DANIELS, W.Va. — Mason Williams essentially had the win in the bag, but had hardly come to grips with it.
As he stood over a good look for birdie on the 18th hole at Stonehaven Course at The Resort at Glade Springs, anything short of a four-putt double bogey was good enough for the Bridgeport native to secure his first West Virginia Open title.
“I think I just started thinking about everything and realized I could two putt from 12 feet or whatever it was,” Williams recalled. “I couldn’t hold it back. I was crying before I hit the putt. I had to kind of refocus, and I was like, ‘alright, it’s downhill, you could still hit it 6 feet by.’ So I just tried to regroup and hit a good putt.”
Stellar play on the greens was a theme throughout the third and final round for Williams, who got going with three straight birdies on the third, fourth and fifth holes, all of which he made from a reasonable if not far distance with the putter.
Williams went on to make seven birdies, shoot 4-under par 68 over the final round and 10-under for the tournament.
All told, he made 17 birdies over 54 holes, including seven in the final round while exacting a measure of revenge in a battle with Ryan Bilby, who finished runner-up by three shots.
Three years earlier, Bilby got the best of Williams for a two-shot win at Berry Hills Country Club in the West Virginia Golf Association’s premier event.
This time around, Bilby led by one through 36 holes, was four shots back with five holes remaining, but stood over the tee box at the par-3 17th trailing by one shot. An untimely bogey at 17 all but ended any hope for Bilby, who enjoyed stellar golf careers at Brooke High School and Marshall.
“It’s so much fun. He’s such a good player and such a good human,” Bilby said. “I didn’t really have my best stuff [Friday]. But I fought on the back nine and made him earn it. I tried to not make it easy on him.”
Williams plays full time on PGA Tour Americas, and a three-week hiatus in the schedule created the opportunity for the former Georgia Southern standout to return to his native state.
“I was so excited it worked out,” Williams said.
It was a result he will long savor, much like the West Virginia Amateur championship a then-19-year-old Williams attained in 2019.
“It was unbelievable. It’s something I’ve thought about for a very long time,” Williams said. “It’s a special tournament. These are special people in West Virginia and to win this was absolutely unbelievable.”
The next time Williams plays competitive golf will start a stretch that is unquestionably among the most important of his career.
That will come August 20 in the Manitoba Open, the first of five events remaining on this season’s PGA Tour Americas schedule, which consists of 15 tournaments.
Williams has made the cut in nine of 10 previous tournaments this season, including nine straight. He has twice finished third and has two other top 15 finishes, while accumulating the 11th most points of 186 qualified golfers on PGA Tour Americas.
At season’s end on October 18, the top 10 players on the PGA Tour Americas points list for 2026 earn membership to the Korn Ferry Tour for next season.
Reaching that stage would make a future PGA Tour card much more attainable for Williams.
“It’s hard to think about now, because we’re in the middle of the year and that would take a lot of time to reflect on, but it’s essentially the next step in the journey,” he said. “You don’t want to play on PGA Tour Americas for any longer than you have to. While it’s a great tour, you’re just trying to keep improving, keep finding better and better competition, so it would mean the world. It would be amazing to get there and have a chance at a PGA Tour card for the following year. But I am where I am. I have to keep on playing better.”
The No. 1 players on the PGA Tour Americas points list the last two years are Johnny Keefer and Michael Brennan, now a pair of PGA Tour regulars.
Williams finished 22nd on the points list last season to retain his PGA Tour Americas membership, but is in prime position to secure one of the coveted 10 spots this time around.
Every shot is signficant a player with 551.300 points, of which 352.500 came from the two third-place finishes.
“Definitely confident,” Williams said. “My game is not trending in the right direction if you look at strictly results. But I think I have a good thought about where my golf swing needs to go, and this will help a ton just having the confidence, knowing I can prove it under these conditions and hit good putts with shaky hands.”