Amateur Caleb Surratt posted a score of 3-under-par 69 at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta to claim the top spot in Monday Qualifying for the 71st Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour, which will begin Wednesday at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla.
Surratt, a freshman at the University of Tennessee from Indian Trails, N.C., who is ninth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, was one-under until reeling off three straight birdies through No. 15 to take over the lead, before making his second bogey of the round on the next to last hole but still wound up on top.
Last week, Surratt played in The American Express in La Quinta on the PGA Tour and posted rounds of 71-69-69—200, seven-under, but missed the 54-hole cut by three strokes. He also participated in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on the PGA Tour last November and made the cut but tied for 65th.
Harrison Kingsley, another amateur who is a redshirt senior at the University of San Diego from Murrieta, eagled the third hole on his way to a 71 that put him in a tie for second with Spencer Levin of Sacramento, who also eagled No. 3 and earned his spot with a birdie on the last hole, and Robert Garrigus, winner of the 2010 Children’s Network Classic on the PGA Tour, who also birdied the last hole to round out the four qualifiers.
Levin has won three times on the PGA Tour Canada.
Barely missing out on qualifying was Xinjun Zhang of China, a two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour who made two bogeys on the back nine in a 72 that left him in solo fifth, while Ryan Ree of Redondo Beach and San Diego State finished at 73 and wound up in a tie for sixth with Gunner Wiebe of Los Angeles and University of San Diego, Christian Rajcic of Ramona and U.C. Riverside and Justin Kim of Fullerton and UNLV.
Amateur Grant Martens of San Diego and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, winner of the 2022 San Diego Amateur, totaled 74 and finished in a tie for 10th with Mark Geddes of Coronado, David Kim of Buena Park and UC Irvine, John Chin of Temecula and UC Irvine, Corey Shaun of Encinitas and UCLA, and David Bradshaw of Encinitas.
For complete results, visit https://scpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/scpga23/event/scpga2313/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
