Golf:

The history behind the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship is impressive, to say the least.

In addition, the Amateur, which begins Friday at Wilshire Country Club, will feature several area golfers.

Two golfers from UC Irvine will be in the amateur. Tim Cha and Bryan Harris, both of whom were instrumental in helping the Anteaters reach the NCAA Men’s Championship last year.

Cha sat out this year and will return next year as a fifth-year senior.

Harris, who went to Palm Desert High, was key in UCI reaching the NCCA Men’s Regional this year. It was the eighth time in nine years, the school has reached the regionals.

Another collegian who will be playing is Matthew Pierce. Pierce, who lives in Newport Beach, is on Duke’s golf team and helped the Blue Devils finish 14th at the NCAA Championships this year, despite being diagnosed with strep throat a day after the tournament.

Two former SCGA champions will be in the field. Boyd Martin, who lives in Corona del Mar and plays at Santa Ana Country Club has committed. Martin won the 2008 SCGA Senior Match Play.

Don DuBois is also in the tournament. DuBois, who won the 2005 California Amateur, lives in Newport Beach and plays out of Big Canyon Country Club.

This is one of the most prestigious events in amateur golf and celebrates its 110th consecutive year. It is the second oldest continuously contested amateur event, behind the Utah Amateur Championship and this year 84 players will try to win the tournament.

There were 600 people who tried to qualify at seven golf courses for the privilege to play in the event.

The format uses stroke play, though the tournament was a match play event for the first 58 years.

In the 109 previous events there has been quite an impressive list of former winners.

E.H. Seaver and Charles Seaver are the only father and son duo to win the amateur. They are the grandfather and father of Hall of Fame pitcher, Tom Seaver.

Newport Beach car dealer Fletcher Jones won the amateur in 1953 and part-time Corona del Mar resident Tiger Woods captured the crown in 1994.

In that event, which was held at Hacienda Country Club, Woods blistered the course, shooting a 62 in the third round and shattering the four-day total, posting an 18-under 270.

Woods is not the only future PGA Tour professional to win the event. John Merrick, Charlie Wi, Jim Ferrie and Al Geiberger have also won. Geiberger and Ferrie won the event twice.

Several prominent professionals have played in the event and not won. Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler, Corey Pavin, John Cook, Jason Gore and Phil Mickelson played in the event but never won it.

This is the first time the event will be at Wilshire Country Club since 1990. This will be the fifth time the private club has hosted the event and the club will definitely be different from the last time it was there.

Members approved a $3.5 million renovation with the goal of returning the course to the original design of golf course architect, Norman Macbeth.

Macbeth co-designed Los Angeles Country Club and was an accomplished golfer. Originally from England, Macbeth won the SCGA Amateur Championship in 1911 and 1913.

Kyle Phillips was entrusted with the task of keeping Macbeth’s vision alive and according to members has succeeded. The course, which was built on a former lima bean and oil field, now has more bunkers, a state of the art irrigation system and rebuilt greens.

The course will be more challenging with the bunkers and will also allow for more ways to play certain holes. This championship should be as entertaining as previous ones.

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursdays. He may be reached by e-mail at nolimepublishing@aol.com.