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LOS ANGELES—Grappling with some of the West Coast’s top collegiate and mid-amateur golfers, Austin Graham managed to win the 110th Southern California Golf Association Amateur in dramatic fashion over the weekend. The San Clemente resident and incoming junior on the men’s golf team at UC-Davis drained a clutch 25-foot birdie putt on the penultimate hole of his final round at Wilshire Country Club to reach 6-under par. Though a host of players had a chance to tie or better that tally, none of them capitalized, and Graham shot 69-69-70-70 to capture a title shared by the likes of local legends Tiger Woods and Al Geiberger. “It’s a dream come true,” Graham said of the victory. “To be on the same trophy as [Tiger] means a lot.” A native of Newport Beach, Graham was the only player in the field to post four rounds under par on the short but demanding Wilshire layout. He began the final round two strokes behind leader Spencer Anderson, a Pacific Palisades resident and Duke men’s golf team member who began the final round at 7-under par but finished seventh after a bogey and two double bogeys in his last three holes. Northridge’s Tim Hogarth, a past champion, appeared to have played himself out of contention with three bogeys and a double bogey between the sixth and 10th holes; however, he clawed back into the tournament with three birdies on the back nine but couldn’t convert birdie chances on either Nos. 17 or 18. The 43-year-old finished tied for second at 5-under par with a final-round tally of even-par 71. “I dug myself a hole with some bad putting and tried to make a comeback, but it was too late,” said Hogarth, a decorated mid-amateur whose résumé includes victories at the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links, the 1999 California Amateur and two SCGA Mid-Amateurs in addition to his SCGA Amateur triumph in 2004. “I’m happy that I didn’t just give up. I showed some pride, but still, second place is not a winner and it’s disappointing.” Defending SCGA Amateur champion Kevin Marsh, playing out of Henderson, Nev., posted a final-round 69 to tie for second with Hogarth. Jake Sarnoff, a member of the men’s golf team at Loyola Marymount University who made the field as an alternate, began the final round one shot off Anderson’s lead but stumbled with a bad-luck double bogey on the par-4 17th hole and shot 74 en route to a fifth-place finish. Sarnoff’s approach on that hole came up just short to the raised green and plugged directly underneath the lip of a greenside bunker. Rancho Mirage’s Tyler Crawford, who was runner-up to Hogarth at this year’s SCGA Mid-Amateur, posted the best round of the final round —a 3-under-par 68 — and ended alone in fourth place. The win further marks a stellar month for Graham, whose father, Tony, caddied for him this week. The 19-year-old Graham also won the Long Beach Men’s City Championship earlier this month by eight shots at El Dorado Park Golf Club — that victory featured a 62 in the first round, the lowest tally of Graham’s tournament career. Following his win, Graham was grateful for the work he’s done with his coach, the renowned Jim Flick. “I’ve worked with him a lot on the mental side, just taking it one shot at a time,” explained Graham. “No one else matters, just you and the course — I’ve been concentrating on that and forgetting about mechanics when I get to the course.” Visit scga.org for complete results from the tournament. |
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