AGC San Diego Amateur winners (AGC photo)
CARLSBAD, Calif. (Jan. 7, 2018) – After starting the day with a two-shot advantage at Aviara Golf Club,
Tyler Schafer managed to hold on for a one-shot win at the AmateurGolf.com San Diego Amateur presented by Callaway. The Long Beach State freshman followed an opening even-par 72 with a 73. Close as those two numbers were, they were two totally different rounds.
Schafer had only seven pars in his opening round, but also had an eagle, five birdies, four bogeys and a triple-bogey. In Monday’s final round, which featured a shotgun start, he had a single birdie and two bogeys. The rest were pars.
Most players struggled on the slick greens at Aviara, where the LPGA hosts its Kia Classic March 28-31. The key to Schafer’s scoring was in first hitting them, and then being able to manage them.
“I actually putted really well the first round… but I really couldn’t hit the ball of the tee so I made some high numbers,” Schafer said. “Today I hit a lot of greens, I think I only missed one green. I had 15 pars. So it was kind of a really slow round for me today, I couldn’t get anything going. I’ll take that on a golf course like this.”
Schafer managed to hold off a charge from
Cullen Plousha, who birdied his second hole (No. 10) on his way to a 3-under 69, the best round of the day. Plousha is a Carlsbad native who plays college golf at Colorado State.
Plousha was T-10 at this event in 2017. Since then, he qualified for the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach but missed the match-play cut.
Another of the day’s best performances came from
Forbes Collins II, who used a final-round 71 (for a 4-over total) to climb to third place in the championship division and also win the mid-amateur division. Collins, 26, led the 2015 AGC San Diego Amateur after the first round before finishing an eventual T-10 that year.
For Collins, the start of a quality mid-am career has been about keeping his game sharp.
“Working hard on it – rolling the putts better, hitting the driver a little straighter, giving myself more opportunity for birdie, and more importantly than anything, hitting the greens in regulation.,” Collins said.
Another mid-amateur,
Redmond Lyons, was fourth with his 5-over total.
In the senior division, first-round leader Jeff Britton turned a three-shot lead into a six-shot victory even though he followed his opening 71 with a 76 on Monday. That 76 included bogeys on No. 17 and 18 before he rallied at the turn (Britton started on No. 10).
Two men,
Nicholas Bock and
Michael Harding, tied for second at 9 over after rounds of 79 and 76, respectively.
The round of the day in the senior division, however, belonged to Jim Ream. With the modernized USGA Rules of Golf only days old, Ream embraced the updated Rule 13.2a, which allows for the flagstick to now be left in while putting.
Ream only asked for the flag to come out on short putts. He made three consecutive birdies from Nos. 7-9 with the pin in, but arguably the best part of the day was when Ream poured in a 30-footer for birdie on his final hole (No. 14) that rattled the flagstick as it went down.
Ream drew a pairing with AmateurGolf.com founder Pete Wlodkowski in the final round, and maybe it’s just us, but it seems to be the magic pairing. At last month's AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational, Michael Wishart logged nine birdies beside Pete in the final round at Corica Park’s South Course on his way to a closing 69.
In the women’s division at the San Diego Amateur, Jamie Jacob had a final-round 1-under 71 to leapfrog first-round leader April Ranches. Jacob won the title by a three-shot margin with her 4-over total.
“I hit 15 greens both days but had a lot of putts the first day, so it was just putting. Just making sure my lags were at a distance that I didn’t have to mark the ball,” said the Cal State San Marcos junior.
In the net division,
Dorothy Donnelly maintained the top spot by following an opening 72 with a second-round 69. Donnelly won by five shots over Chris Ladd.
ABOUT THE AGC San Diego Amateur
>>
TOUR PORTAL
*An SCGA Points Event*
The San Diego Amateur returns to Aviara Golf
Club in Carlsbad. Once again we are going to
be
treated like pros at one of the best venues in
Southern
California, Aviara Golf Club -- as seen on TV
during the LPGA's Kia Classic played in March!
This is a gross competition with
Championship,
Senior and Net divisions.
Your entry fee includes 2 rounds of golf with
cart, prizes, trophies for division winners, and
the
opportunity to play a Tour-proven golf course
in
a
competitive setting. Special rates for practice
rounds
and
lodging will be offered.
DIVISIONS
CHAMPIONSHIP
For players aged 16 and over who have a
USGA or
equivalent index of less than 5.5
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
For players age 50 and over (as of the
tournament
date) with a handicap index of less than 8.0.
Note:
Must be 55 and over for NCGA Senior Points.
NET
For players 16 and over with handicap
between 5.5
and 18.0.
MID-AM (subdivision of Championship)
For players age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in
the
Championship Division, (same tees, same
prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six Mid-
Ams,
a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORS (subdivision of Senior)
For players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger senior
players
in
the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six
players 65
or
over, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for
low
super senior.
WOMEN (subdivision of Championship)
Will play in the
Championship
Division but
from a shorter tee. If there are at least six
women in
the field, a separate prize and trophy will be
awarded.
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