Down to the Final 16 at the 107th California Amateur
16 players remain at La Costa Resort (NCGA photo)
CARLSBAD, CA (June 20, 2018) - The match play stage of the 107th California Amateur Championship kicked off today, with 16 matches played at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
Dan Sullivan (Pasadena, CA), last year's SCGA Mid-Amateur champion and U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinalist two years running, took down medalist
Cody Hall (Wildomar, CA) 3&1 in an upset of the #1 match play seed.
Sullivan got off to a fast start, going four up through just six holes, before Hall fought back to get to only two down with nine to play. Unfortunately for Hall, he could get no closer, giving Sullivan a spot in Thursday’s round of 16 against
Forbes Collins II (Lake Forest).
|
Dan Sullivan (SCGA photo)
|
The #2 seed
Brad Reeves (Woodbridge, CA), who plays at the University of Arizona, put on a clinic in his match against
Michael Wong (Riverside). Reeves made 4 birdies and an eagle on the 577-yard par-5 second hole, putting him five up at the turn. Reeves easily closed out his match 7&6, and will move on to the round of 16.
USC standout
Sam Kim (Irvine) closed out his match early, making five birdies in a 7&5 win over
Joe Neuheisel (Paradise Valley). Kim’s impressive 2-iron tee shots proved effective in the wind, making him a solid pick for the state title if the winds continue to blow at La Costa.
High-schooler and SCGA CIF Champion
Tyler Guo (Irvine) edged out his opponent and fellow teenager
Raymond Navis (Palm Desert) in 19 holes. Navis made an amazing birdie on the par-5 18th to force extra holes, before Guo birdied the 19th for the win.
Other notable players advancing to the round of 16 include last year’s stroke play medalist and UCLA freshman
Eddy Lai (San Jose), the 2016 SCGA Mid-Am champ
Corby Segal (Santa Clarita), and last year’s NCGA Mid-Amateur champion
Bobby Bucey (Concord).
Bucey will face off with a fellow Norcal mid-amateur,
Ryan Sloane (Campbell), the four-time defending California State Fair Masters champion.
Match play continues on Thursday, with eight matches paring the field down to the eight quarterfinalists.
ABOUT THE California Amateur
The Championship is open to amateur golfers
who have established current indexes of 4.4
and are members in good standing of the
Southern California Golf Association, the
Northern California Golf Association, or the
Public Links Golf Association of Southern
California. Nonexempt players must qualify. An
entrant may play in only one qualifying event,
even
if
the golfer
belongs to clubs in both Southern California
and Northern California. The 18-hole
qualifying
rounds will determine the qualifiers.
The championship field will play 36 holes of
qualifying at a Northern or Southern California
Location, with the low 32 golfers from that
combined field moving on to match play (with
a
playoff, if necessary, to determine the final
spots).
Two rounds each of 18-hole match play will
follow on Thursday and Friday and the 36-hole
final match will be on Saturday.
The location will rotate yearly between
Northern and Southern California locations.
View Complete Tournament Information