Photo courtesy of SCGA
The 122nd playing of the SCGA Amateur Championship was a hometown affair from start to finish. The fairways were filled with Virginia Country Club members, Long Beach locals and Southern California golf lovers, all who came out to see
Clay Seeber earn the prestigious crown.
The final pairing on Sunday was a who’s who of Long Beach-affiliations battling it out for the prestigious title.
Long Beach State’s Clay Seeber was the overnight leader after three rounds of stellar play, including a third round 5-under 65. Virginia CC club champion, and reigning SCGA Player of the Year,
Torey Edwards began the day one stroke back, while Jack Cantlay, whose brother Patrick won the SCGA Amateur title 10 years ago, found himself two strokes back with 18 holes to play.
Seeber pulled his opening tee shot left, leading to a bogey and a two-shot swing as Cantlay stuffed an approach and rolled in a 15-footer for birdie. But our eventual champion showed resilience and bounced back quickly with birdies on No. 4 and No. 8, making the turn with a 4-shot lead over Edwards.
The back-nine was more of the same story for Seeber, as he continued his consistent play. He offset his bogey on No. 11 with a bounce-back birdie on No. 12 to extend his lead. Coming down the stretch, it was a mere formality for the Newport Beach native as he enjoyed a comfy walk down the final fairways. With the title in hand, Seeber stepped up to his 25-foot downhill eagle putt on No. 18 and confidently rolled it in to secure a six-shot victory. Seeber shot under-par in all four rounds of the championship.
Edwards battled his swing all day, leading to a 2-over 72, which was still good for T-2. UCLA’s
Mason Greene fired off a 4-under 66 to catapult himself into T-2. Long Beach State’s
Bryce Kvick finished in fourth at 4-under, while Cantlay, who led after two rounds of play following a championship-low 6-under 64, faltered during the final round but still finished fifth.
ABOUT THE SCGA Amateur
This is the longest standing championship
conducted
by the SCGA. Started in 1900, this event
crowns the
best amateur player of the Association. Since
the
inaugural event, the SCGA Amateur has
enjoyed an
illustrious history of great champions, including
Tiger
Woods and Al Geiberger to more recent stars
including Beau Hossler and Patrick Cantlay. The
event is open to members with a Handicap
Index of
5.4 and below. Competitors undergo 18 holes
of
qualifying play in order to reach the final field
of 84
players. In the Championship, players compete
over
72 holes of stroke play with the top 42 and ties
advancing after the first 36 holes.
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