Who are the 5 hottest players in California?
20 Jul 2014
see also: Xander Schauffele Rankings
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by Jack Persons, AmateurGolf.com
If the
AmateurGolf.com California rankings
could decide the stronger region—
Northern or Southern—the very obvious choice
would be “SoCal.”
Five of the top six golfers in the rankings hail
from the bottom half of the state. While
the list starts to even out further down, it is
apparent which side of the rivalry has
been playing well this summer on a national
scale.
In a continuation of AmateurGolf.com’s series
on the hottest players in the country,
we will be taking a deeper look at the
perpetually strong state of California.
It was especially difficult to find just five
golfers to analyze, as there are so many
golfers playing fantastic this summer. For
example, Mark Anguiano of Whittier won the
prestigious Sahalee Players this month, but
didn’t crack the list.
Without further ado, here are the top five
players in California this summer.
The San Diego resident and Pacific rising senior
rose to the top of the California
rankings on Friday with his victory at the final
U.S. Amateur Public Links. It was quite
the week for Meth, as he earned co-medalist
honors, never trailed in his first five
matches, and then took a 37 hole decision
over Doug Ghim in the championship match
for a likely invitation to the 2015 Masters
Tournament. Top 10 finishes at the Sahalee
Players and the NCAA West Regional also stake
his claim as one of the hottest players
in the state, if not the whole country.
While Hoey has yet to break out and win a
tournament this summer, he has played
very consistently and put his name at the top
of almost every leaderboard. The rising
sophomore at USC finished fifth at the
Sunnehanna Amateur, tied for sixth at the
NCAA Central Regional, finished in the top 16
at the North & South Amateur, and made
a run to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur
Public Links. Oh, and he earned co-
medalist at the Public Links alongside Meth.
Not a bad couple of months.
Although qualifying for the U.S. Open should be
enough to earn a spot on this list
(sorry, Mav!), Irvine’s Campbell can count that
accomplishment as one of many in the
past few months. The University of Illinois
standout also won the NCAA Central
Regional by four strokes, and turned that
momentum into a top 10 finish at the NCAA
Championship. Most recently, he tied for fourth
at the rain-shortened Trans-Miss
Championship. If the final 36 had been played,
who knows what could have happened.
This guy is playing (and putting) that well.
The two-time U.S. Open contestant was well
on his way to a victory at the Southern
Amateur this week until a quadruple and a
triple in the final round derailed his
otherwise stellar tournament. To put the
tournament in perspective, he played so well
the first three rounds that a closing 80—on the
extremely Honors Course in Tennessee
—still garnered him a fifth place finish. Pair
that with a runner-up finish at the
California State Amateur (Schauffele won the
36 hole match 2-up) and a four-stroke
victory at the Southern California Golf
Association Amateur, and call it a summer to
remember. Might be a bit forgettable in
Hossler’s eyes though, seeing as he didn’t
even
qualify for the Open at Pinehurst.
It seems fair to exempt the California State
Amateur champion onto the list, seeing
that he proved himself as California’s best for a
week. His summer resume does not
stop there, however. A top 10 finish at the
Sahalee Players and a tie for third at the
Sunnehanna Amateur cement his place as one
of the best players in California right
now.
Check out
the AmateurGolf.com California rankings for
yourself.