Noah Woolsey rallies to take California Amateur title

June 26, 2021 | by Northern California Golf Association

The University of Washington senior regroups for final 18 holes to defeat Wes Payne, 2 and 1

Throughout the week, 22-year-old Pleasanton resident Noah Woolsey kept telling himself to believe. By the time it was over, it happened.

A senior at the University of Washington, Woolsey erased an early 3-hole deficit and came storming back to win the 110th California Amateur Championship over Wes Payne, 2 and 1, on a hot Saturday at The Preserve Golf Club in Carmel Valley.

Woolsey, who joins a list of California Amateur champions that includes Johnny Miller, Mark O’Meara and two-time winner Bobby Clampett, hadn’t won an event since 2019. Clampett, who grew up in Carmel Valley, was among the spectators taking in the action.

A day after earning a spot in the 36-final via a gritty semifinals win on the 21st hole, Woolsey would quickly find himself down three holes after he opened the morning 18 holes with three consecutive bogeys. He’d twice cut the lead back to 1-up, but entered the break down three when Payne responded with a pair of birdies of his own on holes Nos. 16 and 17.

It was time again to just believe.

“My parents and others gave me a lot of encouragement, and I knew there was still a lot of golf left,” said Woolsey, a former member of the Junior Tour of Northern California. “I reminded myself that I had come back in the semifinals and won. So why couldn’t I do that again?”

The two players halved the first four holes after the break and then Woolsey made his move, winning three holes in succession – two with birdies – to draw even. He kept his foot on the accelerator with wins on three of the next seven holes to take a 3-up lead heading to the 33rd hole.

Payne kept his hopes alive by taking the next two holes before Woolsey closed the match on the 35th hole, winning the coveted title 2 and 1.

Congrats to 2021 California Amateur champion Noah Woolsey, a 2 and 1 winner over Wes Payne pic.twitter.com/E2sZlIfpvE
— NCGA (@ncga1901) June 27, 2021

“The whole week, I was just walking down the fairway telling myself, ‘You can do this’, over and over and over. It kind of calmed me down.” said Woolsey, who was rooted on by among others his mom, Miegen, and dad, Phil. “It’s pretty crazy. I had a former California Amateur champ walking down the fairway with me. Just an incredible week.”

Results: California Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Noah Woolsey	Pleasanton, CA	600
Runner-up	Weston Payne	Menlo Park, CA	400
Semifinals	Tommy Stephenson	Carlsbad, CA	300
Semifinals	Thomas Hutchison	San Jose, CA	300
Quarterfinals	Youssef Guezzale	San Diego, CA	200

View full results for California Amateur

About the California Amateur

Noah Woolsey rallies to take California Amateur title

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 So...