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Capturing the State Am changed the career trajectory of Geoff Gonzalez, who won at this year’s site in 2009 BY JERRY STEWART


Calif rnia State Amateur


Changing The


Life- I


2009 California State Amateur Champion Geoff Gonzalez


54 / NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2015


t wasn’t just about scaling the mountain. It was also about seeing the doors that opened upon reaching the top. When Geoff Gonzalez won


the prestigious California State Amateur Championship in 2009 at Lake Merced Golf Club at the age of 21, it was as the then-East Bay resident described it, “like reach- ing the pinnacle.” “Even if I won a major, that


win at Lake Merced would remain my favorite win,” said the now 27-year-old Gonzalez, who has since relocated to La Quinta. “It gave me a ton of confi dence to move forward. After that, I knew I could compete at a higher level. It was a stepping stone.” Along with getting his name etched alongside Johnny Miller, Mark O’Meara and Bobby Clampett, who used their State Am wins as a springboard to bigger and better things, Gon- zalez was soon awash in the perks that come


104th California State Amateur


Lake Merced GC June 22-27, 2015


Qualifying Sites 13 courses across the state


Competitive Field 156 players


Format: Two rounds of stroke-play qualifying; the top 32 players advance to single elimination match play with the scheduled 36-hole fi nal set for Saturday, June 27.


Handicap Requirement 4.4 handicap index or less


Defending Champion Xander Schauff ele of San Diego. Schauff ele defeated Beau Hossler 2-up at La Costa Resort.


with winning the Golden State’s great- est amateur golf prize. Before he even teed off in the 2009


championship, Gonzalez, then a junior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, knew that he was going to red-shirt what was to be his senior season. Thanks to his State Amateur win, he wouldn’t miss a beat, even while sitting out his school season. “When I won, it got me into just


about every amateur tournament that’s out there,” Gonzalez said. “Even though I was red-shirting, I could play in all of the big events. A lot of those events had players who are now win- ning on the PGA Tour. It opened a lot of doors.” While Gonzalez was able to bask in


the glory of it all, it didn’t come easy. In the fi nals of the State Am, he took on savvy veteran Jeff Wilson of Fair- fi eld. Wilson was twice Gonzalez’s age, and a fi ve-time USGA medalist, the most in Northern California history. Wilson’s resume included low- amateur honors at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and the three-time medalist at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship (2000, ’01, ’04)


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