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MATT HOFFENBERG OF SIMI VALLEY WINS INAUGURAL SCGA MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP AT SANDPIPER GOLF COURSE
By Robert D. Thomas Hoffenberg, who turned 19 on Monday, piled up seven birdies in this morning’s semifinal as he eliminated Daniel Wax of Pacific Palisades, 5 & 3, then posted seven birdies and an eagle in turning aside the 19-year-old Dupont, a sophomore at Northwestern University. With the usual match-play concessions, Hoffenberg was 5 under par this morning and shot 31 on the front nine this afternoon. Dupont — who defeated Bryan Hogan of Bakersfield, 2 & 1, in the semifinals — was 4 under par in the championship match and said later, “I played great and made a lot of birdies. Unfortunately, it was on the wrong day because Matt just played super golf.” It was the second time in two months that Hoffenberg and Dupont squared off in a big-time match; the long-hitting, left-handed Hoffenberg defeated Dupont, 5 & 4, in a quarterfinal match of the California Amateur Championship at Lakeside Golf Club in June. It also continued a successful summer for the rising sophomore at San Diego State, who won the Southwestern Amateur in New Mexico and rallied with closing rounds of 66-66 to finish third in the Pacific Coast Amateur last week at Royal Colwood GC in Victoria, BC. Hoffenberg appeared to be comfortably in control after making four birdies on the front nine, good for a 3-up lead, only to bogey the 10th and 11th holes. “I figured that as good as I played on the front nine I was due for a hiccup,” said Hoffenberg after the match, “but I was pleased at how well I was able to get it back together.” After both players parred the 12th hole, they tackled the 532-yard 13th hole, which plays from tee to green atop cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has a deep canyon guarding the green complex. After driving perfectly in the fairway, Hoffenberg nailed a 235-yard hybrid shot that carried a yawning bunker in front of the green and nestled 10 feet below the hole. Dupont pulled his approach left of the green and pitched delicately to six feet, only to see Hoffenberg calmly roll in his eagle putt to stretch his lead back to 2 up. Dupont again halved the margin by winning the 14th with a conceded birdie. However, on the 392-yard 15th hole, Dupont pushed his drive right and his second shot ended up under a tree in thick rough. After taking two shots to reach the green, Dupont conceded the hole. After both players made par 4 on the 16th hole (Hoffenberg catching a great break when his drive hit a tree and bounced back in the fairway), Hoffenberg punctuated the win with his 28-foot birdie on the 421-yard 17th hole. Hoffenberg defeated several big names to reach the finals. After beating Cal State Northridge senior Erik Jarvey of Palmdale, 2 & 1, in the first round, he knocked off 2007 California Amateur champion Josh Anderson of Murrieta, 3 & 2, in the second round and eliminated 2005 California Amateur champion Don DuBois, 3 & 1, in a quarterfinal match. For five rounds in three days, Hoffenberg made 27 birdies and three eagles over the beautiful seaside golf course, which was designed in 1972 by William F. Bell and is owned by Ty Warner of “Beanie Baby” fame. For complete, hole-by-hole scores, click HERE. For the final-round photo gallery, click HERE. BOYD MARTIN RALLIES TO DEFEAT CHIP BRIDGES AND WIN SCGA MATCH PLAY SENIOR TITLE
By Robert D. Thomas The day ended as it began for the 61-year-old Bridges when he three-putted the 524-yard, par-5 first hole for the second time in the match. Moments before, Martin had watched in disbelief as his uphill eight-foot birdie putt had slid over the right edge of the hole. After Bridges missed his four-foot par putt, Martin said, “I wish I had made mine instead of him missing his, but either way it was a great comeback and I’m thrilled to have won my first SCGA individual title.” Martin struggled with his iron-shot distance control most of the day and when he missed a two-foot par putt on the scenic 11th hole (the green lies just steps from crashing ocean waves), he found himself 3 down to an opponent who, apart from the opening three-putt, hadn’t made a bogey. “I was in trouble,” admitted Martin later. “I figured I had to start making some birdies because I didn’t expect Chip to make many mistakes.” In fact, the end result was a combination of both factors as Bridges bogeyed four of his final seven holes and Martin finally squared the match on the 17th hole when he sank an eight-foot birdie putt. It would be the only birdie either golfer would make all day. After the first hole, Bridges strung together 10 consecutive pars and had a 3-up lead heading into the 341-yard 12th hole. Both Martin and Bridges failed to reach the green on the sharply uphill hole, but Bridges pitched five feet above the hole and missed the slippery downhill putt, while Martin got up and down for par. When Bridges managed to halve the 516-yard 13th hole with a bogey 6, it appeared that Martin might be running out of chances and holes. Both players laid up on the par-5 hole but Martin’s approach landed in the yawning bunker fronting the green. Bridges could not take advantage as his pitch shot sucked back down the green to about 60 feet from the flagstick. Bridges’ sharply uphill putt only went about 2/3 of that distance and he missed the 15-foot par putt. Martin, meanwhile, hit his explosion shot 12 feet above the flagstick (always a treacherous proposition at Sandpiper) and he also missed his par putt. Martin cut the margin in half when Bridges hit his drive on the 14th hole underneath a tree, laid up to 110 yards but left his third shot 20 feet short of the hole. Martin was 20 yards short of the green but pitched four feet above the hole and sank the sliding downhill putt. Bridges regained his 2-up advantage with a par 5 on the 15th hole as Martin missed a six-foot par putt, but Martin cut the margin again after Bridges bladed a chip shot 20 feet past the 16th hole, leading to another bogey. That sent the match to the 367-yard 17th hole, the same hole where the day before Martin had holed out from the fairway to win his semifinal match against Warren Caves and where Hoffenberg would end his match against Dupont later in the day. Martin split the center of the fairway, wedged to within eight feet and rolled in the putt. Two holes later, Martin was clutching his championship plate. For complete, hole-by-hole scores, click HERE. For the Senior final-round photo gallery, click HERE. Four collegians reach semifinals of SCGA Match Play Championship; Bridges to face Martin in Senior division finale
