California natives, collegiate golfers within the golden state comprise more than one-sixth of 312-player field at the Riviera Country Club and Bel-Air Country Club Aug. 14-20
LOS ANGELES (July 27, 2017)- When the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship begins at The Riviera Country Club and Bel-Air Country Club on Aug. 14, California golf fans will find plenty of players to root for representing their golf-rich home state.
Of the 312-player field, 53 players in this year’s U.S. Amateur are either from California, have played their college golf in the Golden State, or both. Those players come from as far north as Roseville and as far south as El Cajon, representing 15 counties from Northern California’s mountains to Southern California’s beaches and deserts – Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Yolo counties. California’s top Division I college golf programs are well represented in the upcoming U.S. Amateur, including USC (four players), Stanford (two), Cal (two) and Pepperdine (one). Eight California players in the field are among the top 50 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™.
Maverick McNealy is the top-ranked amateur from California in the field, checking in at No. 2 in the WAGR, as he tries to cap a decorated amateur career by winning the coveted Havemeyer Trophy. The Stanford product, from Portola Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, has earned exemptions into two major championships, was named the nation’s top collegiate golfer following his sophomore season and played on the USA Palmer Cup and Walker Cup teams in 2015. McNealy put an exclamation point on his career with the Cardinal this spring when he was presented with the Byron Nelson Award, given to a graduating college senior who best exemplifies achievement in academics and golf, character and integrity. Last August, McNealy received the Mark H. McCormack Medal, given annually to the top amateur golfer in the world.
La Cañada Flintridge product and Cal standout Collin Morikawa, a two-time NCAA All-American, is the sixth-ranked amateur in the world. Sacramento native Cameron Champ, one of only two amateurs to make the cut in the 2017 U.S. Open, has moved into the top 10 with a strong summer. Sean Crocker, of Westlake Village and USC, is an All-American and two-time All-Pac 12 selection who advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Amateur and is the world’s No. 12 amateur. David Boote (No. 25) -a quarterfinalist in last year’s U.S. Amateur, is currently No. 27.
USC graduate and Newport Beach native Stewart Hagestad earned exempt status as the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and will look to add a U.S. Amateur championship to a resume that this year includes making the cut in the Masters and qualifying for the U.S. Open. The Trojans’ Jonah Texeira returns to the U.S. Amateur a year after advancing to the semifinals. USC teammate Cheng Jin is a Beijing native who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship two years ago, sparked by a course-record 62 in the first round.
KK Limbhasut, of Loma Linda and Redlands High School, ranks second among active players at Cal with 14 top-10 finishes in 26 NCAA competitions. Sahith Theegala, a Pepperdine junior-to-be originally from Diamond Bar, reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 U.S. Amateur and acquitted himself nicely in a Riviera Country Club trial run during the PGA Tour’s 2017 Genesis Open. Theegala won the collegiate showcase event on Monday of tournament week to earn entry into the field, then made the cut and finished tied for 49th while playing the final two rounds with World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson.
Matthew Wolff, of Agoura Hills, earned an exemption by finishing runner-up in the U.S. Junior Amateur to Noah Goodwin on July 22.
“We are thrilled to host these outstanding young players from our home state,” said Michael R. Yamaki, corporate office of The Riviera Country Club. “These players are our future professionals and are important to the growth of this great game.”
Tickets to the U.S. Amateur – a stepping stone for countless golfers who have gone on to play and win on the professional tours – are available online at www.usga.org/usam. Tickets are $20 (single-day grounds) and $75 for a weekly pass. Military personnel and students receive free admission with valid ID.
Riviera will host its first U.S. Amateur Championship this August. Bel-Air, which will serve as the stroke-play co-host course, hosted the 1976 U.S. Amateur, won by Bill Sander. The oldest golf championship in America, the U.S. Amateur was first played in 1895 at Newport (R.I.) Country Club.
Golfers in the 2017 U.S. Amateur field with California ties include:
FULLY EXEMPT PLAYERS FROM CALIFORNIA COLLEGES (9)
PLAYER COLLEGE (CA HOMETOWN) EXEMPTION CATEGORIES
David Boote: Stanford | 2016 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist, Top 50 WAGR
Sean Crocker: USC (Westlake Village) | U.S. Amateur semifinalist (2015-16), Top 50 WAGR
Stewart Hagestad: USC (Newport Beach) | 2017 U.S. Open qualifier, 2016 U.S.
Mid-Amateur champion, Top 50 WAGR
Cheng Jin: USC | Top 50 WAGR
KK Limbhasut: Cal (Loma Linda) | Top 50 WAGR
Maverick McNealy: Stanford (Portola Valley) | 2017 U.S. Open qualifier,
2015 Walker Cup Team, Top 50 WAGR,
USA World Amateur Team (2014, 2016)
Collin Morikawa: Cal (La Cañada Flintridge) | Top 50 WAGR
Jonah Texeira: USC (Porter Ranch) | U.S. Amateur semifinalist (2015-16), 2016 U.S.
