Californians looking for first U.S. Amateur victory since 2002
8/11/2014 | by Conner Penfold of AmateurGolf.com
see also: U.S. Amateur, a USGA Championship, Merion Golf Club - East Course
Seven Golfweek/amateurgolf.com top-50 players in the field hail from the Golden State
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (August 10, 2014) — It's been
12 years since
a
Californian has grasped the
Havemeyer Trophy. Stockton native Ricky
Barnes defeated
Hunter
Mahan at Oakland Hills Country Club
in 2002, just one year after Sacramento's Robert
Hamilton lost on
the
18th hole to Bubba Dickerson.
Coming off last year's event at The Country Club, which featured the first meeting between two non- Americans in the U.S. Amateur final in history, three Californians have lost in the final. As recently as 2012, Fresno's Michael Weaver lost in heart- breaking fashion on the 37th hole after his potentially match-winning putt on the previous hole hit a spike mark halfway to the cup, eventually lipping out. The year before, Patrick Cantlay of Long Beach lost two-down to Kelly Kraft at Erin Hills. And back in 2005 at Merion, Woodland's Dillon Dougherty lost 4-and-3 to Edoardo Molinari.
Now, as Atlanta Athletic Club, a venue renowned with championship golf history, prepares to host its first U.S. Amateur, 45 Californians will be in the field looking to be the final man standing on Sunday. Seven of the those 45 are currently ranked in the top-50 of the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Player Rankings. Let's take a look at the seven, as well as a few other California favorites who might end the week victorious at the Highlands course.
Sixth-ranked Beau Hossler (pictured top) of Mission Viejo is the top-ranked Californian and second highest ranked American player in the field. The University of Texas golfer is coming off a huge victory at the Western Amateur and will be playing in his fourth U.S. Amateur. He became a household name in 2012 when at the age of 17, he became the youngest player to make the cut at the U.S. Open since World War II.
Brian Campbell of
Irvine, who will be a senior in the fall at the
University of Illinois,
is the
14th-ranked amateur in the
world. His most recent accomplishments include
placing second at
the
2012 Northern Amateur and
winning this year's NCAA Central Regional. He
also tied for fourth
at the
Trans-Mississippi Championship
in July.
20-year-old Xander
Schauffele of San Diego reached the round of 16
last year, losing
to
eventual runner-up Oliver Goss.
Schauffele will be a senior at San Diego State
University where
he is a
three-time first-team all-
Mountain West Conference performer. The 2014
California State
Amateur champion, where he defeated
Beau Hossler in the final, was also runner-up in
consecutive
Southern
California Amateurs — 2012-
2013.
Beverly Hills native Eli Cole, who
played
collegiately for Texas Christian
University, is most known for his 2013 triumph
where he fended
off top-ranked Canadian golfers
Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith to win the
Canadian Amateur.
The 28th-ranked player
became the first American to win the event since
2002, ending a
streak of 10 consecutive
Canadian winners.
Southern Methodist University
junior Bryson
DeChambeau, who hails from Clovis,
will be playing in his seventh USGA
championship and fourth
consecutive U.S. Amateur. He was a
U.S. Amateur Public Links quarterfinalist and has
advanced to
match play in all six previous USGA
events played. The second-team All-American
won the American
Athletic Conference title and was
ninth at the NCAA Championships. He also won
the Trans-
Mississippi Championship in 2013 by five
shots.
The University of Pacific senior
and San Diego
native will always be remembered
as the last golfer to win the U.S. Amateur Public
Links
Championship as the tournament ceased
existence after the 2014 running. Ranked No. 36
in the world
following his big win, Meth captured
the 2014 West Coast Conference individual title
by seven strokes.
He'll be playing in his first U.S.
Amateur.
Rounding out the Californians in
the top-50 is
University of Southern California
sophomore Rico Hoey of Rancho Cucamonga.
Hoey led the Trojan
team in scoring average his
freshman year en route to winning Pac-12
Freshman of the Year
honors. In 2014, he has medaled
at the U.S. Amateur Public Links, tied for sixth
at the Canadian
Amateur, and placed fifth at the
Sunnehanna Amateur.
Other notable California born players in the 312- man field include 2014 Trans-Mississippi runner- up Alex Franklin of San Rafael, 18-year-old Maverick McNealy of Portola Valley, and 2014 Canadian Amateur runner-up Jonathan Garrick of Atherton.
The first round of stroke play begins Monday morning at 7:45 am EST. Competitors will be playing both the Highlands and Riverside courses at Atlanta Athletic Club during stroke play, then moving strictly to the Highlands Course for match play.
Coming off last year's event at The Country Club, which featured the first meeting between two non- Americans in the U.S. Amateur final in history, three Californians have lost in the final. As recently as 2012, Fresno's Michael Weaver lost in heart- breaking fashion on the 37th hole after his potentially match-winning putt on the previous hole hit a spike mark halfway to the cup, eventually lipping out. The year before, Patrick Cantlay of Long Beach lost two-down to Kelly Kraft at Erin Hills. And back in 2005 at Merion, Woodland's Dillon Dougherty lost 4-and-3 to Edoardo Molinari.
Now, as Atlanta Athletic Club, a venue renowned with championship golf history, prepares to host its first U.S. Amateur, 45 Californians will be in the field looking to be the final man standing on Sunday. Seven of the those 45 are currently ranked in the top-50 of the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Player Rankings. Let's take a look at the seven, as well as a few other California favorites who might end the week victorious at the Highlands course.
Sixth-ranked Beau Hossler (pictured top) of Mission Viejo is the top-ranked Californian and second highest ranked American player in the field. The University of Texas golfer is coming off a huge victory at the Western Amateur and will be playing in his fourth U.S. Amateur. He became a household name in 2012 when at the age of 17, he became the youngest player to make the cut at the U.S. Open since World War II.
 |
Brian
Campbell |
 |
Xander
Schauffele
|
 |
Eli Cole
|
 |
Bryson
DeChambeau
|
 |
Byron
Meth |
 |
Rico Hoey
|
Other notable California born players in the 312- man field include 2014 Trans-Mississippi runner- up Alex Franklin of San Rafael, 18-year-old Maverick McNealy of Portola Valley, and 2014 Canadian Amateur runner-up Jonathan Garrick of Atherton.
The first round of stroke play begins Monday morning at 7:45 am EST. Competitors will be playing both the Highlands and Riverside courses at Atlanta Athletic Club during stroke play, then moving strictly to the Highlands Course for match play.
About the US Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA championship, was first played in 1895 at Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The event, which has no age restriction, is open to those with a Handicap Index of .4 (point four) or lower. It is one of 15 national champ...
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