Many of the state’s top amateur golfers will be on hand at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara for the California Amateur Championship June 25-30. The field will six past champions, including last year’s winner Bhavik Patel.
But it may be 17-year-old Beau Hossler, coming off his star-making performance at the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, who could be the main attraction on a roster full of notable participants.
The Mission Viejo resident qualified for his second straight U.S. Open this year – and found himself in contention late Sunday afternoon.
He finished with rounds of 70-73-70-76 to wrap up the week in a tie for 26th place at 9-over par. He stated earlier in the week that his goal was to finish the tournament as low amateur, but wound up two shots back of Jordan Spieth.
“I played well for maybe 60 of the 72 holes,” Hossler said Sunday. “I made some crucial mistakes, missed some [shots] on the wrong side of the holes. But just like last year [at the Open], it’s only a learning experience and I still have some time before I come out and start doing this for a living.”
This will be Hossler’s first time participating in the California Amateur. He will be joined by a number of young stars, including three former state high school champions: Kevin Dougherty, Xander Schauffele and Austin Smotherman. The three will be paired together for the first two rounds of play.
Past champions in the field include 2005 Champion Don DuBois, 2001 Champion Darryl Donovan, 1999 Champion Tim Hogarth, 1998 Champion Ed Cuff Jr., 1994 Champion Steve Woods and the aforementioned defending champion Patel.
The California Amateur Championship is one of the nation’s oldest state amateur golf championships. It originated in 1912 and was held at Pebble Beach Golf Links from 1919 until 2006. In 2007, the CGA broadened the scope of this prestigious championship by rotating the weeklong event to selected courses throughout the state.
Players must have an index of 4.4 or less and may attempt to qualify at any location in the state. The championship consists of 156 players who will play 36 holes of stroke play before determining the 32-player match play field. The final match is played over 36 holes.
