1970

Gary Koch, 16, became the second Junior Amateur Champion from Tampa, Fla., within three years. Edie Pearce, the 1968 Champion, was the other. Koch defeated Mike Nelms, 16, of Hixson, Tenn., by 8 and 6 in the final at the Athens Country Club, Athens, Ga.

The margin was the largest ever in a final match. Aly Trompas, the 1969 Champion, was trying for a second consecutive title, but he was defeated by Koch, 3 and 1, in the quarter-final round. Mike Fambrough, of Valdosta, Ga., and Randall L. Transou, of Bethania, N.C., were the losing semi-finalists.

Koch had a formidable reputation when he arrived for the Championship. He already had won the Florida Open and led local qualifying for the 1970 U.S. Open by 11 strokes with a 36-hole score of 136.