Although it was his first round back since the Central Coast
Section Championships, where a rimmed-out putt during a four-hole
playoff prevented him from advancing to NorCals, recent San Benito
High graduate Will Cross managed to bounce back in particularly
strong fashion last month. Competing at the Stevinson Ranch Golf
Club on May 23, Cross figured into a much-needed top-five spot when
he carded a 2-over 74 (35-39) to qualify to the 100th California
State Amateur Championship, which is one of the oldest amateur
tournaments in the nation and has included past champions like Mark
O’Meara and Johnny Miller.
HOLLISTER
There was no need for a playoff this time.
Although it was his first round back since the Central Coast Section Championships, where a rimmed-out putt during a four-hole playoff prevented him from advancing to NorCals, recent San Benito High graduate Will Cross managed to bounce back in particularly strong fashion last month.
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Competing at the Stevinson Ranch Golf Club on May 23, Cross figured into a much-needed top-five spot when he carded a 2-over 74 (35-39) to qualify to the 100th California State Amateur Championship, which is one of the oldest amateur tournaments in the nation and has included past champions like Mark O’Meara and Johnny Miller.
It will be held June 20-25 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, site of the 2012 U.S. Open.
“I feel like it’s probably one of the biggest tournaments I’ll ever play in, as an amateur, at least,” Cross said.
Cross finished fourth out of some 40 golfers at Stevinson Ranch, and was just one of 78 golfers out of roughly 900 in the state to have qualified to the exclusive amateur event, which is open to any non-professional golfer in California.
Although the now-former Haybaler bogeyed his first hole at Stevinson Ranch, Cross bounced back on No. 2 and 3 with back-to-back birdies, both of which came on par 4’s.
Finishing 1-under on the front nine, Cross went 3-over on the back following a double bogey on the par-3 No. 16 hole, but the few “slip-ups” on the back didn’t prevent the San Benito High grad from falling out of the top five.
“I felt like I played pretty decent,” Cross said. “If you told me I was going to shoot a 74 at the beginning of the day, I wouldn’t be mad.”
El Macero’s Tyler Raber led the field with a 2-under 70 at Stevinson Ranch, while Elk Grove’s Cameron Rappleye (73), Lodi’s Matthew Stewart (73) and Portola Valley’s Robert Salomon (75) finished within the top-five as well.
Salomon, in fact, qualified after surviving a one-hole playoff with two other golfers.
Cross said the memory of his playoff during the CCS Championships was never an issue during his May 23 round at Stevinson Ranch.
“Not at all,” he said.
The recent graduate has already put his high school career behind him and is moving forward.
The California State Amateur Championship is next on his post-grad agenda.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Cross said. “I’m kind of excited to move on from high school golf and start my career.”
