U.S. Junior Amateur: Zalatoris defeats Riley for title

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) -- William Zalatoris won the U.S. Junior Amateur on Saturday, beating Davis Riley 5 and 3 in the 36-hole final at The Club at Carlton Woods.

The 17-year-old Zalatoris, from Plano, holed out from 115 yards for eagle on the 32nd hole -- the par-4 14th on the Nicklaus Course -- to take a 4-up lead and ended the match with a par win on the 33rd hole.

The 17-year-old Riley, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, finished second for the second straight year. Last year, he fell 3 and 2 to Scottie Scheffler at Martis Camp in Truckee, California.

Zalatoris, the rising Wake Forest freshman making his record-tying fifth appearance in the event, tied it with a birdie on the par-4 18th and took a 2-up lead with birdie wins on the par-4 19th and 20th holes.

Riley, set to play at Alabama, won the par-3 21st with a birdie to cut his deficit to a hole, but Zalatoris won the par-4 23rd with a par and the par-5 26th with a birdie to take a 3-up lead. Riley cut it to two holes with a birdie on the par-4 29th, and Zalatoris pushed the margin back to three with a par win on the par-3 30th hole.

Both players earned spots in the U.S. Amateur next month at Atlanta Athletic Club.