SAN DIEGO, Calif. (July 13, 2013) -- Hole No.
18 povided the toughest test at San Diego CC
Friday, with the 84 competitors averaging a
score of 4.77 on the par 4, 450-yard finishing
hole. Today, however, it was a friend to Beau
Hossler, who carded a birdie on it to take sole
possession of first place heading into the final
round of the 114th SCGA Amateur
Championship.
“It’s been windy all day today, and for once I
was actually able to leave the ball below the
hole,” said Hossler. “I made a great putt there
for birdie which was definitely a nice cap on the
round.”
Hossler, a University of Texas golfer, will be
joined in the final pairing of the day Sunday
with hometown star and San Diego State golfer
Xander Schauffele (pictured), who sits just one
stroke off the lead at 5-under par. Schauffele is
no stranger to the top of the SCGA Amateur
Championship leader board, having secured a
runner-up finish at the event last year, and
knows he needs to continue to play his own
game if he is going to secure his first SCGA
championship title.
“I need to stay patient,” said Schauffele. “I’ve
been in this situation a couple of times before
and I have a tendency to get stuck in whatever
the other person is doing, so I really want to
formulate a game plan and stick to it. Hopefully
that will be enough.”
Schauffele’s round provided a colorful scorecard
Saturday, as the rising Aztec senior carded just
seven pars, mixing in one eagle, five birdies and
four bogeys. Holes two through eight were a
wild ride, resulting in zero pars and a lot of up
and down play.
“That was a tough stretch,” said Schauffele. “It
was unfortunate to go bogey-bogey-bogey, I got
a little impatient on those holes, but I really
kept my head down and was able to bounce
back.”
Hossler began his round with five straight pars,
extending a bogey-free streak he started Friday
to an impressive 35 holes, before tripping up on
the 377-yard par 4 seventh hole. The hole of the
day though was his birdie on 18, when he stuck
his approach shot of 170 ft. to about 15 feet
below the hole. An uphill, right-to-left putt
ended the third round, giving Hossler, who
clearly had the largest gallery of the day, the
slight edge heading into the final 18 holes.
San Diego CC members are expected to be out
in full force Sunday, as Hossler, a two-time U.S.
Open participant, and local star Schauffele
battle it out in the final pairing of the day. Not
to be counted out, however, are San Diego CC
member and La Jolla High School golfer Ben
Doyle and mid-am Dan Sullivan, who sit a 3-
under par and three strokes off the lead. Doyle,
a rising high school senior and two-time club
champion, has had a nice following of his own
throughout the first two days of the
championship.
Round 4 action begins at 8 a.m. Sunday, with
tee times running through 9:30 a.m. One golfer
will join a list of champions that includes Tiger
Woods, Al Geiberger, John Merrick and countless
other notable golfers.
ABOUT THE SCGA Amateur
This is the longest standing championship
conducted
by the SCGA. Started in 1900, this event
crowns the
best amateur player of the Association. Since
the
inaugural event, the SCGA Amateur has
enjoyed an
illustrious history of great champions, including
Tiger
Woods and Al Geiberger to more recent stars
including Beau Hossler and Patrick Cantlay. The
event is open to members with a Handicap
Index of
5.4 and below. Competitors undergo 18 holes
of
qualifying play in order to reach the final field
of 84
players. In the Championship, players compete
over
72 holes of stroke play with the top 42 and ties
advancing after the first 36 holes.
View Complete Tournament Information