In what will boast one of the strongest fields of
the
2015 Championship season, the SCGA Mid-
Amateur
Championship kicks off Monday at Santa Ana CC.
Every past champion of the event since 2005
except
Robert Funk, who is currently out of golf due to
injury, will be in the field, looking to add another
SCGA Major to their resume. This will be the
first
time since 1988 that Santa Ana CC will host the
event, which is played over 54 holes and two
days.
Veteran and five-time winner Tim Hogarth
will
look for his record sixth Mid-Amateur title as
well as
some revenge, having come up a shot short of
victory last year at Valencia CC, losing to first-
time
SCGA champion Ramie Sprinkling. (pictured,
left)
The two battled it
out down the stretch before a bogey on the 17th
hole
of the final round all but put Hogarth out of
contention. Despite being the defending SCGA
Player
of the Year, Hogarth is looking for his first SCGA
title
since the 2013 Tournament of Club Champions.
Other past champions in the field include
Scott
Almquist (2011), Jeff Wilson (2008), John
McClure
(2005), Scott McGihon (2002) and John Pate
(2000).
Coming in, however, possibly playing the
hottest
golf is Jeff Forston, who earlier this week won
his
first SCGA title at the Foursomes Championship.
Fortson is on somewhat of a roll, having just last
month earned medalist honors to qualify for the
inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
He's a longtime SCGA Mid-Amateur competitor,
but
has yet to finish at the top of the leaderboard.
Fortson is a three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur
competitor.
Non-exempt participants go through 18
holes of
qualifying to make the field at the SCGA Mid-
Amateur, which tops at a field of 84 competitors.
All
players will play 36 holes on Monday, with the
top 42
and ties advancing to Tuesday's final round.
-- Kyle Rector of the AmateurGolf.com staff will
be
competing for the second straight year, having
qualified both times at Shadowridge [Editor]
ABOUT THE
SCGA Mid-Amateur
The SCGA Mid-Amateur Championship is open to
members ages 25 and older with a Handicap Index
of 5.4 and below. Competitors undergo 18 holes of
qualifying play in order to reach the final field of 84
players. In the Championship, players compete over
54 holes of stroke play with the top 42 players and
ties advancing after 36 holes to the final round.
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