That score was a 5-under-par 211, eight strokes ahead of his nearest competitor on a Mission Viejo Country Club course dubbed "Mission Impossible" when it first opened in 1967.

To add to the degree of difficulty, Monday's 36-hole opener was the first time the 40-year-old Northridge resident had laid eyes on the course. And on Tuesday, SCGA Director of Communications Bob Thomas dubbed the pin placements "diabolical" and some of the toughest he had ever seen.

Nevertheless, Hogarth fired a 2-under-par in the final round to win his second SCGA Mid-Amateur title by a record eight shots.

Hogarth -- winner of the 2004 SCGA Amateur, 1999 California Amateur (the same year he won his other SCGA Mid-Amateur title) and 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links titles, along with numerous other prestigious events -- was the only player to finish under par for each round, shooting 70-71-70 = 211 on the 6,943 yard Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed layout.

John Pate of Santa Barbara finished a distant second at 219 after posting his third consecutive round of 73 in the two-day, 54-hole event for amateur golfers age 25 and higher. David Bartman of Los Angeles finished third at 219, two shots in front of three-time SCGA Amateur champion and 200- SCGA Mid-Am winner Scott McGihon of Bermuda Dunes.

Scott Almquist and Tyler Crawford rounded out the top five tied at 224. All will receive invitations to the CGA State Amateur held at the Monterey Penninsula Country Club on June 18-23 as well as the SCGA Amateur held at the Victoria Club June 29 - July 1.

"I wasn't surprised," said Hogarth after his round, which included an eagle 3 on the eighth hole and three birdies. "I generally know coming in how may game is going to feel and I had a lot of confidence this week after preparing with my long-time instructor, Randy Petersen."

Although Hogarth had never seen Mission Viejo CC before yesterday's two rounds, he was unfazed by what some would consider a handicap. "Straight works most places," he said today. "There's a little local knowledge here with the elevation changes, but I hit it very well; 135 [yards] is still going to be 135 no matter where we're playing.
"This golf course demands a lot of good ball striking and I hit a lot of fairways this week."

One of those fairways was on the 530-yard eighth hole where Hogarth drove it dead center, then hit a fairway metal 30 feet to the right of the flagstick (and away from the water that guards the green) and drained the roller-coaster putt for an eagle 3 that propelled him on to victory.

The 47-year-old Pate, winner of the 1999 SCGA Amateur and 2000 SCGA Mid-Amateur, had hoped to make an early run on Hogarth. "I just couldn't really get anything going," said Pate afterwards. "But Tim played great."

Bartman's fate was sealed on his second nine Tuesday morning when the winner of the recent SCGA Four-Ball and Foursomes titles (with Robert Funk) shot 41. "I had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to drive down here for my morning round," said Bartman later. "Guess that wasn't such a smart idea." Bartman finished even par for his other five nines.

RESULTS:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GOLF ASSOCIATION

24th SCGA Mid-Amateur Championship

at Mission Viejo Country Club; Mission Viejo, Calif.
6,943 yards; par 72

FINAL 54-hole results:

211 -- Tim Hogarth, Northridge, 70-71-70.

219 -- John Pate, Santa Barbara, 73-73-73.

221 -- David Bartman, Los Angeles, 77-72-72.

223 -- Scott McGihon, Bermuda Dunes, 76-72-75.

224 -- Scott Almquist, Coto de Caza, 75-77-72; Tyler Crawford, Rancho Mirage, 77-72-75.

225 -- Craig Steinberg, Oak Park, 75-78-72; Jason Bittick, Coto de Caza, 71-78-76; James Meyer, Dana Point, 75-70-80.

227 -- Dan Sullivan, Pasadena, 76-77-74; Craig King, Santa Barbara, 76-73-78.

228 -- Gerry Simoni, Carlsbad, 72-81-75; Gary Havro, Claremont, 80-75-73; Don DuBois, Newport Beach, 72-77-79.

229 -- Chip Bridges, Encinitas, 74-78-77.

230 -- Rich Tolly, Laguna Hills, 78-76-76; Alan Stearns, Santa Ana, 77-76-77; Ed Cuff, Rancho Santa Fe, 75-77-78; Todd Strible, San Marcos, 74-78-78.

231 -- Ryan Gale, Huntington Beach, 78-77-76; John Balfanz, Bakersfield, 78-73-80.

232 -- Jerry Chang, Los Angeles, 76-78-78.

233 -- James Popoff, La Habra Heights, 78-79-76.

234 -- Pete Roberts, San Marcos, 75-79-80; David Ober, Riverside, 77-78-79; Steve Bogan, Placentia, 74-78-82.

235 -- Michael Carpenter, Newport Beach, 81-74-80; John Adams, San Clemente, 77-78-80.

236 -- Robert Funk, Canyon Lake, 74-81-81; Perry Dickey, Oceanside, 75-78-83; Craig Calkins, Manhattan Beach, 77-79-80.

237 -- Eddie Repanich, Los Angeles, 78-76-83; Mark Gardner, Redlands, 75-79-83.

239 -- Patrick Carrigan, Walnut, 72-81-86; Kelley Moser Jr., San Marcos, 79-77-83; Dale Keene, Bakersfield, 80-77-82; Johnny Holmes, Riverside, 80-77-82.

240 -- Spencer Pollack, Orange, 75-82-83.

241 -- Brad Jones, Los Angeles, 82-73-86; Jim Tassano, Camarillo, 75-80-86; Mel Collins, Long Beach, 78-77-86.

242 -- Ted Olsen, Coto de Caza, 77-78-87.

244 -- Chad Quilausing, Murrieta, 80-75-89

-- Material from the SCGA used in this article