BC's First Hogan Cup Team Title A Thriller

by Eric Yaillen
Oregon Golf Association

It all came down to the final foursome on the final hole with the Team from Hawaii holding onto a 2-stroke lead over the first round leaders from British Columbia, a Canadian province that had never won the 36-hole Hogan Cup Team Matches.

The team from Hawaii actually dominated the second day of play, and would have run away with the title if not for three birdies on the final two holes by British Columbia; one by Kevin Kwon of Pitt Meadows and two from Bryan Lichimo of North Vancouver. That set up the final hole with a pairing that included British Columbia's Charlie Hughes of Maple Ridge and Hawaii's Bradley Shigezawa of Honolulu.

While both would finish the tournament tied at 1-under par 143, Hughes once again became the hero of the day, much like he did last month at the Boys Junior America's Cup Team Matches when he scored four birdies and an eagle in his final six holes to end up at 5-under par 65 and give his team an 8-stroke margin of victory at Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena, Calif.

2009 Champions
Pictured (l to r) - Bryan Lichimo, Matthew Hamilton, Kevin Kwon & Charlie Hughes

"Its really special to win this since there were four teams that had a shot to win," said Hughes, who will attend the University of Washington in the fall.  In this event, it was far closer contest as it came down to Hughes making a birdie on the final hole and a double bogey by Shigezawa to give the edge to British Columbia for its first ever Hogan Cup title. "This really puts BC golf on the map," he added.

The Hawaii team was lead by medalist Justin Keiley of Haiku shooting 71-70-141.  He turned it on during the final 9 today shooting 4-under par 32 with five birdies and 1-bogey.

"I shot the same score last year which was only good enough for third," noted Keiley.  "This year the course was tougher.  The greens were faster, the rough was much longer and there was less roll in the fairway.  I came here knowing what I wanted to shoot and I accomplished what I set out to."  Unfortunately, while his Hawaii team did improve their team score by 1-stroke in the final round, it was not enough.

With his individual title, he joins an elite list of past champions including Tiger Woods, Bobby Clampett, Ricky Barnes and Michael Putnam.  Keiley earned a trip to the Junior America's Cup next year, but already has plans to defend his title.  No medalist has ever repeated as individual champion.

The Hogan Cup 36-hole team matches pit the best junior golfers from the Western United States and Canada against each other in a team format with the three lowest scores each day determining the team total.  Medals are awarded to the top three teams as well as the top three individuals in the field.

In the 41 year history of the event, Northern California has won 13 times and Southern California has won 11 times including 4 of the last five years. Hawaii has never won the event, and the best finish ever for BC prior to this year was a tie for 6th.

Being selected to compete in Hogan Cup matches is an honor that has been bestowed to few individuals, and the excellence of past participants is indicative of the quality of the small, select field. Hogan Cup alumni also include PGA Tour players such as Fred Couples, Scott Simpson, Robert Gamez, Kirk Triplett, and Peter Jacobsen.

The event began in 1969 in commemoration of the vast achievements and contributions to the sport by Eddie Hogan, their long-time head golf professional who served the club from 1939 until his tragic drowning death in 1968.  Hogan, an Oregon Amateur champion and PNGA Amateur Champion, was credited for transforming the role of the golf professional, developing what is now considered the standard for the green grass pro shop.  Hogan was also dedicated in helping the Oregon Golf Association develop its widely-recognized junior golf program.

RIVERSIDE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB - Par 72, 6,723-yards

HOGAN CUP TEAM RESULTS

1   BRITISH COLUMBIA      215-217--432 E  
 2   HAWAII                    217-216--433 +1 
 3   N. CALIFORNIA         216-223--439 +7 
 4   WASHINGTON            227-214--441 +9 
 5   UTAH                      217-231--448 +16
 T6  ARIZONA                   233-217--450 +18
 T6  S. CALIFORNIA         228-222--450 +18
 8   OREGON II                 235-216--451 +19
 9   OREGON I                  228-226--454 +22
 10  SAN DIEGO             230-227--457 +25
 11  NEVADA                235-226--461 +29
 12  IDAHO                     238-236--474 +42

