Kevin Hollomon (left) and JP Odland (NCGA Photo)
In what became the Santa Clara showdown, it was Kevin Hollomon who came out on top.
Hollomon, an incoming Broncos senior transfer who played the last three seasons at Colgate, knocked off future teammate, Santa Clara sophomore JP Odland, 5 and 4, to win the 121st NCGA Amateur Championship on a spectacular Friday at Spyglass Hill.
With the win, Hollomon, who originally hails from Seattle, joins a list of former champions that includes NCGA Hall of Famer John Brodie (1958), Roger Maltbie (1972) and Kevin Sutherland (1986). As a bonus, Hollomon also received an automatic exemption into next year's U.S. Amateur, set to be held at The Olympic Club.
"I had a good feeling coming into the week. My game has been feeling good," said Hollomon, whose gallery included his mother. "Once you qualify, match play is a grind, anybody can beat anybody. So this feels really good."
For both Hollomon and Odland, the big twist was being future teammates. The two had met for the first time earlier in the week.
"I was excited to play with JP and to get to know him," Hollomon said. "It was a blast to get to hang out with him."
Odland too was pumped up, but at times found the connection somewhat odd. "It was a little difficult at times. We'd be talking, and then it would be like, 'hey, I need to beat this guy.,'" Odland said.
As per the match, Hollomon, who came into the match on fire, remained that way. Through the first 18 holes, he built as much as a 4-up lead before settling for a 3-up lead at the break.
During the morning session, Hollomon continued what was an amazing streak. Coming into the final, he had played his last 36 holes--going back to the Round of 16--at 12-under par without a single bogey. He would not record a bogey until the par-3 12th hole, extending the bogey-less streak to an incredible 47 holes.
In the morning portion, Hollomon also unleashed a blazing putter. On the 10th hole, he sank a 30-footer for birdie to win the hole.
Later in the afternoon portion, Hollomon on the 21st hole had another rare bogey that Odland capitalized on to cut the lead to 2-up. But just a hole later, Odland made a double-bogey to again make it 3-up.
Following a birdie on the 25th hole (No.7), Hollomon took a 4-up lead. Odland never was able to get any closer the rest of the way.
"During that streak of no bogeys, I was just hitting the ball really well. There was a lot of solid ball-striking, and I made some putts here and there," Hollomon said.
In his initial Round of 32 match versus Mitchell Hoey, Hollomon was down two holes with just three to play. He'd play the next three holes at 1-under to eek out a 1-up victory.
After that, Hollomon had one of the most dominating performances since Maverick McNealy's win in 2016. Over his next four matches, he won 5 and 4, 4 and 3, 4 and 3 and 5 and 4.
"It may sound stupid, but everyday I just wanted to play in the afternoon. That's when the fog lifted, and those first four holes are just so spectacular," Hollomon said. "Enjoying the course kept me loose."
Enjoying every moment of the duel was Broncos men's coach Andrew Harkins. Earlier this year, another Bronco, Joey Hayden, won the NCGA Stroke Play Championship when he made eagle on the final hole.
"It was awesome. A huge day for our program," Harkins said. "It's cool to see where Santa Clara golf is going."
ABOUT THE
NCGA Match Play
The oldest of the NCGA’s major events, the Amateur
Match Play Championship, dates back to 1903 when
it
was first played at San Rafael GC. Varying formats
have
been used over the 100+ years of competition but
today
the tournament is 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying,
followed by a 32-person seeded match play bracket.
Pre-qualifying required for non-exempt players.
Players
must have a handicap index of 5.4 or less.
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