Graham Qualifies For U.S. Amateur

UC Davis' Austin Graham

UC Davis junior golfer Austin Graham qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship on Monday at Red Hill Country Club, posting a two-round total of 140, good for four-under par and the top spot among the qualifiers.  Graham will now travel to Southern Hills CC on August 24-30 for the U.S. Amateur.

Graham had posted one of the biggest wins of his career on Sunday, July 19 when he captured the prestigious 110th Southern California Golf Association Amateur Championship at Wilshire Country Club, capping a busy two weeks in which he also won the Long Beach City Men's Championship.

Graham, from San Clemente, tallied a four-round total of 6-under 278 to beat defending champion Kevin Marsh of Henderson, Nev., and Tim Hogarth of Northridge, Calif. by one shot. Hogarth earned the tournament title in 2004.

Graham opened the tournament with a 2-under 69 in the first round and then matched that score in the second. Consecutive rounds of 70 in the final two rounds delivered him a win in the same tournament as Tiger Woods who won it in 1994.

"This win is a dream come true," Graham told FORE Magazine aftewards. "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."

The victory in the SCGA Amateur followed a convincing win at the Long Beach City Men's Championship on July 11 in which Graham opened with a career-best 62 - just one off the school-record 63 he had during The Prestige at PGA WEST last October - then followed with rounds of 65 and 71 to finish at an astounding 18-under 198. He finished eight shots in front of three players for the win.

The tournament was played at the El Dorado Park Golf Course, Skylinks Golf Course and Recreation Park Golf Course in Long Beach.

Graham led UC Davis with a 72.1 average last season, helping the Aggies to the Big West Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division I West Regional. He also won tournament titles at the Kansas Invitational, Wyoming Cowboy Classic and Big West Championship.