BILLINGS -- Make room for some more decor in the Hedge family trophy case.
Jake Hedge won his first Montana Men's State Amateur golf championship on Saturday, finishing with a three-day total of 209, good enough to win the tournament by five strokes.
Hedge, who won the Class AA medalist honors his freshman season at Billings West and also was part of four consecutive team championships for the Golden Bears, shot a 1-over-par 73 on Saturday, one day after a blistering 6-under-par 66 put him in the lead for good.
Defending champion Joey Moore, who was tied with Hedge for the lead after the opening round, shot a 2-over-par 74 on Saturday, finishing fourth with a 217.
Liam Clancy and Brad Fox, who entered Saturday tied for third, finished second and third, respectively. Clancy's 71 on Saturday was one of only two rounds under par -- Joey Lovell fired an impressive 4-under 68 and tied for fifth. Lovell carded seven birdies Saturday, while Clancy shot birdies on each of the first three holes on the back nine.
The final round of the 103rd Montana Men's State Am began with four straight pars for Hedge, who eventually birdied the par-3 fifth. A bogey on the par-5 seventh pushed him back to even for the day, before another bogey at the turn left him 1-over entering the back nine.
Hedge played par golf on all nine holes to secure the title.
Hedge's older brother, Josh, won three straight Montana State Am titles from 2005-07 and is one of only seven golfers to win at least three straight titles. E.J. Barker won the first seven State Am championships from 1917-23, while Ed Zemljak won four straight between 1961-64.
Josh Hedge, who also won last year's Men's Mid Amateur title, finished the weekend tournament with a 5-over 221 to place eighth.
To view the complete leaderboard from the 103rd Montana Men's State Amateur golf championship, please click here.
