Amanda D’Ostroph survived the battle of champions and emerged from the Moore County Women’s Amateur as a two-time winner Tuesday.

D’Ostroph, a 21-year-old resident of Whispering Pines who is a rising senior at Charleston Southern University, slugged it out head-to-head with defending champion Staci Creech and six-time winner Patty Moore and left them reeling in her wake with a five-stroke victory in the event held on Woodlake Country Club’s two courses.

D’Ostroph, who won the title in 2010 when the championship was held on her home course at the Country Club of Whispering Pines, shot 71-69—140. Moore shot 73-72—145 and Creech 72-73—145.

The three contenders were paired together for the final round and the challenge served only to whet D’Ostroph’s competitive juices.

“It was very exciting,” D’Ostroph said of the pairing. “It definitely brings out the best of my game to play with Patty and Staci. It was really fun.”

It was also fun to be so on top of her game that she made only two bogeys in the two days while racking up six birdies, four in the final round. She even finished with a flourish, making an unexpected birdie on the par-5 18th hole of the Palmer Course.

D’Ostroph held a four-shot cushion over both of her rivals going into 18 and had every intention of playing it safe and laying up short of the water fronting the green.

Instead, she hit her tee shot enough right to catch the cart path and ended up close enough to the green to reach it in two shots.

“I was thinking I’d lay up and just play it safe,” D’Ostroph said. “But when it hit the cart path and bounced about 30 yards further, I only had about 150 yards left. So, I thought, ‘Oh well, I guess I’ll just go for it.’”

Her second shot was barely off the green but pin-high and she rolled it to within a couple of feet for the closing birdie.

“My game has definitely improved since I won two years ago,” she said. “I was really happy with the bogey-free round on Monday. I hadn’t done that in awhile.”

Moore won her sixth title four years ago and has battled to the wire the last three years. But she says the duel-to-the-finish events are more fun than winning by a landslide.

“Oh, this is absolutely more fun” she said, “Although we’ve had some pretty good competition over the years from Dianne (Yelovich) and some others. When it’s head to head like this, it’s a good win if you can get it.”

Creech, a third grade school teacher who works and lives in Chapel Hill and is eligible for the championship because of her membership at the Country Club of North Carolina, felt much the same.

“I like playing in this tournament because of the good competition,” she said. “I’ve been working pretty hard on my game and I felt pretty good starting out. But it all comes down to putting and I Just didn’t putt well.”

In other flights, winners were Cindy Cline with 169; Chris Lawn 166; Bess Fulcher 171; Barbara Jordan 177; and Patty Camp 179.