The road to PGA stardom for Homa and Morikawa went through the Silicon Valley Amateur
Photos courtesy of Cal Athletics
Before they were multi-time winners on the PGA Tour,
Max Homa and
Collin Morikawa claimed wins at the AmateurGolf.com Silicon Valley Amateur (presented by Callaway Golf), which begins play on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto, Calif.
The two former California Golden Bears won the tournament -- which traditionally gets a strong collegiate field due to it being held over winter break -- five years apart, with
Homa's victory coming in 2011 and Morikawa following suit in 2016 at the tournament's former home, Coyote Creek Golf Course in Morgan Hill, Calif.
In 2011, Homa
broke Coyote Creek's Valley Course record with an opening round 63 en route to a four-shot victory over Richard Conlin. What made Homa's course record 63 even more impressive is that it came in a two-club wind and he had two bogeys on his card.
Two years later, Homa capped off an outstanding amateur career by winning the
NCAA men's individual championship at the Capital City Club (Crabapple Course) in Milton, Ga. and has gone on to win six times on the PGA Tour, including a pair of titles this season at the Fortinet Championship and the Farmers Insurance Open.
Related: Before They Turned Pro: Max Homa
Morikawa won the
2016 Silicon Valley Amateur as a freshman at Cal in 2016, carding a pair of 3-under 69s in wet and cold conditions on the same Jack Nicklaus-designed Tournament Course. Morikawa was in a position to defend his title the following year but stumbled to a final round of 74 and ultimately finished third.
Just a little more than four years after his win at the Silicon Valley Amateur, Morikawa won his first of two majors, the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. He added his second major in 2021 by winning the Open Championship at Royal St. George's.
Related: Before They Turned Pro: Collin Morikawa
Morikawa's impressive amateur resume includes victories at the 2013 Western Junior,
2015 Trans-Miss Amateur,
2016 Sunnehanna Amateur and
2017 Northeast Amateur.
• • • • •
Due to inclement weather in the Bay Area, this year's Silicon Valley Amateur was rescheduled from Jan 7-8 to Feb 25-26. It marks the third consecutive year the tournament has been held at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto, Calif.
Last year,
Sean-Karl Dobson, now a freshman at Stanford, shot rounds of 62-72 to post a one-stroke victory over
Cameron Keith, who now plays collegiately at Dartmouth.
Dobson's first-round 62 set Bayland's course record.
ABOUT THE
AGC Silicon Valley Amateur
The Silicon Valley Amateur is now a 54-hole, limited-field WAGR points event! The field will consist of 64 scratch players and 18 invited scratch seniors. After 36 holes are contested (one round on Monday, one on Tuesday), the field will be cut to the low 30 scratch amateurs and ties, and the low nine scratch seniors and ties. These players will be eligible for the final round on Wednesday. We expect to gain exemptions for winners into several top tournaments - details forthcoming. Past champions of this tournament include PGA Tour stars Collin Morikawa and Max Homa.
DIVISIONS
CHAMPIONSHIP
For players aged 16 and over with a USGA or
equivalent index of 1.9 or less.
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
For players age 50 and over (as of the tournament
date) with a handicap index of 3.9 or less. Note:
Must be 55 and over for NCGA Senior Points.
MID-AM (subdivision of Championship)
For players age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in the
Championship Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six Mid-Ams,
a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
WOMEN (subdivision of Championship)
Will play in the
Championship
Division but
from a shorter tee. If there are at least six women in
the field, a separate prize and trophy will be
awarded.
View Complete Tournament Information