The tiny Mississippi town of Fulton, population about 4,000, has now produced two professional golf champions.
Chad Ramey joins the LPGA’s Ally Ewing with a trip into the winner’s circle at the highest level of their professions.
In just his 16th start on the PGA Tour, Ramey had a Sunday to remember with six birdies over his last 15 holes, including four in a row on his back nine, to storm the finish line and claim the 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship.
Fulton is situated in the northwest corner of the state and is home to Fulton Country Club, a 5,700-yard course run by Ramey’s dad, Stanley. The course has no practice range, so growing up Ramey and Ewing designed their own makeshift range across fairways. They aimed at trees and shagged their own balls, trying to stay out of the way of paying customers.
“During football and huntin’ season, it kind of clears out,” said Ramey, who, like Ewing, went to Mississippi State. Ramey once shot a 27 on the course, closing with an ace on the last hole.
Sunday, Ramey shot a 67 to finish at 17 under and win by a shot over Alex Smalley and Ben Martin. Jhonattan Vegas and Cameron Percy finished tied for fourth, two back.
Ramey, 29, is the eighth first-time winner this season. He’s the first rookie to win on Tour since Garrick Higgo claimed the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree.
Ramey tracked down Ben Martin, who led after each of the first three rounds. Martin opened the week with back-to-back 66s but posted back-to-back 70s over the weekend, opening the door for Ramey.
Alex Smalley briefly grabbed the clubhouse lead Sunday. He followed his second-round 65 with a third-round 73 and closed his week with another 65, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Ramey.
"I've always had the self-belief that I could get it done and I proved it today."@ChadRamey2 birdied four of his last six holes to earn his first career win @CoralesChamp. pic.twitter.com/rt6VyGXivK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 27, 2022
“I always had the self-belief that I could get it done,” Ramey said after his fourth top-20 finish of the season. “I proved that today.”
Ramey started the week ranked 203rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. His first professional win came nine months ago at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Live and Work in Maine Open, with his dad serving as his caddie. His last win before that was nine years ago when he was a junior on the Mississippi State golf team. He earned $666,000 for his win Sunday.
Martin, 34, was angling for his first win on Tour in eight years. He is playing out of the past champion category thanks to his victory at the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this report.