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
 1   Justin Keiley     Haiku, Hawaii                71-70--141 -3 
 T2  Charlie  Hughes   Maple Ridge, BC               72-71--143 -1 
 T2  Bradley Shigezawa Honolulu, Hawaii            72-71--143 -1 
 T2  Kevin  Kwon       Pitt Meadows, BC              70-73--143 -1 
 T5  Kyle Jones        Snowflake, Ariz.              76-68--144 E  
 T5  Tyler Salsbury    Enumclaw, Wash.           74-70--144 E  
 T7  Kent Hagen        Covington, Wash.            74-71--145 +1 
 T7  James Stafford    San Diego, Calif.            72-73--145 +1 
 T7  Mark Wyllie       San Jose, Calif.                  71-74--145 +1 
 T7  Bryson Dechambeau Clovis, Calif.                69-76--145 +1 
 11  Devon Purser      Clearfield, Utah            70-76--146 +2 
 12  Zachary Foushee   West Linn, OR             75-72--147 +3 
 13  Brian Campbell    Irvine, Calif.                    77-71--148 +4 
 T14 Ian Patterson     Tucson, Ariz.                 77-72--149 +5 
 T14 Tye Gabriel       Portland, OR                      72-77--149 +5 
 T14 Nate Jessup       Springville, Calif.           76-73--149 +5 
 T14 Thomas Yamashita  Kapolei, Hawaii          74-75--149 +5 
 T14 Patrick Fishburn  Farr West, Utah               72-77--149 +5 
 T19 Zane Thomas       Las Vegas, Nev.           78-72--150 +6 
 T19 Bryan Lichimo     North Vancouver, BC       77-73--150 +6 
 T21 Gregory Kerber    Las Vegas, Nev.            76-75--151 +7 
 T21 Bobby Monaco      Eugene, Oregon            77-74--151 +7 
 T23 Will Guitteau     Portland, OR                  80-72--152 +8 
 T23 Samuel Mendez     Portland, OR                  80-72--152 +8 
 T23 Jon Van Dyk       Eagle, Idaho                  75-77--152 +8 
 T23 Zach Wanderscheid Goldendale, Wash.      79-73--152 +8 
 T23 Kevin Gorman      Chula Vista, Calif.           79-73--152 +8 
 T23 Alexander Forss   Temecula, Calif.              76-76--152 +8 
 29  Kurt Kitayama     Chico, Calif.                     76-77--153 +9 
 T30 J.J.  Holen       Castaic, Calif.                   79-75--154 +10
 T30 Li Wang           Sammamish, Wash.         79-75--154 +10
 T30 Nick Thomas     Westlake Village, Calif.    75-79--154 +10
 T30 Cole Ogden        West Point, Utah              76-78--154 +10
 T34 Daniel Snoey      Camas, WA                     79-76--155 +11
 T34 Matthew Hamilton  West Vancounver, BC    73-82--155 +11
 T34 Brandon Kida      Layton, Utah                  75-80--155 +11
 T37 Sulman Raza       Eugene, OR                    80-76--156 +12
 T37 Brett Komoto      Honolulu, Hawaii          79-77--156 +12
 T39 Jesse Heinly      Bend, OR                          80-77--157 +13
 T39 Derek Laporte     Tucson, Ariz.                 80-77--157 +13
 T41 Thomas Wicker     Minden, Nev.              81-79--160 +16
 T41 Tyler Torano      Chula Vista, Calif.           79-81--160 +16
 43  Quinn Carbol      Pocatello, Idaho              83-78--161 +17
 T44 Gentry Hicks      Oro Valley, Ariz.             85-77--162 +18
 T44 Jacob Ready       Meridian,  Idaho              81-81--162 +18
 46  Foster Kenton III   Hawthorne, Nev.             83-80--163 +19
 47  Garrett Cypher    Carlsbad, Calif.              83-82--165 +21
 48  Derek Ream        Meridian, Idaho               82-91--173 +29

- - - - -

HOGAN CUP CHAMPIONS

2009 British Columbia         438        Justin Keiley, Hawaii 141
2008 Oregon #1             430     Patrick Cantlay, S.    Cal. 138
2007 Southern California     433     Jeffrey Kang, S. Calif. 141
2006 Southern California     422     Alex Shi Yup Kim, S. Calif. 137
2005 Southern California     441     Louis Amira, S. Calif.     138
2004 Southern California     436     Taylor Coffman, San Diego; Charlie Harris, N. Cal.; Mark Mueller, Arizona; Brian Locke, S. Cal.; Daniel Reid, Utah     144
2003 Oregon #1             435     Dustin Andres, Oregon #1 140
2002 Northern California     444     Joe Panzeri, Idaho 140
2001 Northern California     440     Mike Ostrich, N. Cal. 144
2000 Washington             448     Michael Putnam, Wash.
144
1999 Northern California     435     Danny Lopez, Utah 143
1998 Northern California     437     Ricky Barnes, N. Cal. 140
1997 San Diego             440     Kevin Stevens, N. Cal. 144
1996 Southern California     447     Robert Sul, S. Cal.     144
1995 Southern California     453     Ross Fulgentis, S. Cal. 146
1994 Northern California     438     Jin Park, S. Cal.     144
1993 Northern California     456     Matt Lewis, Arizona 150
1992 Southern California     452     Eddy Lee, S. Cal.     147
1991 Northern California     444     Joe Acosta, N. Cal. 142
1990 Southern California     444     Tiger Woods, S. Cal. 145
1989*** Southern California 424     Adam King, Oregon #1 137
1988 Southern California     617     Charlie Wi, S. Cal.     145
1987 Northern California     613     Scott Spurgeon, N. Cal. 150
1986 Arizona             607     Pat Brownfield, Wash. 148
1985 Oregon #1            591     Tim Cruikshank, Oregon #1     141
1984 Oregon #1             611     Tim Hval, Oregon #1 146
1983 Southern California     602     Brad Blind, Oregon #1 143
1982** Northern California     457     Steve Sear, N. Cal. 112
1981 Oregon #2             609     Kevin Leach, S. Cal. 148
1980 Northern California     601     Greg Loosigian, N. Cal. 144
1979 Oregon #1             608     Eric Johnson, Oregon #1* 149
1978 Washington             600     John Bodenhamer, Wash. 146
1977 Washington             621     Jeff Tachell, Wash. 150
1976 Northern California     601     Robert Clampett, N. Cal. 144
1975 Northern California     604     Bryan Pini, N. Cal.* 148
1974 San Diego            600     Mark Tinder, N. Cal. 142
1973 San Diego             602     Mike Brannen, N. Cal. 142
1972 Northern California     609     Tom Wells, Oregon 146

* Won in Playoff                                                                                                      
**Event shortened to 27-holes                                                                              
*** Format changed from best four of five scores to best three of four scores.
**** (1989) Only 34 Holes played due to construction.