the third hole, then doubled it on No. 4 with his first birdie of the round. He remained up by two holes as the match headed to the back nine. Birren reduced the deficit to one hole after a par on No. 12, but Birren stole it right back on No. 13, giving him five holes to retain a two hole advantage. Though Birren brought it back down to 1-up on the fifteenth hole, Lee held off any potential comeback through the final three holes to officially claim the crystal and win his first SCGA title.
With the victory, the Saint Mary’s College golf product is exempt into the 2024 SCGA Amateur Championship and 2024 California Amateur Championship.