Nate Stember of Portland, Ore. won the individual title of the 50th Hogan Cup, held Aug. 11-12 at Riverside Golf & Country Club in Portland.
Stember completed a remarkable comeback in the second round on Sunday. After starting 4-over through his first three holes, he played the final 33 holes at 4-under par. After a 74 (+2) on Saturday, the rising senior at Portland’s Lincoln High School shot a 70 (-2) on Sunday, one of just three players to finish under par during the final round. Entering play on Sunday, Stember was eight shots back. His 144 total (E) bested the field by one shot.
The win completes an outstanding summer season for Stember. After winning the Oregon 6A High School individual title in the spring, Stember won both the 2018 Oregon Junior Amateur and the Oregon Junior Stroke Play. He also advanced to the round of 32 at the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur. Stember was representing Team Oregon #1 in this year’s Hogan Cup.
Three players tied for second place individually: Caden Fioroni (San Diego), Aidan Goodfellow (British Columbia) and Harrison Kingsley (Southern California). All players finished at 145 (+1) individually, one shot back of Stember.
The team representing the Junior Golf Association of Arizona won the team competition of the Hogan Cup, its first title in 32 years. The Washington Junior Golf Association team represented by Nathan Cogswell of Kent, Wash., Clayton Thatcher of Tacoma, Wash., Drew Halili or Port Orchard, Wash. and Jordan Lee of Tacoma, Wash. finished T5.
Arizona entered play on Sunday in second place, one shot behind first-round leaders San Diego. Riverside G&CC was playing noticeably tougher on Sunday, with many teams shooting higher scores than on Saturday.
The squad from Arizona weathered the difficult conditions during the second round of play, finishing with a two-day total of 214-224 – 438 (+6). Mahanth Chirravuri and Gavin Aurilia tied for sixth place individually, finishing at 3-over par for the event. Jake Carlson and Tucker Clark finished T10 at 4-over par, 148 over the two days.
Arizona’s win marked its second-ever Hogan Cup title, winning its only other title in 1986.
The team from Southern California, winners in 2017, finished runner-up after firing 217-224 – 441 (+9). First-round leaders San Diego earned third place, shooting 213-229 – 442 (+10).
