2020 was a breakthrough year for Torey Edwards in more ways than one. It’s when he captured his first SCGA Mid-Amateur Championship, and the same year he garnered SCGA Player of the Year honors.
Though victory had started to elude him in the years leading up to the 2024 Mid-Amateur Championship at Santa Ana CC. He finished runner-up in each of the two years following his 2020 title before logging a T4 finish last year at Bakersfield CC.
“I’ve been close the last few years, let it slip away,” said Edwards. “I got beat by a couple really good players and I’ve just been itching to get back in the winner’s circle.”
So, as he awaited his champion interview on Wednesday, freshly crowned the SCGA’s newest Mid-Amateur champion, he looked down at the trophy he had just finished posing for photos with.
“Screw it, I’m gonna hold it [for the interview],” said Edwards. “It’s been a while.”
Safe to say, this one means a bit more for Edwards, who put together a back-nine for the ages with six birdies in his final eight holes to fend off defending champion Nick Geyer and a charging Josh Gliege to capture his second Mid-Amateur title.
“It felt amazing to outlast these guys,” said Edwards. “I felt like several times today and over the course of the tournament that it was getting away. I was thankful and really proud of myself for the way I battled down to the finish there on the back nine. I found a way to dig deep and get it done.”
Edwards was just wrapping up his first round when he faced the first moment when things could’ve gotten away. Sitting at two-under through 17 holes, looking to become just the sixth player in the field that day to log a round under par, his ball found water on the par-5 18th. One thing led to another and when all was said and done, his two-under round turned into a one-over finish, heading into the clubhouse with an 8 at the end of his the scorecard.
“Golf owes you nothing. I got a bad break on 18 in the first round and it was difficult to swallow because I felt like a grinded all day,” said Edwards. “To lose a ball late in the day, it kind of puts you into a little bit of a shell shock. The good and bad part about it was that it was the last hole, so I was able to regroup, get dinner and think about it overnight. I didn’t have to sit on it too long.”
He responded the next day with the low round of the tournament, a sizzling six-under 66 (punctuated by an eagle on No. 18) to put himself in the final grouping along with Geyer for the last round.
“I think my short game kept me in the tournament,” said Edwards. “Definitely in the first round and second round there were some very clutch up and downs. It just kept me within shouting distance of Nick and some of the other guys.”
Each of them teed off Wednesday morning at five-under, with a pair of players chasing them within two strokes. Through four holes, Edwards ran into some more trouble, and it seemed he had fallen apart. A triple-bogey on No. 2, followed by a bogey on No. 4 brought him down to one-under, while Geyer shot even-par in the same stretch.
Then Edwards started chipping away, notching three birdies over his next four holes, though one was negated with a bogey on No. 7. Geyer bogeyed No. 8, giving Edwards that stroke back.
Despite the nightmarish start, Edwards had only given up a stroke on the front, sitting at three-under as he made the turn to Geyer’s four-under. Save for one bogey to start the back nine, Edwards was nearly perfect from then on. Five consecutive birdies from holes 11-15 had put him back on top as the solo leader, a pace that Geyer could not keep up with. One more birdie on No. 18 put the finishing touches on a back-nine score of 31 and rollercoaster three-under 69 final round that finally put Edwards back in the winner’s circle and mark his fourth SCGA crown.
“It just came down to my brain on the back nine,” said Edwards. “I felt like I was too talented to slip away. Yes, I made some big numbers, but I knew there were some birdies out there. I was just very thankful that I was able to dig deep and have that talking to that you need sometimes on the back nine to get yourself in gear and really put the throttle down.”
Finishing with an 54-hole score of eight-under 208, Edwards earned exemptions to the 2024 SCGA Amateur Championship, 2024 California Amateur Championship and 2024 SCGA Match Play Championship thanks to the win.
“This tournament is something I want to win and play my best in so I felt like I was prepared, but it’s never easy,” said Edwards. “These guys make it look easy on TV every week, but it really isn’t. Even at this level in Southern California, there’s so much talent. I’m just very grateful to come out on top.”
