16-year-old Dan Erickson (SCGA photo)
VALENCIA, Calif. — 16-year-old Dan Erickson is a newbie to match play golf, but you wouldn't know it. The rising high school junior has defeated Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Sean Crocker, 2013 SCGA Mid-Am Champ Robert Funk and SCGA tournament regular Sean Birren to advance to the semifinals of the 8th SCGA Match Play Championship.
Erickson, who found himself down 3 after 12 holes of play in the quarterfinals against Birren, quickly turned things around, winning holes 13, 14 and 15 with birdies to even things back up. He would then birdie the 18th hole with a clutch 7-foot putt to advance on to Wednesday's action.
Erickson will face San Diego State alum James Holley on Wednesday, with Holley earning the final semifinal spot with a 19-hole win against David Kim of UC Irvine. Holley, who never trailed in the match, lost the 18th hole before quickly ending Kim's hopes of a comeback on the first extra hole. Holley will square off against Erickson at 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday.
Also advancing to the final day's action was Justin De Los Santos of Cal Poly, who won the individual Big West title earlier this year. De Los Santos defeated Kevin Lee 4 and 2 to advance, after a tough 1up win over Carter Pool in the Rd. of 16 earlier in the day.
Hanging in as the last mid-am left in the field is Corby Segal, who is looking to become the first non-collegian to win the event. He defeated fellow mid-am golfers Jason Pridmore and Jeff Fortson Tuesday to earn his spot in the semifinals. He and De Los Santos tee off at 8 a.m. The final match will begin immedietely following the semifinal round.
ABOUT THE Southern California Match Play
The Match Play and Senior Match Play
championships
began in 2008 as a means of bringing new credence
and incentive to the SCGA points program. The
SCGA
points program awards points to golfers who give
strong performances in SCGA, USGA, CGA and other
selected outside tournaments. This Championship is
open to SCGA members with a
Handicap index of 5.4 or below. Players must qualify
or earn an exemption into the
championship field.
The championship format is single-elimination match
play.
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