Just four men remain on the bracket at the SCGA Match Play Championship for a double-round finale at La Costa Resort. Without a doubt, Tim Hogarth is the most decorated.
Hogarth is the only remaining player with his name already on this trophy. He was the 2016 SCGA Match Play champion.
The 53-year-old Northridge, Calif., resident had a close call in his morning match against Cullen Brasfield. Hogarth got it to 2 up on the front nine, but Brasfield chipped away at that lead on the back nine. They stood on No. 18 tee all square, and Hogarth won it with a par on the closing hole when Brasfield made bogey. Hogarth defeated Connor Nolan, 3 and 2, in the afternoon.
Hogarth will meet AmateurGolf.com’s own Kyle Rector on Thursday morning in the semifinals. Rector battled his way through two tough matches on Wednesday, beginning with USC senior Sam Kim. Rector never trailed in that match. He won the par-3 16th with a par, matched Kim’s par at No. 17 and advanced.
Rector went head-to-head with fellow mid-amateur Dan Sullivan in the afternoon round. Back in 2017, Rector finished runner-up to Sullivan at the SCGA Mid-Amateur. On Wednesday, Rector was 2 down on the 10th tee but turned that into an eventual 2-up victory. He took a 1-up lead to the final hole, a par 5, then stuffed a 7-iron to 3 feet and sealed the match with a closing birdie to Sullivan’s par.
On the top of the bracket, Trip Morris will go up against Raymond Navis. Morris was runner-up at the SCGA Amateur earlier this summer and Navis recently finished his freshman season at Loyola Marymount.
