The team from Southern California pulled away on Sunday to win the 49th Eddie Hogan Cup Team Matches, held Saturday and Sunday, August 12-13 at Riverside Golf & Country Club in Portland, Ore.
Ashwin Arasu (San Diego, Calif.), representing Southern California this weekend, won the individual title after finishing as the only player to finish under-par for the tournament.
Entering play on Sunday, Southern California was in second place, two shots behind first-round leader Arizona. However, the tides turned as players entered the back nine, with Southern California holding a lead throughout the final nine holes. The squad finished with scores of 218-213 – 431 (-1), the only team to finish under par for the event.
Arizona earned second place, led by the duo of Tony Hendricks (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Hayden Sayre (Phoenix, Ariz.), who both tied for fourth individually at 3-over par. As a team, Arizona shot scores of 216-226 – 442 (+10).
In third place, Northern California came back after struggling on Saturday with a strong Sunday of play. Bryce Kvick (Carmichael, Calif.) led the team, finishing in second place at 1-over par for the tournament. Northern California shot 230-218 – 448 (+16) to earn third place.
The host association teams both fired better scores on Sunday than they did on Saturday. Oregon #1 earned fifth place after a 23-shot improvement from the first round to the second, while Oregon #2 finished in ninth place after firing three shots better on Sunday.
In the individual competition, Arasu pulled away from the field in just the final four holes. With over five players in the hunt for medalist honors, Arasu was tied for the lead at 1-over par overall after 13 holes. Beginning on No. 15, Arasu reeled off three straight birdies, and had a chance at four straight if not for a missed five-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole. The 18-year old, who will begin at Stanford University in the fall, shot scores of 73-69 – 142 (-2) to win the individual title.
In second place was Northern California’s Bryce Kvick, who finished with scores of 73-72 – 145 (+1). Edwin Kuang (Murrieta, Calif.), Arasu’s Southern California teammate, earned third place with scores of 73-73 – 146 (+2).
Oregon Junior Golf seeks to promote life skills and values to kids through the game of golf. Since its inception, over 10,000 young golfers between the ages of 8 and 17 have participated in Oregon Junior Golf. The Oregon Golf Association established Oregon Junior Golf Fund, Inc. (OJGF) as a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation for the purpose of introducing children to the sport as well as develop competitive junior golfers.