JUNE 23 — Age was certainly just a number during the Round of 32, as both medalists, as well as 1991 California State Amateur champion Harry Rudolph III, advanced to the Round of 16 at the 99th California State Amateur Championship at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club.
In one of the bigger upsets of the day, Rudolph, 40 and the No. 5 seed, took down defending champion and 28-seed Geoff Gonzalez of Diablo, a 22-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo golfer, 4 and 2.
Co-medalist Scott Almquist, 45, of Coto de Caza, the No. 1 seed, advanced against Sam Yi, 18, of Northridge, 2 and 1. The No. 2 seed and other co-medalist, Kevin Fitzgerald of Riverside, took out Canyon Lake’s Robert Funk, 45, with a margin of 3 and 2. Both will attempt to follow in Gonzalez’ footsteps of becoming the next California State Amateur medalist-champion.
The field’s oldest player, multiple NCGA and Northern California champion Randy Haag of Burlingame, 51 and the No. 11 seed, took out 21-year-old EJ Kahn of Los Angeles, a golfer for the University of San Francisco.
In other matches:
No. 17 seed Spencer Fletcher of Los Altos, 20, defeated No. 16-seed Jason Bittick, 42, of Ladera Ranch in the biggest margin of the day — 5 and 4. On the eighth hole, Fletcher chipped in for birdie-3, what spectators noted seemed to be the turning point of the match.
No. 8 seed Kevin Marsh, 37, of Henderson, Nev., defeated No. 25-seed Dan Jennings, 38, of Los Angeles, 3 and 2. While the match was all square for the first five holes, Marsh increased his lead after going 1-up on the eighth hole. Marsh is a two-time SCGA Amateur champion and past U.S. Mid-Amateur champion.
No. 9 seed Taylor Travis, 19, of Fremont, defeated No. 24 seed Pete Fernandez, Jr., 18, of Bakersfield, 2 and 1. Travis is a two-time NCGA Four-Ball champion.
No. 29 seed Estanislao Guerrero, 24, of San Diego defeated No. 4 seed and UC Davis golfer Eric Mina, 21, of Fremont, in 20 holes. Guerrero is the 2010 Southwestern Amateur champion. Down for the entire match, Mina made a run and won holes 16-18, thanks to a birdie along with two bogeys from Guerrero to square the match, but bogeyed the 20th hole to give Guerrero the win.
No. 13 seed Justin Warthen, 25, of Arroyo Grande defeated No. 20 seed Jonny Baxter, 19, of Pleasanton, 3 and 2. Warthen had brother and professional golfer Josh Warthen on the bag.
No. 17 seed Anton Arboleda, 17, of La Canada, defeated No. 21 seed John Kollus, 31, of San Diego, in 19 holes. Arboleda is the youngest contestant left in the field, and the 2010 AJGA Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic champion.
No. 15 seed Michael Drake, 22, of Fontana and Long Beach State, defeated No. 18 seed Scott Clayton, 22, of San Bernardino, in 20 holes. Drake, a stand-by alternate who got into the field on Monday morning, won last week’s Long Beach City Match Play Championship.
No. 7 seed Grant Norton, 22, of Rancho Murieta, defeated No. 26 seed Kevin Dougherty, 19, of Murrieta, 4 and 3. Dougherty, a golfer at Oklahoma State, won the 2009 CIF-Southern Regional and State championships.
No. 10 seed Tyler Crawford, 36, of Rancho Mirage, defeated No. 23 seed Josh Dupont, 21, of Poway, 5 and 3. With a 1-up lead on the sixth hole, Crawford built up his lead and was never behind in the match.
No. 30 seed Matt Williams, 19, of San Jose, defeated No. 3 seed Todd Pieri, 34, of Simi Valley, 1 up. Williams was a quarterfinalist at the 2009 NCGA Match Play Championship.
No. 19 seed Scott Travers, 21, of Trabuco Canyon, defeated No. 14 seed Maximilian Greil, 22, of Irvine, 5 and 4.
No. 20 seed Jake Johnson, 20, of Cameron Park, defeated No. 6 seed Patrick Cantlay, 17, of Los Alamitos. Cantlay is the 2010 CIF-State High School Boys champion.
California State Amateur Championship
Match Play Results
June 23, 2010
Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club
Scott Almquist, Coto De Caza def. Sam Yi, Northridge……………………… 2 and 1
Spencer Fletcher, Los Altos def. Jason Bittick, Ladera Ranch…………….. 5 and 4
Kevin Marsh, Henderson def. Dan Jennings, Los Angeles………………… 3 and 2
Taylor Travis, Fremont def. Pete Fernandez Jr., Bakersfield……………… 2 and 1
Estanislao Guerrero, San Diego def. Eric Mina, Fremont………………….. 20 holes
Justin Warthen, Arroyo Grande def. Jonny Baxter, Pleasanton…………. 3 and 2
Harry Rudolph, La Jolla def. Geoff Gonzalez, Diablo………………………… 4 and 2
Anton Arboleda, La Canada def. John Kollus, San Diego…………………… 19 holes
Kevin Fitzgerald, Riverside def. Robert Funk, Canyon Lake………………. 3 and 2
Michael Drake, Riverside def. Scott Clayton, San Bernardino……………. 20 holes
Grant Norton, Rancho Murieta def. Kevin Dougherty, Murrieta………… 4 and 3
Tyler Crawford, Rancho Mirage def. Josh Dupont, Poway………………… 5 and 3
Matt Williams, San Jose def. Todd Pieri, Simi Valley………………………… 1 up
Scott Travers, Trabuco Canyon def. Maximilian Greil, Irvine……………… 5 and 4
Jake Johnson, Cameron Park def. Patrick Cantlay, Los Alamitos………… 1 up
Randy Haag, Burlingame def. EJ Kahn, Los Angeles…………………………. 2 and 1
The Round of 16 will commence tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Pairings are as follows:
7:30 a.m.: Almquist (1) vs. Fletcher (17)
7:40 a.m.: Marsh (8) vs. Travis (9)
7:50 a.m.: Guerrero (29) vs. Warthen (13)
8:00 a.m.: Rudolph (5) vs. Arboleda (12)
8:10 a.m.: Fitzgerald (2) vs. Drake (15)
8:20 a.m.: Norton (7) vs. Crawford (10)
8:30 a.m.: Williams (30) vs. Travers (19)
8:40 a.m.: Johnson (27) vs. Haag (11)
Rudolph Rolls Through First Round in State AM
