August 16, 2024
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."
August 15, 2024
Santa Clara University men's golf head coach Andrew Larkin will love it.
The final of this year's annual NCGA Amateur Championship at Spyglass Hill will be kicking--100 percent Broncos style.
On a busy Thursday, JP Odland, a sophomore at Santa Clara, and Kevin Hollomon, an incoming Broncos senior transfer who played the last three seasons at Colgate, secured berths into the 36-hole finale of this year's Amateur after winning their semifinal matches.
Odland, the No.24 seed, advanced via a 3 and 2 win over No.4 Baron Szeto. The No.14 seeded Hollomon, meanwhile, punched his ticket thanks to a 4 and 3 win over No.23 Ben Corfee. The two, who will be teammates in just a few weeks, met for the first time earlier in the day.
"It feels good to get to the final," said Odland, who goes by JP instead of John Paul. "It's been a marathon week, but it's also all extra golf at Spyglass."
Still technically a teenager at 19, Odland found himself tied with Szeto through the first 10 holes. On No.11, Odland broke through with a birdie to make it 1-up. Over the next two ensuing holes, Szeto, who plays at Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, made bogey, quickly making it 3-up.
The two tied the next three holes to cap the match.
"I think a key for me the whole week has been not compounding mistakes," Odland said. "You can make a bogey on this course in a snap of a finger. It's tough."
In the morning quarterfinals, Odland did make a bogey on the 17th hole to put himself into a tie with No.17 Xuan Luo. Luckily, Odland still despite the lost hole held a 1-up lead. The two went on to tie the 18th with pars.
As for Hollomon, the 22-year-old grabbed control over Corfee early--building a 3-up lead through the first nine--and never looked back.
Hollomon was solid, posting zero bogeys with five birdies over his 16 holes. Hollomon also won his morning quarterfinals match 4 and 3 thanks to a run of five birdies.
Entering Friday finals, Hollomon, who originally hails from Seattle, will have played his last 36 holes at 12-under without a single bogey.
"I am so excited about playing with JP. I was hoping this would happen," Hollomon said. "It's a long week, but it's been a ton of fun."
The 36-hole final will tee off at 7 a.m.
August 14, 2024
It didn't take long for the brackets at this week's NCGA Amateur Championship to get totally turned upside down.
On what was a busy day at Spyglass Hill that featured both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 of match play, the biggest upset was No. 1 seed Mikey Burkland falling in the Round of 32, 5 and 4, to No.32 Luke Brandler.
Brandler came into the match with some experience at Spyglass, having won this year's Four-Ball Championship with partner Finn McCall. Brandler, a senior at nearby Stevenson High, didn't have a lot of time to celebrate. Later in the Round of 16, he'd get bounced by No.17 seed Xuan Luo, 1-up.
In another stunner, No.3 seed Michael Weaver got eliminated in the Round of 32 via a 3 and 2 loss to No.30 Jake Bettencourt. Bettencourt, who plays at Fresno State and had his girlfriend, Amelia Garibaldi, on the bag as caddie, grabbed a 4-up lead through the first nine holes and never looked back.
Like Brandler, Bettencourt also would later feel the bite himself. In the Round of 16, he'd got knocked out by No.14 Kevin Hollomon, 5 and 4.
No.2 seed Zack Missigman, who plays at St. Mary's, got off to a nice start with a Round of 32 win over Ryan Stewart, 4 and 2. Missigman also would later get bounced, falling 2 and 1 to No.15 seed Davis McDowell.
McDowell, a redshirt senior at UC San Diego, in 2023 made it to the semifinals of the California Amateur at Lake Merced GC. He'd unfortunately get DQ'd on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff when it was deemed that his caddie brushed aside sand that was not on the green. McDowell will next take on No.23 seed Ben Corfee, who also has some winning experience at Spyglass. In 2015, Corfee won the NCGA Four-Ball title with partner Scott Raber.
No.4 seed Baron Szeto and No.5 Logan Kim, the two highest seeds remaining, will face each other in Thursday's quarterfinals. Szeto, who plays at Cal Poly, is featured in the most recent issue of NCGA Golf Magazine after he competed in the recent PGA Tour Barracuda Championship as an amateur. He earned a spot in the event through qualifying.
Kim, who hails from San Jose, is a former junior star who will begin playing for Stanford this fall.
Thursday's quarterfinals will begin at 7 a.m. The semifinals will then tee off in the afternoon. Friday's final will be 36 holes.
August 13, 2024
Alamo resident Mikey Burkland already picked up a big win in NorCal earlier this year when he captured the annual San Francisco City Championship.
Now, Burkland is a step closer to winning the NCGA's biggest amateur prize.
