The road to PGA stardom for Homa and Morikawa went through the Silicon Valley Amateur
Photos courtesy of Cal Athletics
Before they were multi-time winners on the PGA Tour,
Max Homa and
Collin Morikawa claimed wins at the AmateurGolf.com Silicon Valley Amateur (presented by Callaway Golf), which begins play on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto, Calif.
The two former California Golden Bears won the tournament -- which traditionally gets a strong collegiate field due to it being held over winter break -- five years apart, with
Homa's victory coming in 2011 and Morikawa following suit in 2016 at the tournament's former home, Coyote Creek Golf Course in Morgan Hill, Calif.
In 2011, Homa
broke Coyote Creek's Valley Course record with an opening round 63 en route to a four-shot victory over Richard Conlin. What made Homa's course record 63 even more impressive is that it came in a two-club wind and he had two bogeys on his card.
Two years later, Homa capped off an outstanding amateur career by winning the
NCAA men's individual championship at the Capital City Club (Crabapple Course) in Milton, Ga. and has gone on to win six times on the PGA Tour, including a pair of titles this season at the Fortinet Championship and the Farmers Insurance Open.
Related: Before They Turned Pro: Max Homa
Morikawa won the
2016 Silicon Valley Amateur as a freshman at Cal in 2016, carding a pair of 3-under 69s in wet and cold conditions on the same Jack Nicklaus-designed Tournament Course. Morikawa was in a position to defend his title the following year but stumbled to a final round of 74 and ultimately finished third.
Just a little more than four years after his win at the Silicon Valley Amateur, Morikawa won his first of two majors, the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. He added his second major in 2021 by winning the Open Championship at Royal St. George's.
Related: Before They Turned Pro: Collin Morikawa
Morikawa's impressive amateur resume includes victories at the 2013 Western Junior,
2015 Trans-Miss Amateur,
2016 Sunnehanna Amateur and
2017 Northeast Amateur.
• • • • •
Due to inclement weather in the Bay Area, this year's Silicon Valley Amateur was rescheduled from Jan 7-8 to Feb 25-26. It marks the third consecutive year the tournament has been held at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto, Calif.
Last year,
Sean-Karl Dobson, now a freshman at Stanford, shot rounds of 62-72 to post a one-stroke victory over
Cameron Keith, who now plays collegiately at Dartmouth.
Dobson's first-round 62 set Bayland's course record.
ABOUT THE AGC Silicon Valley Amateur
The Silicon Valley Amateur is the first
AmateurGolf.com
tournament to have, on its past winner's list, a
MAJOR
champion. That would be Collin Morikawa, who
won
the
2016 title. Just over four years later, he won the
PGA
Championship just up the road at TPC Harding Park
in San Francisco. Multiple PGA Tour star and Morikawa's
fellow 2023 USA Ryder Cup team member Max Homa
also
won the
Silicon
Valley Amateur
in 2011.
For 2024, the tournament is moving to a new venue --
Stanford University Golf Course. Tournament players
will relish competing at a course normally reserved for
university students and faculty.
Please note that
we will
play on Monday and Tuesday, and expect this event will
fill very quickly.
Related: The road to PGA stardom for Homa
and Morikawa went through the Silicon Valley
Amateur
This is a gross competition with Championship
and Senior divisions. There will be no Net division.
MID-AM DIVISIONFor players age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in the
Championship Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least 10 Mid-Ams, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORSFor players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger players in the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for low
super senior.
WOMENWill play in the Championship Division but
from a shorter tee.
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