When San Clemente's Austin Graham won the Long Beach City Championship in early July, the then-19-year-old had no idea it would be the first of two major wins to add to his resume, all within a seven-day period. Graham shot a 62 in the opening round at the event, his lowest tournament score to date.
Collecting his first SCGA title, however, especially the 110th SCGA Amateur crown at Wilshire CC, was a major feather in the UC Davis junior's cap. "This win is a dream come true," Graham said. "I always wanted to qualify and play in this event, and to now have my name on the same trophy as Tiger Woods [winner in 1994] — I'm speechless."
Championship recap: Graham broke up a logjam at the top of the leaderboard that included 2008 champion Kevin Marsh of Henderson, Nev., 2004 champion Tim Hogarth of Northridge, third-round leader Spencer Anderson of Pacific Palisades, and Loyola Marymount golfer Jake Sarnoff of Manhattan Beach. In his 6-under par victory (69-69-70-70—278), Graham rebounded from a bogey 6 on the 16th hole when he drained a 30-foot putt on 17 for birdie, that ultimately won him the title.
Hogarth (73-67-68-71—279) played steadily while his competition struggled, although a mid-round roller coaster ended with him birdieing holes 13, 14 and 16 to put him in a tie for first. A missed birdie attempt on 17, paired with Graham's birdie-3, closed out his championship hope and put him in a tie for second with Marsh. Marsh (72-68-70-69—279) ran up the leaderboard also, but two bogeys got him into scoring trouble.
Tyler Crawford (69-71-72-68—280) of Rancho Mirage secured fourth place, while Sarnoff (67-70-70-74—281) claimed fifth. Anderson, a Duke golfer and last year's fifth place winner who was as many as three shots in the lead, came in seventh (69-71-66-77—283), thanks to a bogey and two double bogeys on the last three holes.
