SCGA Amateur Champion Patrick Cantlay, SCGA Match Play Champion Anton Arboleda and 2011 California State Amateur Champion Bhavik Patel will headline the list of Southland golfers teeing off today at Erin Hills for the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship. In all, 27 Southern Californians made the cut for the championship, which will run through Sunday.
At 7,760 yards, the 2011 U.S. Amateur will be the longest course in USGA history, surpassing last year’s 7,742 yards at Chambers Bay.
Cantlay (pictured), who is currently the nation's top-ranked amateur, will look to dethrone last year's champion Peter Uihlein, who is back to defend his title. The two recently faced each other in a quarterfinal match at the Western Amateur Championship, where Cantlay defeated Uihlein with a par on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. Cantlay called the match "the closest, most back-and-forth match," he's ever played. Cantlay was also recently added to this year's Walker Cup team.
Arboleda enters the tournament on a hot streak, winning the SCGA Match Play Championship less than two weeks ago. Arboleda, a teammate of Cantlay's at UCLA, also had a strong showing at the
Pacific Coast Amateur this summer. This will be his second time competing in the U.S. Amateur.
Patel, who not only won this year's California State Amateur, but also placed in the top-5 at the SCGA Amateur Championship, will also look to make a strong run at Erin Hills.
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