Aaron Wise of Lake Elsinore came from behind with a 4-under-par 66 to capture the 49th Pacific Coast Amateur Champion by two shots over Maverick McNealy and Beau Hossler at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.
Wise, a sophomore at nearby University of Oregon, took command by making six birdies on the first 15 holes and was able to overcome his only mistake of the day, a drive into the trees that led to a double bogey 6 on the 16th hole.
“Today was a great day,” said Wise, who played at Santiago High in Corona before winning twice for the Ducks last season as a freshman. “I got off to a hot start just as I had wanted to. Getting birdies at seven and eight was pretty incredible because those are two of the toughest holes on the golf course. 16 is a very tough hole, for the field and especially for me.
“It’s awesome, especially here at Eugene Country Club, being so close to (the Oregon campus), where I play every week. It is definitely special.”
McNealy, a junior at Stanford from Portola Valley, closed with a 69, while Hossler, a University of Texas sophomore from Mission Viejo, eagled the third hole and collected six birdies in a 64.
Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, the NCAA champion for SMU, shot 72 and finished four strokes back in a tie for fourth with Will Zalatoris of Plano, Texas, and Wake Forest, who also finished with a 72 after sharing the 54-hole lead with DeChambeau.
Jonathan Garrick of Atherton posted a 66 to wind up seven shots back in a tie for sixth with Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, who totaled 68, and Jared de Toit of Canada, who also came in at 68.
Shotaro Ban, the California Amateur champion from San Jose and Cal, finished solo ninth with a 71, while defending champion Corey Pereira of Cameron Park had a 72 and tied for 10th with Andrew McCain of Minneapolis, who wound up at 71.
