So much for the guys from SoCal feeling the effects of what was a cold and blustery day at par-72 Lake Merced Golf Club.
Jack Cantlay, the younger brother of PGA Tour star Patrick Cantlay, posted a solid 3-under 69 in winds that hovered around 25-30 mph all day. Cantlay, who played at Long Beach State last season, posted two birdies and an eagle on the par-5 14th to go against only two bogeys.
Just a stroke behind Cantlay at 70 is a pack of five players that includes the NCGA's Domingo Jojola and 2021 NCGA Amateur champion Sam Sommerhauser.
Tuesday's action will consist of the second round of stroke play qualifying with only the low 32 moving on to match play.
Wednesday will see the Round of 32, followed by the Round of 16 on Thursday. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place Friday, with the 36-hole finale on Saturday.
In the North-South Challenge, the SCGA currently leads the NCGA 351-353.
The North-South Challenge is a competition over the first two days of stroke play qualifying that pits the NCGA vs. the SCGA (best five scores from each Association).
PREVIEW
Tiger Woods won three-straight U.S. Juniors, followed by three U.S. Amateurs. But he never got his name on the Morse Trophy for the California Amateur Championship. The match-play championship isn't easy to win, especially with so many talented players of all abilities. Woods, for his part, was defeated one year by a much older Mid-Amateur golfer named Ed Cuff.
California may not be the oldest state, but it's championship is one of the nation’s oldest state amateur golf championships.
The championship originated in 1912 and was held at Pebble Beach Golf Links from 1919 until 2006. And while Pebble Beach, along the Monterey Peninsula, might be geographically half way between North and South, there is a distinct feel to the course that tends to favor those from Northern California.
So in 2007 the CGA broadened the scope of this prestigious championship by rotating the weeklong event to selected courses throughout the state, alternating between Northern California and Southern California every other year.
Qualifying is available statewide for both NCGA and SCGA players. The Championship proper consists of 156 players who play 36-holes of individual stroke play to determine the 32-player match play field. The final match is played over 36 holes. During the stroke play portion of the tournament, a simultaneous team competition takes place between the NCGA vs. SCGA competing for the Roger Latham Cup.
The NCGA contributed to this story
ABOUT THE California Amateur
The Championship is open to amateur golfers
who have established current indexes of 4.4
and are members in good standing of the
Southern California Golf Association, the
Northern California Golf Association, or the
Public Links Golf Association of Southern
California. Nonexempt players must qualify. An
entrant may play in only one qualifying event,
even
if
the golfer
belongs to clubs in both Southern California
and Northern California. The 18-hole
qualifying
rounds will determine the qualifiers.
The championship field will play 36 holes of
qualifying at a Northern or Southern California
Location, with the low 32 golfers from that
combined field moving on to match play (with
a
playoff, if necessary, to determine the final
spots).
Two rounds each of 18-hole match play will
follow on Thursday and Friday and the 36-hole
final match will be on Saturday.
The location will rotate yearly between
Northern and Southern California locations.
View Complete Tournament Information