Preview: California's best to tee it up in AGC Winter Invite
12/13/2018 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: AmateurGolf.com 2025 Winter Invitational presented by Callaway Golf, San Juan Oaks Golf Club
The AGC Winter Invitational is the first major amateur golf tournament at Corica Park's new South Course.
ALAMEDA, Calif. (Dec. 13, 2018) – Corica Park, the official home of AmateurGolf.com, will host the AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational this weekend. The two-day event will be the first major amateur golf tournament played at Corica Park's new South Course (a track that you can read more about here).
Spots in the field went quickly, and 60 men along with 24 seniors will tee it up Saturday morning for the first round. Net and women’s championships will also be contested over the two days.
The vibe reflects its location. The weekend starts with a “Mandatory Golf Friday” skins game – open to anyone, including non-tournament players – that tees of at 2 p.m. (Contact us here to find out more.) Tournament sponsor Linksoul, maker of comfortable and stylish apparel, will provide a shirt for every player as well as a prize-fund boost. That’s especially appealing considering it can be used in the on-site Linksoul Lab – a first-of-its-kind, on-course shopping experience at Corica Park.
At No. 24 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Player Rankings, Josh McCarthy will tee it up as the favorite. McCarthy is a junior at Pepperdine who made the Round of 32 at both the U.S. Amateur and NCGA Match Play. He was third at the Sahalee Players Championship and T-6 at the Northeast Amateur.
In the senior field, Glenn Andrade comes to Corica Park off a win at the AGC Christmas Classic two weeks ago. Frank Pieper and Steve Donnelly, perennial top NCGA seniors from the Monterey Peninsula, also are in the field.
Other players to watch include:
Ryan Grauman: The freshman at St. Mary’s College had a stellar year in California events. Grauman won the Alameda Commuters in April, just a month after he had made a run to the final 16 at the San Francisco City Amateur. A trip to the quarterfinals at NCGA Match Play and a T-15 finish at NCGA Stroke Play followed over the summer, then Grauman teed it up with the team in all five fall starts, with his season best being a third-place finish at the Showdown in the Rockies.
Colt and Scout McNealy: The pair are younger brothers of Maverick McNealy, a former Stanford standout who turned professional last year and spent much of the season playing Web.com Tour events. Colt, 19, was T-33 at the Monterey Open, 28th at the Northern California Open and T-41st at NCGA Stroke Play this summer. Scout, 17, was T-34 in NCGA Stroke Play.
Tyson Dinsmore: The SMU freshman scored a handful of top-25 finishes in junior golf events before moving on to the college circuit. In the spring of 2017, he advanced to the final 32 at the San Francisco City Championship.
Dylan VanderVeer: Another member of the St. Mary’s College golf team, the redshirt sophomore knocked at the door of several California-based amateur events before scoring a win at the Mountainvew City Championship in September. He was T-2 at this year’s Antioch City, third at the AGC Silicon Valley Amateur, and T-4 at last year’s San Diego Amateur.
Mark Miller: The most decorated senior player in AmateurGolf.com history, Antioch’s Miller is a former NCGA Senior Amateur Player of the year from 2007. His recent highlights on the AGC circuit include a top-5 in the 2017 Monterey Four-Ball presented by Callaway Golf and a T-4 in last year’s AGC Wine Country Cup. Miller tied for first in the 2014 AGC Tour Championship, the same year he won the Marin Country Amateur. He has won AGC events dating back to 2008 by the handful.
Hafsa Khan: The Cal State East Bay senior made all three fall starts with the Pioneers with a best individual finish of T-12 at the Dixie State Invitational in Utah.
Kelsi Valenzuela: The Turlock, Calif., native is a former member of the Cal State East Bay team. She has three career holes-in-one.
Tammy Lim: Lim, a Clovis, Calif., resident, plays out of Dragonfly Golf Course. She played for New Mexico State last season as a freshman.
Spots in the field went quickly, and 60 men along with 24 seniors will tee it up Saturday morning for the first round. Net and women’s championships will also be contested over the two days.
The vibe reflects its location. The weekend starts with a “Mandatory Golf Friday” skins game – open to anyone, including non-tournament players – that tees of at 2 p.m. (Contact us here to find out more.) Tournament sponsor Linksoul, maker of comfortable and stylish apparel, will provide a shirt for every player as well as a prize-fund boost. That’s especially appealing considering it can be used in the on-site Linksoul Lab – a first-of-its-kind, on-course shopping experience at Corica Park.
At No. 24 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Player Rankings, Josh McCarthy will tee it up as the favorite. McCarthy is a junior at Pepperdine who made the Round of 32 at both the U.S. Amateur and NCGA Match Play. He was third at the Sahalee Players Championship and T-6 at the Northeast Amateur.
In the senior field, Glenn Andrade comes to Corica Park off a win at the AGC Christmas Classic two weeks ago. Frank Pieper and Steve Donnelly, perennial top NCGA seniors from the Monterey Peninsula, also are in the field.
Other players to watch include:
Ryan Grauman: The freshman at St. Mary’s College had a stellar year in California events. Grauman won the Alameda Commuters in April, just a month after he had made a run to the final 16 at the San Francisco City Amateur. A trip to the quarterfinals at NCGA Match Play and a T-15 finish at NCGA Stroke Play followed over the summer, then Grauman teed it up with the team in all five fall starts, with his season best being a third-place finish at the Showdown in the Rockies.
Colt and Scout McNealy: The pair are younger brothers of Maverick McNealy, a former Stanford standout who turned professional last year and spent much of the season playing Web.com Tour events. Colt, 19, was T-33 at the Monterey Open, 28th at the Northern California Open and T-41st at NCGA Stroke Play this summer. Scout, 17, was T-34 in NCGA Stroke Play.
Tyson Dinsmore: The SMU freshman scored a handful of top-25 finishes in junior golf events before moving on to the college circuit. In the spring of 2017, he advanced to the final 32 at the San Francisco City Championship.
Dylan VanderVeer: Another member of the St. Mary’s College golf team, the redshirt sophomore knocked at the door of several California-based amateur events before scoring a win at the Mountainvew City Championship in September. He was T-2 at this year’s Antioch City, third at the AGC Silicon Valley Amateur, and T-4 at last year’s San Diego Amateur.
Mark Miller: The most decorated senior player in AmateurGolf.com history, Antioch’s Miller is a former NCGA Senior Amateur Player of the year from 2007. His recent highlights on the AGC circuit include a top-5 in the 2017 Monterey Four-Ball presented by Callaway Golf and a T-4 in last year’s AGC Wine Country Cup. Miller tied for first in the 2014 AGC Tour Championship, the same year he won the Marin Country Amateur. He has won AGC events dating back to 2008 by the handful.
Hafsa Khan: The Cal State East Bay senior made all three fall starts with the Pioneers with a best individual finish of T-12 at the Dixie State Invitational in Utah.
Kelsi Valenzuela: The Turlock, Calif., native is a former member of the Cal State East Bay team. She has three career holes-in-one.
Tammy Lim: Lim, a Clovis, Calif., resident, plays out of Dragonfly Golf Course. She played for New Mexico State last season as a freshman.
About the AGC Winter Invitational
2025 TOURNAMENT PORTAL The Winter Invitational is open to all players who satisfy the handicap requirements. Join us at the completely renovated San Juan Oaks Golf Club. We are proud to bring this gorgeous and challenging course designed by Fred Coup...
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