California looking to end U.S. Amateur victory drought
8/10/2015 | by Conner Penfold of AmateurGolf.com
see also: U.S. Amateur, a USGA Championship, Merion Golf Club - East Course
A look at 15 Californians who could end the Golden State's 13-year absence from the winner's circle at the U.S. Amateur
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — For a state as storied in
amateur golf success as
California, it's surprising to
note the 13-year drought for Californians in the
winner's circle at the U.S.
Amateur. Not since
Stockton native Ricky Barnes defeated Hunter
Mahan at Oakland Hills Country
Club in 2002 has a
native of the Golden State hoisted the
Havemeyer Trophy.
Since Barnes' triumph, there have been three near-misses. As recently as 2012, Fresno's Michael Weaver lost in heart-breaking fashion on the 37th hole after his potentially match-winning putt on the previous hole hit a spike mark halfway to the cup, eventually lipping out. The year before, Patrick Cantlay of Long Beach lost 2-down to Kelly Kraft at Erin Hills. And back in 2005 at Merion, Woodland's Dillon Dougherty lost 4-and-3 to Edoardo Molinari of Italy.
Now, with three California kids inside the top-10 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, all headed to the championship next week, maybe this year The Bear Flag will fly high at Olympia Fields in Illinois.
Here's a look at the top-4 most-likely Californians to win the 2015 U.S. Amateur:
Maverick McNealy — The 2015 Pac-12 Player-of-the-Year destroyed golf courses this spring, winning four times in major college events, including the Pac-12 Championship and the NCAA Southeast Regional. He finished runner-up at the Pacific Coast Amateur two weeks ago, and is the No. 2 ranked amateur in the world, behind only Jon Rahm of Spain and conference rival Arizona State.
Bryson
DeChambeau — The Southern Methodist
senior won the medal play portion
of the NCAA Men's
National Championship, putting him beside
names like Tiger Woods, Phil
Mickelson, and Luke Donald.
Though the win at The Concession Golf Club is
his only victory thus far in 2015,
the Clovis native has
a slew of top-5 showings including fifth at the
NCAA Central Regional, tied-for-
fourth at the Southern
Amateur, and tied-for-third at the Australian
Master of the Amateurs.
Beau
Hossler — Hossler was likely disappointed
with his follow-up performance
at
the Western Amateur, where he was looking to
become the first back-to-back
winner since fellow Texas Longhorn Justin
Leonard did it in 1993. Hossler missed
the 36-hole cut at Rich Harvest Farms, and will
return to the Chicago suburbs
with
a bit of a chip on his shoulder. The Mission Viejo
native won the John Hayt
Collegiate in the spring and recently tied for
second with McNealy at
the
Pacific Coast Amateur.
Aaron Wise — The
Lake Elsinore native will enter next week's event
as the hottest player in amateur golf. Imagine
if Wise won both the Pacific Coast Amateur
and the Western Amateur in
consecutive
weeks. Well, he almost did, losing to Dawson
Armstrong's hole-out eagle on the second playoff
hole at Rich Harvest Farms a week after beating
out both McNealy and Hossler at the Pacific
Coast Amateur. The University of Oregon
sophomore also finished runner-up to McNealy at
the
Pac-12 Championship.
Here are 11 more Californians who we'll be watching closely at Olympia Fields:
Jake Knapp — Costa Mesa
Joanthan Garrick — Atherton
Rico Hoey — Rancho Cucamonga
Shotaro Ban — San Jose
Corey Pereira — Cameron Park
Collin Morikawa — La Canada Flintridge
Byron Meth — San Diego
Austin Smotherman — Loomis
Alex Franklin — San Rafael
Jonah Texeria — Northridge
Robert Salomon — Marina
Since Barnes' triumph, there have been three near-misses. As recently as 2012, Fresno's Michael Weaver lost in heart-breaking fashion on the 37th hole after his potentially match-winning putt on the previous hole hit a spike mark halfway to the cup, eventually lipping out. The year before, Patrick Cantlay of Long Beach lost 2-down to Kelly Kraft at Erin Hills. And back in 2005 at Merion, Woodland's Dillon Dougherty lost 4-and-3 to Edoardo Molinari of Italy.
Now, with three California kids inside the top-10 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, all headed to the championship next week, maybe this year The Bear Flag will fly high at Olympia Fields in Illinois.
Here's a look at the top-4 most-likely Californians to win the 2015 U.S. Amateur:
Maverick McNealy — The 2015 Pac-12 Player-of-the-Year destroyed golf courses this spring, winning four times in major college events, including the Pac-12 Championship and the NCAA Southeast Regional. He finished runner-up at the Pacific Coast Amateur two weeks ago, and is the No. 2 ranked amateur in the world, behind only Jon Rahm of Spain and conference rival Arizona State.
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Here are 11 more Californians who we'll be watching closely at Olympia Fields:
Jake Knapp — Costa Mesa
Joanthan Garrick — Atherton
Rico Hoey — Rancho Cucamonga
Shotaro Ban — San Jose
Corey Pereira — Cameron Park
Collin Morikawa — La Canada Flintridge
Byron Meth — San Diego
Austin Smotherman — Loomis
Alex Franklin — San Rafael
Jonah Texeria — Northridge
Robert Salomon — Marina
About the US Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA championship, was first played in 1895 at Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The event, which has no age restriction, is open to those with a Handicap Index of .4 (point four) or lower. It is one of 15 national champ...
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