What do PGA Tour golfers Tiger Woods, John Merrick and Patrick Cantlay have in common with Long Beach State’s Joe Fryer? They are all winners of the Southern California Golf Association Amateur Championship who honed their game on Long Beach courses.
Fryer won the 119th SCGA Amateur Championship last week at La Jolla Country Club by three strokes with a 9-under par total.
“I’ve been working pretty hard to get here,” Fryer said on the SCGA live feed post-round interview. “To be the champion feels really good. I stayed patient even though I wasn’t hitting the ball that great (on the final holes) but I stuck to my game plan of keeping the ball below the hole.”
After coming into the final round with a sizable lead, Fryer struggled down the stretch and made four consecutive bogies.
“I think I hit three bunkers in a row,” Fryer said. “Usually my bunker play is pretty good, but I couldn’t get them up and down.”
However, Fryer closed the tournament with birdie on the 18th hole to pad his lead.
“I had an 8-iron and 168 yards to the pin,” Fryer said. “I played a little tight draw with a full swing. It went right at the flag. I heard the crowd give a little clap so I knew it was in tight.”
This is the second SCGA Amateur Championship appearance for Fryer, who will be a senior at LBSU this year. As a junior, he was named Big West Conference first-team after winning the Big West Golfer of the Month in September and March. Fryer picked up his second and third career wins at the Sacramento State Invitational and UC Santa Barbara Collegiate. Fryer tied for ninth at the Big West Championship, but shot a four-under par 68 in the final round at Industry Hills. That was tied with two other golfers for the best final round score.
LBSU men’s golf opens its season Sept. 17 at the Ram Masters Invitational in Colorado.