SANTA BARBARA, August 13 — Bryan Hogan of Bakersfield and Matt Hoffenberg, two of the last players to make it into the field for the inaugural Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Match Play Championship, each won two matches convincingly today to join Daniel Wax of Pacific Palisades and Poway’s Josh Dupont in tomorrow morning’s semifinals at Sandpiper Golf Course. The semifinals will begin at 7:30 a.m. to be followed by the 18-hole championship match, which will start at 11:40 a.m. In the senior division, Boyd Martin of Corona del Mar holed out from the fairway on the 421-yard 17th hole to defeat Warren Caves of Newport Beach, 2 & 1, and will face Chip Bridges of Encinitas in the 18-hole championship match beginning at 7:50 a.m. tomorrow. Bridges birdied the first playoff hole to defeat 1998 SCGA Senior Amateur champion Frank Merhar of La Jolla in their semifinal match this afternoon. The 20-year-old Hogan rallied from an early deficit to take out 2006 SCGA Mid-Amateur champion Robert Funk of Canyon Lake, 4 & 2, in the morning, then won the last five holes to pulverize Ben Murray of La Quinta, 7 & 6, in the afternoon’s quarterfinals. Hogan will meet Dupont, a Northwestern University rising sophomore, who edged 2008 CIF-SCGA Southern Regional High School champion Johnny Mac Arthur of Valencia, 1 up, in the morning, then made three birdies in his last seven holes to turn aside 17-year-old Bhavik Patel of Bakersfield, 3 & 2, in afternoon. Hoffenberg, a sophomore-to-be at San Diego State who turned 19 two days ago, defeated 2007 California Amateur champion Josh Anderson of Murrieta, 3 & 2, in the morning, then knocked out 2005 California Amateur champion Don DuBois of Newport Beach, 3 & 1, in the afternoon. Hoffenberg will meet Wax, 21, a rising senior at the University of Denver, who finally had to play beyond the 14th hole in turning back 47-year-old Gary Havro of Claremont, 2 & 1, in their quarterfinal match. In the morning, Wax sailed by Fresno State student Brad Wyatt of La Verne, 5 & 4; yesterday he defeated Scott McGihon of Bermuda Dunes, 6 & 5. Havro and the 49-year-old DuBois were the last remaining veterans in the field, which began Tuesday with 32 golfers. Hogan, who has transferred from Cal State Bakersfield to Fresno State where he will be a redshirt sophomore, was satisfied with his play. “Funk didn’t play really well in the morning,” said Hogan. “Every time I saw him in the junk, I just tried to play safe.” In the afternoon, Hogan posted four birdies while his 19-year-old opponent could not make a single birdie in the short round. “The course played really tough this afternoon,” said Hogan, “because the wind dried out the greens and made them scary fast.” The 19-year-old Dupont was also pleased with his play, especially in the afternoon. “I finally began to make some putts in the afternoon,” he said after his win. “I struggled with the putter in the morning and Johnny played pretty well, but I was able to escape.“...MORE Youth prevails during first round of championship; No. 1 seed Tim Hogarth ousted
SANTA BARBARA, August 12 — Youth prevailed but form didn’t at the first round of the inaugural SCGA Match Play Championship being played at Sandpiper Golf Course. Top seed Tim Hogarth of Northridge was ousted when 17-year-old Bhavik Patel of Bakersfield rolled in a 60-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win 1 up over the beautiful seaside layout. Also going down were third seed Scott McGihon of Bermuda Dunes, and fourth seed John Pate of Santa Barbara. Form took a beating in the senior division, as well. No. 1 seed Steve Rhorer of Costa Mesa never trailed in his match, finally closing out Steven Hakes of San Diego with a par 3 on the final hole for a 2-up victory. However, the nos. 2-6 seeds were eliminated. Many of the match play championship tussles featured youth vs. age, and on this day, youth prevailed. Patel takes out Hogarth Wax waxes McGihon Delio continues match play mastery Dupont blows by Merich Mac Arthur defeats Bittick Kanda rallies from 4 down to win in overtime Tim Hogarth and Steve Rhorer of Northridge earns No. 1 seeds in inaugural SCGA Match Play Championship STUDIO CITY, CA, August 7 — Tim Hogarth of Northridge, 2004 SCGA Amateur champion, will be the No. 1 seed for the inaugural Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Match Play Championship August 12-14 at Sandpiper Golf Course in Santa Barbara. The 42-year-old Hogarth — winner of the 2004 SCGA Amateur, 1999 California Amateur and SCGA Mid-Amateur and the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links championships, along with many other prestigious titles — will meet 17-year-old Bhavik Patel of Bakersfield, the youngest player in the field and runner-up in the 2005 SCGA Amateur, on Tuesday, one of 16 first-round matches in the single-elimination tournament. Steve Rhorer of Costa Mesa is the No. 1 seed in the 16-player senior bracket, which runs concurrently; he will meet Steven Hakes of San Diego in a first-round match...MORE |
2008 Southern California Golf Association