The 2015 Pre-Tournament News Release

Please join us in welcoming the 112 contestants to this year’s Memorial Amateur Championship. The “Memorial Amateur,” a world ranked designated amateur golf tournament by the Royal and Ancient Golf Association, AmatuerGolf.com, and Northern California Golf Association (“NCGA”) Points Event is in its eighteenth year. Ancil Hoffman Golf Course is proud to once again host this 54-hole stroke play event, and we hope you will join in the excitement. The success of this amateur championship can be directly attributed to a combination of quality of the field, excellent golf course preparation and the support of our golf community.

Each contestant must have a United States Golf Association (USGA) handicap Index of 1.7 or equivalent. This year we have players traveling from Florida, Texas, Nevada, North Dakota, and Michigan as well as contestants with citizenship in Finland, England, Taiwan and Indonesia to compete. Over the years, the event has attracted seasoned amateurs as well as aspiring young players who use events like this one as a stepping stone to playing professional golf. Notable contestants from the past who are presently playing the PGA Tour or have played on the Tour and professional affiliated tours are John Catlin, Spencer Levin, Matt Bettencourt, Derek Ernst, Cameron Tringale, and Sebastian Vazquez. Sebastian Vazquez, a two-time Mexican Amateur champion, competed in the 2012 event and tied for 5th place. He went on to later to win the 2012 Eisenhower Trophy before turning professional. Last year the 3 rd place finisher, Gunn Yang , went on to win the United States Amateur Championship hosted by the USGA. Several 2015 U.S. Open local qualifiers are scheduled to compete in this year’s event…continue reading (.pdf).