The 110th California State Amateur will be contested at The Preserve Golf Club at Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel in June 2021.
The Preserve becomes only the sixth course in Northern California since 1912 to be selected to host the California Amateur, one of the nation’s oldest state amateur competitions.
“Our community is proud to welcome such an esteemed golf event to our club,” said Karen Baxter, Chief Executive Officer of the Santa Lucia Preserve. “The history and tradition combined with the high level of competition make hosting The California State Amateur Championship a true feather in the cap of The Preserve Golf Club.
“The Preserve offers an extremely unique golf experience. We know the Senior Amateur players will truly appreciate the challenge (later this year), as will the contestants in the California Amateur in 2021. We’re ecstatic about having championships of this high quality at The Preserve.”
The Cal Amateur was first played in 1912 at Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey and was played there until it moved to Pebble Beach Golf Links, which hosted the tournament from 1919-2006.
In the last 11 years, the championship has alternated yearly between Northern and Southern California venues.
The only other NorCal sites that have hosted the tournament are Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach (2007, 2013), The Olympic Club in San Francisco (2009, 2015) and Lake Merced Country Club in Daly City (2011, 2017).
Winners of the California Amateur include World Golf Hall of Fame members Ken Venturi, Gene Littler, Johnny Miller, and Mark O’Meara.
Other champions include John Cook, Duffy Waldorf, Jason Gore, Bryson DeChambeau, Beau Hossler, Charlie Wi, Spencer Levin, Bobby Clampett, Dick Lotz and Xander Schauffele.
The Preserve Golf Club, located in the Santa Lucia Mountains, is ranked among “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” by Golf Digest. The course is the centerpiece of a private residential community of 300 home sites on 20,000 acres in the scenic coastal mountains next to Carmel-by-the-Sea.
The Preserve also will host this year’s 27th California Senior Amateur Championship on Nov. 12-14, and annual hosts the Stocker Cup, a mid-amateur tournament also in its 27th year that will be played on Oct. 24-27.
Designed by Tom Fazio in 2000, The Preserve Golf Club’s 18-hole routing winds through oak groves, grassy meadows and majestic ridges alongside several flowing creeks.
Players are confronted with multiple angles off the tee, consistent challenges on the approach, and a myriad of short-game options around the boldly contoured greens.
The landscape features breathtaking views framed by valley and coastal live oaks, coastal redwoods and sycamore trees. Wildlife includes golden eagle, red tail hawk, wild turkey, gray fox, mule deer, bobcat and an occasional mountain lion.
