Blake Moore hopped out of a sick bed Wednesday and on Thursday earned himself a berth at the USGA Amateur championship.
Moore, of Monrovia, cruised to a 68-66—134, a 10-under par performance at Cypress Ridge Golf Course. He won the daylong qualifier by four strokes.
Also qualifying from Cypress Ridge for the championship to be held Aug. 21-27 at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota was Colin Wilcox of Camarillo (71-67–138) and Jason Kang of Valencia (70-68–138).
Moore, who was stricken with strep throat and had checked into a local Urgent Care twice this week, finished with a flair, chipping in for a birdie at the par-3 No. 17 and sinking a 16-inch birdie on the par-5 finishing hole.
Tied for the lead after 18 holes, Moore took command of the 62-person field during his third nine holes, posting a two-under par 34. His dad Keith, said his son had been bedridden with illness since coming up to San Luis Obispo County earlier this week, but finally did get in 13 practice holes late Wednesday.
The senior at the University of Colorado showed no ill effects Thursday. He credited strong ball striking for his solid rounds.
“My 2-iron helped me a lot,” said Moore who two weeks ago won the Long Beach City amateur championship by six strokes. Caddying for Blake was Michael Eichstedt, a teaching pro at Santa Anita Golf Course.
Taking the first alternate spot for the US Amateur was Aaron Goldberg, 21, of Carlsbad with a four-under par 70-70–140.
A local player, Daniel Miller of Santa Maria, grabbed the second alternate spot with a 69-73–142. Miller, 17, will be coming to Cal Poly this fall to play on Scott Cartwright’s golf squad. He played his prep years at Righetti High School.
“I really hit it well all day,” said Miller, “and I didn’t have any three putts on the first 18.” Three putts, however, caught up with Miller the second time around.
“I felt good all day. I never panicked – just too many three-putts on the second 18,” he said.
Play was delayed for about a half hour in the morning because of foggy conditions. The gray gave way to blue skies and light breezes by midday, but then high overcast moved in from the coast.
The cool weather may have been a tonic for the winner Moore, who exchanged hugs with his caddy and then dad following his final hole.
“It was 117 last week where I was at,” he said.
Cypress Ridge hosted one of seven US Amateur sectional qualifiers conducted for the USGA by the Southern California Golf Association. For Thursday’s 36 holes, the Arroyo Grande course was set up at 6,803 yards.
Jeff Ninnemann, assistant director of rules and competition for the SCGA, said in preparation for the tournament, the greens were rolled and double cut.
“We went pretty challenging,” he said of the pin placements. “The course set up was certainly fair, but very challenging.”
Thursday’s tournament marked the fifth time Cypress Ridge has hosted sectional qualifying events for the USGA. The course hosted a Mid-Am qualifier in 2000, US Open qualifiers in 2003 and 2005 and a US Junior Amateur qualifier in 2004.
Bonnie Lauer, general manager at Cypress Ridge, said these kind of events provide “ good exposure” for Cypress Ridge.
“We’re complimented that we would be considered to host these kind of events,” said Lauer. “We’re just really proud to have them. Having worked with us in the past, they know what to expect from our end.”
Among players with ties to the Central Coast competing in the Thursday qualifier were, Mike Abram, of San Luis Obispo (75-83—158); Brooks Burnsed of Nipomo (83-84—167); Ernest Del Rio of Santa Maria (82-74—156); Bryan Fortin of Santa Maria (76-77—153); Levi Garcia of Paso Robles (76-73—149); David Lewinski of San Clemente and a junior a Cal Poly (74-72—146); John Pate of Santa Barbara (76-76—152); Bryan Pierce of Arroyo Grande (73-76—149); Mike Rowley of San Luis Obispo (73-72—145); Alex Schumacher of Santa Maria (77-79—156); Brycen Wagner of San Luis Obispo (75-73—148); Johua Warthen of San Diego and Arroyo Grande High School (75-72—145).
Brian Wiggins of Morro Bay withdrew from competition before Thursday’s play.
Many players were noticeably drained after walking the 36 holes. Some, like Mike Rowley of San Luis Obispo, carried their own clubs the distance.
While not thrilled with his score, Avila Bay Golf Resort member Mike Abram was pleased with the day.
“Yeah, I really enjoyed the experience. It was great to compete,” he said. “The only thing I was not in shape to walk 36 (holes) and it killed me.”
The US Amateur is the oldest of the championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, having been played since 1895, with interruptions during World War I and World War II. Entry into qualifying is open only to players with a 2.4 index or less. The starting field next month is 312 players.
The championship begins with two rounds of stroke play, followed by five rounds of match play.
Tiger Woods has won the title a record three times (’94,’95 ’96).
Other notable tour players who have won the US Amateur include Phil Mikelson, Justin Leonard, Hal Sutton, Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler and Lanny Wadkins.
Atascadero High graduate and former Templeton resident Roger Tambellini was medalist in stroke play during the 1997 amateur championship.
For further scoring details from Thursday’s qualifier, go to www.scga.org.

-- Larry Mauter