Clemson's Corbin Mills

Clemson's Corbin Mills became the first qualifying medalist to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 11 years, holing a 5-foot par putt on the 37th hole Saturday to finish off UNLV's Derek Ernst. The 21-year-old Mills, from Easley, S.C., is the first qualifying medalist to win the title since former Clemson star D.J. Trahan in 2000. Mills squared the wind-swept match with a conceded eagle on the 35th hole and matched Ernst with a par on the 36th to force the extra hole on Bandon Dunes' Old Macdonald course. "It's unbelievable," Mills said. "I never thought I'd make it this far. You know, I started off bad. Even getting here wasn't good. You know, God really blessed me. He really did." He earned a spot in the 2012 Masters, if still an amateur. "It hasn't sunk in all the way, but I think here shortly it will," Mills said. "It's kind of always been a dream. It's never been one of those things that I was thinking at the beginning of the week, 'If I win, I get in the Masters or anything like that.'" He's fighting an ear infection and pink eye. "I think I got the ear infection like two days before I came out here," Mills said. "Then on the plane ride here, my eye started leaking stuff. I didn't know what it was. I couldn't see, couldn't hear out of my left ear. I still can't hardly hear out of my left ear, but it's good. It ended on a really good note."