Amateur quarterfinalist
Sahith Theegala: Pepperdine (Diamond Bar) | 2016 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist, 2017 U.S.
Open qualifier
FULLY EXEMPT PLAYERS FROM CALIFORNIA CITIES (4)
PLAYER CITY EXEMPTION CATEGORIES
Cameron Champ: Sacramento | 2017 U.S. Open qualifier, Top 50 WAGR
Robert Funk: Canyon Lake | Low amateur, 2017 U.S. Senior Open
Matthew Wolff: Agoura Hills (Westlake High) | 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up
Norman Xiong: Canyon Lake | Top 50 WAGR
QUALIFYING PLAYERS FROM CALIFORNIA CITIES (CALIF. COLLEGE – 40)
PLAYER CITY QUALIFYING SITE
Derek Castillo: Yorba Linda | Mission Viejo, Calif. – Mission Viejo C.C.
Ricky Castillo: Yorba Linda | Chino Hills, Calif. – Western Hills Country Club
Wonje Choi: San Diego (Sacramento State) | Bakersfield, Calif. – Bakersfield Country Club
Perry Cohen: La Jolla (Saint Mary’s) | San Diego, Calif. – Bernardo Heights C.C.
Roy Cootes: Rolling Hills (Pepperdine) | Chino Hills, Calif. – Western Hills Country Club
Ben Corfee: El Macero (UC Davis) | El Macero, Calif. – El Macero Country Club
Justin De Los Santos: Chatsworth (Cal Poly) | Bakersfield, Calif. – Bakersfield Country Club
Nicholas Engelhardt: Los Angeles (Cal Poly) | Lompoc, Calif. – La Purisima Golf Course
Clay Feagler: Laguna Niguel (Pepperdine) | Glendale, Calif. – Oakmont Country Club
Ashkaan Hakim: San Ramon | Fresno, Calif. – Sunnyside Country Club
Franklin Huang: Poway (Stanford) | San Diego, Calif. – Bernardo Heights C.C.
Jeffrey Inouye-Wong: Roseville (Saint Mary’s) | Murrieta, Calif. – Rancho Murrieta C.C. (North)
Erik Jarvey: Palmdale (Cal State Northridge) | Llano, Calif. – Crystalaire Country Club
Jonathan Kang: Santa Clarita (UC Irvine) | Glendale, Calif. – Oakmont Country Club
Justin Kim: Fullerton | Llano, Calif. – Crystalaire Country Club
Evan Knight: Novato (UC Irvine) | El Macero, Calif. – El Macero Country Club
David Laskin: Elk Grove | Murrieta, Calif. – Rancho Murrieta C.C. (North)
Alexander Lee: Sacramento (Fresno State) | Murrieta, Calif. – Rancho Murrieta C.C. (North)
Andrew Levitt: Ladera Ranch (USC) | Los Angeles, Calif. – Hillcrest Country Club
Kymer Li: Newport Coast (Long Beach State) | Orlando, Fla. – Orange Tree Golf Club
Redmond Lyons: San Francisco | The Colony, Texas – The Lakes at Castle Hills
Anthony Manguray: Tracy (Stanislaus State) | Fresno, Calif. – Sunnyside Country Club
Joshua McCarthy: Danville (Pepperdine) | El Macero, Calif. – El Macero Country Club
Tyler Moore: Escondido | San Diego, Calif. – Bernardo Heights C.C.
Raymond Navis: Nipomo | Llano, Calif. – Crystalaire Country Club
Connor Nolan: Corona | Lompoc, Calif. – La Purisima Golf Course
Noah Norton: Chico | Seaside, Calif. – Bayonet & Black Horse C.C.
Danny Ochoa: Carlsbad (USC) | Los Angeles, Calif. – Hillcrest Country Club
Charles Reiter: Palm Desert | Cle Elum, Wash. – Rope Rider Golf Course
P.J. Samiere: San Diego | Kapolei, Hawaii – Kapolei Golf Course
Corby Segal: Santa Clarita | Glendale, Calif. – Oakmont Country Club
Corey Shaun: Encinitas (UCLA) | Los Angeles, Calif. – Hillcrest Country Club
Zach Smith: Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) | Bakersfield, Calif. – Bakersfield Country Club
Jacob Solomon: Dublin | Monroe, N.C. – Monroe Country Club
Spencer Soosman: Westlake Village | Andover, Mass. – Andover Country Club
Justin Suh: San Jose (USC) | Seaside, Calif. – Bayonet & Black Horse C.C.
Joey Vrzich: El Cajon | Genoa, Nev. – Genoa Lakes Golf Club (Lakes)
Nate Whitson: Ventura | Lompoc, Calif. – La Purisima Golf Course
Matt Wilson: Cypress (Cal State Fullerton) | Chino Hills, Calif. – Western Hills Country Club
Brandon Wu: Danville (Stanford) | Andover, Mass. – Andover Country Club
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