Sierra La Verne Country Club
June 12, 2013
SCGA's team finishes third in race for Morse Cup
LEADER BOARD
With scores a little lower than they were the first day, competitors switched from the Bandon Trails GC to the Bandon Dunes GC for the second round of play Wednesday at the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. With only two players shooting even par Tuesday, and none able to break par, the change of course seemed to help these guys find a few more red numbers, as seven shot under par rounds Wednesday.
"The pins have been tricky and the winds especially high," said SCGA member Anton Arboleda, who sits T17. "You combine those two factors and those will lead to some pretty high scores."
The round of the day came off the clubs of SCGA member and San Diego native Alberto Sanchez (pictured), who will be attending Arizona State University in the fall. Sanchez shot a tournament-best round of 4-under par 68, just 24 hours after struggling to a 7-over par 77. After beginning his round with a bogey on the course's 386-yard par 4, Sanchez carded six birdies and just one more bogey the rest of the way. He sits T4 heading into third-round action Thursday.
"I hit the ball really well Tuesday but I had six three-putts," said Sanchez, "and I was really striping it today. I literally hit only one bad shot all day. If I keep hitting it like I've done for the first two days and make some putts, I will be right there."
Maxwell Marsico, Roger Dunn GC and SCGA member, is also within striking distance as the tournament reaches its halfway point. Marsico shot a 1-over par round of 73 to sit T9 at the conclusion of play Wednesday. Marsico finished third in the 2011 SCGA Amateur Championship, before having to miss the event this year at Big Canyon CC.
In the event within the event, the SCGA's team of Anton Arboleda, Jake Knapp and Manav Shah finished third out of the 15 teams competing for the Morse Cup. The competition is held over the first two days of the Pacific Coats Amateur. Each of the golf associations choose a three-man team in advance of the tournament. The best two of three scores in each of the first two rounds count for the team total. The SCGA finished behind winner Pacific Northwest Golf Association and Washington State Golf Association. Arboleda and Knapp both sit in the top 20 of the leaderboard, while Shah has struggled in his first two rounds, hampered by two penalties Wednesday due to slow play. Other SCGA membrs in the championship's top 20 are Niall Platt of Santa Barbara and Ramsey Sahyoun, a USC golfer.
Team SCGA
Anton Arboleda, Jake Knapp and Manav Shah