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SCGA Amateur: Trimble, Edick Share Lead
BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA (July 8, 2006) -- Brian Edick of Valencia, who has been in this spot before, and Blake Trimble of Rancho Santa Fe, who hasn't, share the lead after three rounds of the 107th Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Amateur Championship at Bakersfield Country Club. Each posted 4-under-par 68s today for 54-hole totals of 211, 5 under par, in the nation's second-oldest, continuously contested amateur golf championship.


Blake Trimble shares the lead after three rounds of the 107th SCGA Amateur Championship at Bakersfield CC. Photo by Katie Denbo/SCGA

Lurking a shot behind is defending champion Scott McGihon of Bermuda Dunes and 15-year-old Bhavik Patel of Bakersfield, who is bidding to become the youngest winner ever in a tournament with a storied winners' list that includes Tiger Woods, among others. McGihon posted 69 today, while Patel had a 72; both are at 212, 4 under par.

The final round is Sunday beginning at 7:30 a.m. Gallery is welcome to attend at no charge. Live scoring will be available here.

The 22-year-old Edick, a senior at UC Irvine, finished a shot behind McGihon (a UCI alumnus) at last year's championship and he was paired with McGihon for the first three rounds this year. After birdieing five of his first 11 holes, Edick struggled with two bogies coming in, including a 5 on the 420-yard finishing hole.

The 19-year-old Trimble, a rising sophomore at UNLV, also had a shot at the outright lead before making bogey 4 on the 212-yard 17th hole when he yanked his tee shot long and left of the green on the short side of the flagstick. However, he was pleased with his round, which included six birdies and two bogies. "I bogied the first hole," Trimble explained, "but then I birdied the next two and just tried to keep plugging away, making a birdie here and there, one shot at a time. My goal was to shoot 69 and get back to 4 under par, which is where the leaders started today. Anything more than that was a bonus for tomorrow. I did what I wanted to do; now I have to do it again tomorrow."

Patel professes not to be nervous about his shot at history tomorrow. "I'm surprised that I haven't been nervous," he said, "but I'm just playing one shot at a time and we'll see what happens tomorrow." The youngest winner in tournament history was 17-year-old Paul Hunter when he won the first of his five titles in 1908.

The 38-year-old McGihon -- who is seeking to become just the seventh golfer to win three or more SCGA Amateur titles and the seventh to win back-to-back titles -- felt fortunate to be where he was after today's start. "I had to get up and down on the first three holes to save par," said McGihon, "and they were all very difficult because I left myself in very tough spots on each hole. For some reason, I was very nervous on the first three holes, but I hit a great putt on No. 1, a great chip on No. 2 and a great chip on No. 3. Then I settled down and started making some good swings."

One reason McGihon likes his chances is that he's trailing the leaders going into tomorrow's final round. "I've come from behind on each of two wins," he said, "so I'm glad Brian finished a shot in front of me." As for the plus 100-degree heat, McGihon - who coaches high school in La Quinta -- laughed and said, "The heat is my ally."

For much of the afternoon, David Bartman of Los Angeles, the reigning Trans-Mississippi Mid-Amateur champion, appeared poised to run away with the championship after making birdie on four of his first 10 holes to go 7 under par. However, the 35-year-old Bartman then bogied four holes in a row and, after a birdie on No. 15, lost his drive in a tree on the 16th hole and ended up making double-bogey 6. He finished with a 1-over-par 73 today and stands at 214, just three shots behind the leaders.

Cal State Bakersfield grad D.J. Fernando, who led the tournament after the first and second rounds, opened with a bogey and double-bogey and never recovered. He struggled home with a 77 today and trails the leaders by six shots.


107th SCGA Amateur Championship
at Bakersfield Country Club; Bakersfield, CA.
6,819 yards; par 72
54-hole results:


Brian Edick is tied for the lead at the 107th SCGA Amateur Championship. Photo by Katie Denbo/SCGA


211 -- Blake Trimble, Rancho Santa Fe, 75-68-68; Brian Edick, Valencia, 72-71-68.

212 -- Scott McGihon, Bermuda Dunes, 68-75-69; Bhavik Patel, Bakersfield, 68-73-71.

213 -- Gary Havro, Claremont, 71-71-71.

214 -- David Bartman, Los Angeles, 73-68-73.

216 -- Michael Drake, Riverside, 76-70-70; Brett Kanda, La Crescenta, 72-73-71; Kevin Marsh, Las Vegas, NV, 73-72-71; John McClure, West Los Angeles, 75-70-71; Dan Sullivan, Pasadena, 72-70-74; Jason Bittick, Coto de Caza, 73-69-74.

217 -- Alex Kim, Fullerton, 73-73-71; Josh Anderson, Murrieta, 69-72-76; D.J. Fernando, Bakersfield, 66-74-77.

218 -- Matt Ryan, Saugus, 72-75-71; John Adams, San Clemente, 73-74-71; Brandon Christianson, Valencia, 74-73-71; Gary Donovan, Cathedral City, 73-73-72; Kyle Hopkins, Apple Valley, 72-75-71; Joshua Warthen, San Diego, 75-71-72.

219 -- Matt Higley, San Diego, 80-71-68; Mike Reese, Apple Valley, 76-74-69; Kendall Adams Jr., Fallbrook, 76-71-72; Ed Cuff, Rancho Santa Fe, 72-74-73.

220 -- John Pate, Santa Barbara, 74-75-71; Patrick Carrigan, Walnut, 74-74-72; Don DuBois, Newport Beach, 75-68-77.

221 -- Todd Strible, San Marcos, 75-71-75.

222 -- Adam Marshall, La Quinta, 78-73-71; Michael Carpenter, Newport Beach, 72-77-73; Brian Leff, San Marcos, 71-74-77.

223 -- Mark Modglin, Simi Valley, 71-71-81.

224 -- Gerry Simoni, Carlsbad, 76-73-75; Yun-Gi "Kenny" Kim, Cerritos, 74-74-76; Jason Pridmore, Ventura, 71-74-79.

225 -- Amit Chopra, Newport Coast, 74-76-75; Erik Jarvey, Palmdale, 74-75-76; Kent Richardson, Bakersfield, 74-74-77.

226 -- Phillip Telliard, Riverside, 70-81-75; Christopher Cunningham, San Diego, 75-73-78.

229 -- Mark Kiesel, Newport Beach, 78-73-78; Tyler Veysey, San Diego, 73-78-78; Jeff Wade, La Quinta, 72-78-79.

WD -- Tim Hogarth, Northridge, 77-73-74-WD; Steven Hakes, San Diego, 73-77-76-WD; Bowen Osborn, Los Angeles, 77-74-77-WD.

NOTE:
Final round is tomorrow (Sunday).

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.

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