California Senior Am: Bogan Brings Title South

24 Jun 2006
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2006 California Senior Amateur Champion

PEBBLE BEACH, CA (June 24, 2006) -- After bogeying the last hole that would have given him the victory had he parred it, Placentia's Steve Bogan hit a 12-foot putt for birdie on first playoff hole to secure the 15th CGA Senior Championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course.

Steve Bogan of Placentia won the 15th CGA Senior Championship after he won a playoff with Northern California's Gary Vanier with a birdie the first playoff hole.

The 57-year-old Bogan, who was the 1987 California Amateur Co-Medalist and the 2004 SCGA Senior Champion, is a member at Industry Hills GC, and went 75-74-75-224 (8-over-par) for the victory. He defeated 1997 NCGA Amateur Champion Gary Vanier of Pleasant Hill (77-73-74-224) on hole 17, a 165-yard par 3 which he birdied with his 5-iron. Vanier, 55 and a member of The Olympic Club, won the 1982 CGA Amateur and was the runner-up in this year's NCGA Senior Amateur Championship. Had he won, he would have been the first player to win both the State Amateur and the Senior.

"Putting is normally my biggest weakness, I had a couple of three-putts today which were hard," Bogan said. "I felt like the tournament was slipping away when I bogeyed the ninth hole."

Nine and 18 were two of the five bogeys Bogan had on the day, while he birdied only two. Vanier triple-bogeyed the par-4 eighth hole as well as two others, but collected three birdies during his round.

"There were some very difficult pin positions out there today, the greens were just amazing," he said. "But it was definitely fair. The wind and fog combination was interesting, the course played a lot more difficult than the last few years."

Bogan and Vanier are no strangers to one another; while living in the same apartment complex in Fullerton in the early 1970s, they played golf together both recreationally and on mini-tours. Bogan played professionally for four years in the '70s, having never lost his PGA card.

Son Pat, 32, caddied for Bogan, which he has been doing for more than half his life. "I've been caddying for dad in the State Am since I was 10," he said. "It's a father and son ritual now."

Southlanders secured five of the top 10 spots in the championship, and three of them secured a tie for third with Danville's Bob Rowland at 225: San Diego's Steven Hakes, who won the 2002 SCGA Tournament of Club Champions (78-76-71); Bakersfield's Kent Richardson (72-79-74); and Laguna Niguel's Kemp Richardson (73-79-73), the 2001 and 2003 U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and the 2003 British Senior Amateur Champion. Hakes and Rowland were the only two players to shoot sub-par rounds in the 72-hole tournament.

Steve Yavorsky of Capistrano Beach, who was tied for the lead with Bogan for first coming into the final round, slipped to 11th place at 228 after shooting a 79, his highest score of the tournament. Defending Champion Robert Olds of Brentwood (Northern California) fell to 33rd at 21-over-par 237.