My, my, my what a difference three rounds can make in a golf tournament.

Just ask Ian Ansett.

Sunday afternoon Ansett signed his name to the Coors Tournament of Champions 31-year-old history books becoming the first foreign-born golfer and fifth player to win in their first time participating in the most prestigious amateur tournament the Amarillo-area offers.

The 33-year-old South African put his name on the TOC trophy by storming back from an opening round struggle of a 76 at Amarillo Country Club leaving him nine shots off the lead.

The former Wayland Baptist University golfer made a putter change after round one and became a birdie-making machine.

Over the final three rounds Ansett was an eye-opening 17-under, closing out the TOC with Sunday’s 6-under 66 on Ross Rogers Golf Complex Mustang Course claiming a five-stroke win over runner-up Stewart Dodson.

Despite shooting an opening round 76 Thursday at Amarillo Country Club, Ansett knew he had what it takes to get back in the hunt to win the TOC.

“Absolutely I thought I could come back,” Ansett said of the 9-stroke deficit. “I don’t get to play ACC that much and I wasn’t quite ready for the firm greens. I tried a different putter and that was a big mistake. So I went back to my old one and put my head down and it was one shot at a time.”

Ansett finished with at a 12-under 275 firing off 20 birdies and an eagle over the final three rounds, while Dodson earned his third TOC runner-up in four years with a 7-under 280.

Luke Kane, making a bid to lead this one from start to finish, played with a hurt shoulder and gamely fought until a bogey, double bogey finish Sunday left him at 1-over 73 finishing third at 6-under 281.

Eight of the 11 participants finished under par for the four-day event held over four different courses in Amarillo.

No doubt, this was a moment in the sun Ansett will never forget.

Ansett was overwhelmed with emotions having to pause and fight off tears during his question-session with the media on the No. 18 green minutes after winning.

“Surprisingly, this means more to me than I thought it would,” said Ansett, who gained his amateur golf status back a couple of years ago after trying the pro golf circuit for 4 ½ years. “I had a lot to prove to myself. I gutted it out and now I can take a deep breath. Next year I look forward to defending my title and being around all these people. It’s a good time.”

Ansett’s good time Sunday didn’t start off that way. He opened with a bogey on No. 1, thanks to a three-putt and fell two strokes behind leader Kane.

But Ansett and the Taylor Made Spider putter he had switched to after round one answered the opening hiccup with three birdies over the next three holes. That would be the first of two times during his Sunday round he would reel off three consecutive bogeys.

Although Ansett didn’t secure the lead for good until No. 7 on a par and a Kane bogey, it was his second swing on the No. 4 par 5 that left Ansett believing this was his day.

“I had 244 (yards)into the wind and I just crushed a 2-iron right at the pin that end up like 10-15 feet right,” Ansett said. “I was like, ‘Oh, yea, let’s keep this going,’ And I did. I had a few mishits, but I was able to get up and down.”

Kane and Dodson certainly didn’t make it easy on Ansett with one or the other within two strokes of the lead until No. 17 when Ansett’s birdie put him 3-up on Kane and 5-up on Dodson.

“This is a pretty big win,” Ansett said. “It’s my first win as an amateur. It’s definitely the best win I’ve felt for sure. I haven’t felt that nervous, that anxious in a long, long, time. … man, I’m so impressed with the golf talent in Amarillo. I mean I can go down the whole list, even people who aren’t here today. Like, I have never played with Stewart and Stewart has a lot of game and those two (Dodson and Kane) put a lot of pressure on me all day. I knew Tyle Paige had a 62 in him so that was lingering with me all day. I can’t wait to do it again next year.”

Played out over Saturday and Sunday was the 36-hole Coors TOC Senion Division and it was Dario Garza coming away with the victory at 4-under.

This was Garza’s fifth time playing in the Senior TOC and each time he finished in fourth or tied in fourth. Garza opened with a 4-under 68 on day one at Arrowhead at Comanche Trails Golf Complex holding a three-shot lead heading into Sunday.

 Garza finished three strokes ahead of Mark Guess and John Dawson, each at 1-under par.

The tournament looked like it was slipping from Garza as he record three bogeys on the opening 10 holes and sat 3-over for the day. But he quickly regained control on holes No. 11-13 going an impressive eagle, birdie, birdie to grab all the momentum back.

“After getting to three-over I was thinking “I’m going to give the game of golf up. I have to do something different,” Garza said. “And then No. 11 I chip in for two and think maybe I can play this game again. … it took me five times, and I finally did it. Winning this is special.”

Check out the results

For a look at the final results and all the Coors Tournament of Champions information, please visit: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/11921753528567115298

Photo gallery by Roy Wheeler: