Already a USGA champion, Tim Hogarth claims medalist honors at 66th U.S. Senior Amateur
The 66th U.S. Senior Amateur received a record 2,565 entries.
The tournament started on Saturday with 156 golfers at the Country Club of Detroit.
Now, the key number is 64, as in, the field has been cut to the top 64 golfers after two days of stroke play in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.
On Sunday, Tim Hogarth shot a 65, one day after posting a 69, and claimed medalist honors at 10 under.
In 1996, Hogarth won the now-defunct U.S. Amateur Public Links which earned him an invitation to the 1997 Masters. He was a 30-year-old health food broker at the time and at Augusta National, he was scheduled to play in the Par 3 Contest with none other than Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Those two withdrew but Hogarth played anyway. Then in Thursday’s first round, he was paired with Gary Player. Hogarth shot 80-78 to miss the cut but no doubt brought home a few stories to tell.
Hogarth had seven birdies in his second round Sunday in Detroit, including a closing stretch of birdies on Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 18. He will be the top seed in the match-play portion of the event which starts on Monday. The 18-hole championship match is set for Thursday.
Hogarth, of Northridge, California, is going for his second USGA title.
“When I won the U.S. Amateur Public Links, I didn’t know any better,” he once told Southland Golf Magazine. “I knew the winner got to go to the Masters, but I didn’t know how cool it would be to be a USGA champion, how that sticks with you for the rest of your life. Now I know.”
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Chip Lutz shot 68-70 to finish second at 6 under. Sherrill Britt and Sean Knapp tied for third.
Bob Royak won the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2019 and is the defending champion, as the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He posted scores of 72-70 to tie for 10th.
The cut came in at 4 over. Twenty golfers finished under par over the two days.
The Country Club of Detroit previously hosted two U.S. Amateurs, in 1915 (three years after it opened) and 1954 (when Arnold Palmer won it right before he turned pro).
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