Yoshihara and Bucey to play for California Amateur Title

CARLSBAD, CA (June 22, 2018) - It's not just college golfers who win the California State Amateur. But they do seem to take a majority of titles over the years. Mid-Amateur Bobby Bucey of Concord (East Bay San Francisco) hopes to win won for the "old guys" - if you can call a 29-year-old that. Tomorrow Bucey -- who won the 2017 NCGA Mid-Am and early this month lost the same tournament in a playoff -- will face off against a UCLA sophomore with an athletic swing, plenty of distance, and success in the last two playings of this championship. He's already taken down a few "kids" this week, so don't bet against him. Earlier today Bucey took out SCGA CIF Champion Tyler Guo of Irvine. Bucey and looked like he would run away with the match after going 3-up with a birdie at No. 10. But Guo battled back with a birdie at No. 11 and a par win at No. 12 (a 227-yard par 3). Neither player bogeyed after that, matching pars except for a birdie by Bucey on No. 14, that helped him to a 2&1 victory. On the other side of the bracket, Hidetoshi Yoshihara -- his friends call him Hide -- put an end to Forbes Collins II''s excellent run by posting 2-under on the front nine while Collins was struggling with bogeys, and a 6-down disadvantage at the turn. That's nearly insurmountable in an 18-hole match. Yoshihara took the match 5&4. After finishing runner-up in the 2016 California Amateur, he would be the favorite on paper. But don't count out the Mid-Ams. Just ask two-time champion Casey Boyns. AmateurGolf.com will be on site providing video coverage again on Saturday. FRIDAY MORNING QUARTERFINAL RECAP CARLSBAD, CA (June 22, 2018) - The match play stage of the 107th California Amateur Championship moved to the quarterfinals today at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa's legendary Champions Course. Coming off a big upset victory yesterday, Forbes Collins II faced another tough contender this morning, the long-bombing San Diego State Aztec, Zihao Jin. Despite the pressure of being just three wins away from his first state title, Collins continued to fire on all cylinders going 4-up through the first nine holes. After a wayward second shot into the uphill dogleg-left par five (No. 6), Collins managed a fantastic up-and-down birdie to give him a boost into the inward holes on the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa Champions Course. Jin’s birdie on the par five tenth did not shake Collins, as he went on to win the next three holes closing out his match 6&5. Collins is not just two wins away from the state title as he faces off with Hidetoshi Yoshihara. A runner-up in 2016 and a top 16 player last year, Hidetoshi Yoshihara seems poised to contend for the title of California's biggest championship. Yoshihara looked cool and collected on the first tee of the Champions Course today. The long-hitting UCLA Sophomore kept his mistakes to a minimum while Mid-Amateur standout Nick Moore slipped on the back-nine, bogeying Nos. 12, 13, and 14 dropping to 4-down. Yoshihara shortly closed out the match 4&3 with an easy par on the short 340-yard 15th hole. The second mid-amateur to advance to the quarters, Bobby Bucey, was staring down the seventh fairway of the Champions Course at La Costa on Friday realizing he was four holes down to Washington Sophomore Noah Woolsey. QUARTERFINAL VIDEO What may have seemed insurmountable to many players was a cause for Bucey to buckle down and make a comeback. The Northern Californian has been in this position before, coming from four back to win the 2017 NCGA Mid-Amateur in a dramatic playoff -- adding to his impressive collection of wins amateur golf career. Bucey did what has done in the past and played flawlessly while his opponent Woolsey put himself in trouble making several costly bogeys on the closing holes. Bucey closed out his match 3&2 giving him a place in the semifinals on Friday afternoon against high-schooler and SCGA CIF Champion Tyler Guo or Irvine.