Burkland, who teamed with MIke Perchak to finish second place at this year's NCGA Four-Ball Championship at Spyglass Hill, earned the No.1 seed for this week's NCGA Amateur Championship after finishing stroke play qualifying with a two-day score of 6-under 138. For the second straight day, Burkland posted a 69.
Zack Missigman, who played last season at St. Mary's will be the No.2 seed for match play after coming in at 139 following a second round 70.
First round leader Austin Fisher, who carded a stellar 6-under 66 in the first round, fell all the way back into a tie for 18th following a second round 80.
Former Cal standout Michael Weaver placed third in qualifying and will be the No.3 seed after finishing at 141 (68-73). Weaver, a former professional who had his amateur status reinstated, was the runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Amateur.
Two of the biggest movers were Sebi Aliaga and Jake Bettencourt, who each pushed themselves 51 spots up the leaderboard to earn spots in the match play brackets. Aliaga had a 69 a day after carding 78. Bettencourt, who plays at Fresno State, also went to a 69 from a 78.
The cutline for match play came at 4-over par 148. On what was a spectacular weather day, the second-round stroke average was 76.89.
Defending champion Bobby Bucey is not in the field. Bucey instead was competing at the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine.
Wednesday's action will consist of both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 of match play. Thursday's action will see the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the 36-hole final set for Friday.
August 12, 2024
Get a spot in the match play brackets.
That was the goal as stroke play qualifying for this week's 121st NCGA Amateur Championship got underway Monday at par-72 Spyglass Hill.
Leading the way early on is Arizona resident Austin Fisher, who came in with a stellar opening round score of 6-under 66. The 66, which featured seven birdies and just one bogey (front-nine 31), was just one stroke shy of the record score of 7-under 65 for an NCGA low individual round at Spyglass Hill. Maverick McNealy carded a 65 during stroke play qualifying on his way to winning in 2015. Blake Hathcoat also posted a 65 in 2018.
Also getting off to a solid start was former Cal standout Michael Weaver, who came in with a 68. Weaver, a former professional who had his amateur status reinstated, was the runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Amateur, losing on the 37th hole.
Four players--Baron Szeto, Mikey Burkland, Zack Missigman and Mike Perchak--all are tied for third at 69. Earlier this year, Burkland and Perchak teamed to finish second place in the NCGA Four-Ball Championship at Spyglass Hill. Perchak is the two-time defending champion of the NCGA Valley Amateur Championship.
Following Tuesday's second round, a cut will be made with the low 32 advancing to match play.
The stroke average for the first round was 77.09. Defending champion Bobby Bucey, who also reached the final in 2022, is not competing this year. Bucey is playing in the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine.
The oldest of the NCGA’s major events, the Amateur Championship, dates back to 1903 when it was first played at San Rafael GC.
The antique sterling silver trophy reveals a who’s who of historical Northern California amateur golfers including Pebble Beach course designer Douglas Grant, Charlie Seaver, Lawson Little Jr., as well as current and past PGA Tour players Kevin Sutherland, Arron Olberholser, Spencer Levin, Maverick McNealy, Matt Bettencourt, Roger Maltbie and Ray Leach.
Varying formats have been used over the 106 years of competition but today the tournament is 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, followed by a 32-person seeded match play bracket. The one-day final match is a 36-hole test of stamina and concentration after a week of golf at Spyglass Hill. The event has been played at Spyglass Hill every year since 1966, with the exception of 1996 when the course was closed due to renovations.
The largest winning margin was in 1930 when Herbert Schultz beat Hugh Ditzler by 11 & 10 at Castlewood GC, this was equaled in 2004 when Spencer Levin claimed the title. The longest final match was seen in 2007 when Ryan Hallisey triumphed on the 39th hole over Jeremy Gearhart, equaling the record set in 1947. Notable runner-up finishers include Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller, with Jack Neville having finished runner-up more than any other player, five times. Bobby Bucey at age 34 won in 2023, becoming the oldest winner since Darryl Donovan in 1999.
At the 2015 championship, Stanford junior and No.2 world-ranked amateur Maverick McNealy set a championship record for low round during stroke play qualifying with a 7-under 65. The 65 was a low for any NCGA event held at Spyglass Hill. Blake Hathcoat matched the 65 in 2018.The two-day, 36-hole scoring record for stroke play qualifying is 10-under 134, set by Finigan Tilly in 2017. Tilly’s stroke play total of 10-under 134 is the low 36-hole total for any NCGA event that’s been held at Spyglass Hill.
The event often determines the NCGA’s Player of the Year award with 700 points awarded to the winner. Multiple-time Player of the Year winners Casey Boyns and Randy Haag have both claimed the championship twice. Over 300 players attempt to qualify for the championship each year and the event is open to anyone with a Handicap Index of 5.4 or less.