Seeking to break a 53-year string, the Pepperdine student will seek to successfully defend his California Amateur title next month

By Robert D. Thomas
In 1955, Dr. Frank “Bud” Taylor — a USC grad, dentist and lifelong amateur golfer who would go on to represent the United States in three Walker Cup competitions — defeated Jack Lovegren, 3 & 2, to win the California Amateur Championship for the second consecutive year.

Taylor’s win was noteworthy, but no one at the time realized that it would become historic. With his win in 1955, Taylor became the sixth player in the event’s 54 years to win back-to-back titles.

No one has done it since.

As if the tournament itself wasn’t tough enough, that will be the challenge facing Josh Anderson of Murrieta when he tees it up on June 16 at Oakmont CC. The 19-year-old Pepperdine student won the title last year by defeating Joe Greiner of Saugus, 4 & 3, at Monterey Peninsula CC in Pebble Beach and he’ll be back this year to defend.

“Oh yes,” Anderson responded when asked if he was aware of the historic implications this year. “Of course, I’d love to be part of history by winning this tournament again. And I’d like to put my name on the SCGA Amateur trophy, as well.”

It’s been a frustratingly long year for Anderson, who elected to redshirt during his freshman year at Pepperdine. “It turned out to be the best thing I could do,” said Anderson. “Pepperdine is really tough academically and I’ve been able to practice with the team and work on my game. Now I’ll have four years to play for the Waves.”

Anderson knows about biding his time. Days after he qualified for the 2005 California Amateur, Anderson was in­volved in a horrific car accident in which he nearly died. He had to lay out for six months recovering from a compound fracture of his left humerus. “I didn’t know whether I would ever play golf again,” said Anderson last year.

The downside to redshirting, said Anderson, was no tournaments. “Last year’s U.S. Amateur was my last event,” said Anderson. “I’m used to gearing my practice schedule to point for tournaments, so this year has been pretty tough since I’ve had nothing to prepare for.”

So Anderson is champing at the bit. His first tournament play will be in U.S. Open local qualifying at Newport Beach CC May 14 and, if he makes the cut, he’ll play in U.S. Open Sectional qualifying at Lake Merced GC in June.

Then it’s off to the prestigious Sunnehanna Amateur where Anderson will hook up with his high school teammate, Rickie Fowler, who used a victory in the Pennsylvania tournament to kick off a magical summer that culminated in a lead role in the U.S. Walker Cup victory at Royal County Down GC in Northern Ireland.

In addition to the California and SCGA Amateurs, Anderson is also entered in the Players Amateur, Western Amateur and Pacific Coast Amateur. “I’m trying to make up for lost time,” said Anderson with a chuckle.

However, Anderson won’t be the only golfer chasing history. Several other former champions are entered in this year’s tournament, all looking to join the list of 14 golfers who have won two or more titles (Jack Neville heads the list with five titles).

One of those is Tim Hogarth, who isn’t a Lakeside member but appears to own the course. Last month, he won the club’s Kelly Cup for the sixth time and fourth in a row (both records for the prestigious event). Hogarth won the 1999 California Amateur by defeating 1981 champion Gary Vanier on the 38th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, the third-longest championship match in the event’s history (see the“Top 10” list of memories on page 24). That same year, Hogarth won the first of two SCGA Mid-Amateur titles, and when he won the 2004 SCGA Amateur, Hogarth became the first person ever to win the SCGA Triple Crown.

John Pate could duplicate Hogarth’s “Triple Crown” legacy should the Santa Barbara resident win the California Amateur this year. Pate — whose brother, Steve, was a multiple winner on the PGA Tour — won the centennial playing of the SCGA Amateur in 1999 and the SCGA Mid-Amateur in 2000. He has come close to winning the state amateur, losing on the 36th hole in 1995 when Jeff Sanday rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to snatch the title away.
Other former champions entered this year include:

• Don DuBois of Newport Beach, who defeated Joseph Bramlett, 2 & 1, in 2005 to become, at age 46, the second-oldest champion ever (should DuBois win this year, he’d set the age record). Bramlett, then age 17, is now a student at Stanford.
• Steve Woods of Cupertino, the 1994 champion. This was the only year that Tiger played in the California Amateur and he made it to the semifinals, only to lose to Ed Cuff, Jr., 2 & 1. Steve Woods, a San Jose State student who grew up in Southern California, then knocked off Cuff, 5 & 3, to win the title.
• Darryl Donovan of Gilroy, won the title in 2001 and is slated to play this year.
• Jordan Nasser of Anaheim Hills, who won the 2007 (and final) playing of the event at Pebble Beach.

Some of the Northern California contingent includes:
• Jeff Burda of Modesto, the 2008 NCGA Senior Amateur champion who has competed in eight USGA events;
• Randy Haag of San Francisco, three-time NCGA Player of the Year and runner-up in the 1998 State Amateur;
• Scott Hardy of Pittsburg, 2007 NCGA Public Links champion and two-time NCGA championship winner
• Jeff Wilson of Suisun and La Quinta, 2008 SCGA Mid-Amateur champion, only amateur to make the cut in the 2000 U.S. Open and finished that season as the 17th-ranked amateur in the world according to Golfweek.

One other historical note: Taylor nearly won three California Amateurs in a row (a feat never accomplished in the tournament’s history) only to lose to Ken Venturi, 2 & 1, in 1956. Since 1955, Mike Brannan has come the closest to duplicating Taylor’s double. After defeating Dick Runkle on the 37th hole in the 1973 championship match, Brannan lost to Curtis Worley, 2 & 1, a year later. Bobby Clampett won in 1978 and 1980 but didn’t play in 1979, the year that Mark O’Meara thrashed Lennie Clements, 8 & 7, in the 36-hole championship match. O’Meara went on to win the U.S. Amateur that year.