MORGAN HILL, California (January 16, 2016) -- The Silicon Valley Amateur is a tournament dominated by college players more than any of our "Tour" events.
Among the 90 Championship Flight contestants today were more than a dozen Cal Bears, a nice contingent of St. Mary's Gaels, as well as the occasional San Jose State Spartan, Cal Davis Aggie, and more than this writer can remember after a long day at 7:00pm.
Tied at the top, with an up-and-down round that included eight birdies, is Travis Rowney. After bogeying the 10th hole (his first) and marking par on No. 11, he scored three birdies in a row on Nos. 13-15; he would go on to duplicate the "hat trick" on his second nine on Nos. 4, 5, and 6. Watch out for this San Jose State Spartan (from Pleasanton, Calif.) if he can steady the bogeys tomorrow on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Cal player Walker Huddy, who hails from Studio City, posted the same 4-under 68 -- but his was much less eventful, as in bogey-free.
That same moniker goes to bogey-free Ben Doyle, Huddy's teammate at Cal who is in a three way tie for third with two other Cal Bears, Sebastian Crampton and 2015 Trans-Miss Amateur winner Collin Morikawa.
Doyle, from La Jolla, scored his first AmateurGolf.com trophy at the Christmas Classic last month at Del Monte.
The low Mid-Am golfer 25-years and over was Robby Salomon; he fired 70 and this 2015 U.S. Am qualifier from the Monterey Bay should be dangerous tomorrow.
SENIOR/NET
Steve Donnelly of Salinas posted a solid 74 to lead Jeff Britton by a shot. Britton recently ran away with the Tour Championship; it's possible runner-up Donnelly is looking for some revenge. (Actually we're all friends but what the heck, it should be a great final round.)
Abi Vickram has a nice margin in the Net Division after and even par 72.
ABOUT THE AGC Silicon Valley Amateur
>>
TOUR
PORTAL
The Silicon Valley Amateur is the first
AmateurGolf.com
tournament to have, on its past winner's list, a
MAJOR
champion. That would be Collin Morikawa, who
won
the
2016 title. Just over four years later, he won
the
PGA
Championship just up the road at TPC Harding Park
in San Francisco. Multiple PGA Tour star and
Morikawa's
fellow 2023 USA Ryder Cup team member Max Homa
also
won the
Silicon
Valley Amateur
in 2011.
For 2024, the tournament is moving to a new venue
--
Stanford University Golf Course. Tournament players
will relish competing at a course normally reserved
for
university students and faculty.
Please note that
we will
play on Monday and Tuesday, and expect this event
will
fill very quickly.
Related: The road to PGA stardom for Homa
and Morikawa went through the Silicon Valley
Amateur
DIVISIONS
CHAMPIONSHIP
For players aged 16 and over who have a USGA or
equivalent index of less than 5.5
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
For players age 50 and over (as of the tournament
date) with a handicap index of less than 8.0. Note:
Must be 55 and over for NCGA Senior Points.
MID-AM (subdivision of Championship)
For players age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in the
Championship Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six Mid-Ams,
a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORS (subdivision of Senior)
For players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger senior players
in
the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six players 65
or
over, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for low
super senior.
WOMEN (subdivision of Championship)
Will play in the
Championship
Division but
from a shorter tee. If there are at least six women in
the field, a separate prize and trophy will be
awarded.
View Complete Tournament Information